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Introduction

How to use this toolkit

What is Open SPP?

What our users told us

Plan

Establish an enabling environment

Prioritize

Monitoring & evaluation

Build support and capabilities

Create an Action Plan

Implement

Assess needs

Choose a procurement method

Engage with the market

Set sustainability criteria

Prepare contract obligations

Monitor implementation

Open data & measuring progress

Options for data use

SPP uptake

Carbon reduction

Gender inclusion

Life cycle costing

Economic Development

Sector guidance

Construction sector

ICT sector

Resources

Downloadable tools

Resource directory

Case study database

Guide to ecolabels

Open SPP FAQs

Gathering information to assess real needs

When you decide to implement SPP, you should not only consider how you will select the most sustainable option, but also ensure that there is a real need for the goods, services, or works that you are going to purchase. Sometimes, you might find that the most sustainable option is to avoid procuring anything at all. To avoid purchasing unnecessarily, and ensure that procuring the right thing, it is essential to conduct a needs assessment before launching a tender.

In this section, we present some of the key information that should be gathered in order to successfully identify real needs, and ensure a more open and sustainable procurement process.

Identify user needs

In order to conduct a successful needs assessment, it is important to have a clear understanding of who the users are, and gather required information to identify their needs. Think of how to design the procurement with them, not just for them.

Case Study Italy’s central purchasing body, CONSIP, has used this user-centered approach effectively in the medical sector, working directly with medical staff to shape tender documents for use across the country.

CONSIP agrees the tender specifications in consultations with doctors' groups and scientific associations, while tenders are frequently drafted by medical professionals themselves. This prioritizes product quality which is vital for medical use. Devices that meet the contract’s financial requirements and specifications are tested by doctors and nurses in their hospitals, which then award the final contract on the basis of the product’s performance.

The system has been widely praised by both medical professionals and suppliers, leading to its implementation on a regional as well as national level.

Consider alternative procurement options

Once user needs have been identified, it is important to assess different procurement options in order to find one that meets user’s needs in the most sustainable way possible.

Formulate a needs statement

Once you have identified the needs, you should translate them into a needs statement. The statement should include information about the needs identified, and the procurement alternatives that have been considered.

For an example of a needs statement, page 2 of the European Commission’s Module 4, provides the following: ”The Department has identified a need for 6 smart screens for use in its 12 meeting rooms. The screens will facilitate web-conferencing and reduce the need for document printing.

Based on user consultation, a maximum of 6 meetings requiring screens are held at any one time.

The existing projectors consume a large amount of energy and often break down.

The Department will consider proposals for leasing the screens under a service contract.”

The needs statement should be openly shared with the relevant stakeholders, and used to inform market engagement activities. It is important to identify whether the needs assessment falls under one of the prioritized procurement categories, and if there are any relevant objectives and targets set that you should consider during the procurement process.

Resources

• European Commission. 2019. GPP Training Toolkit.
• Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab. Results-Driven Contracting.

Case Study Public Health Wales (PHW) is the national public health agency in Wales. In 2016, they decided to relocate nine smaller satellite offices into one new, large 4,700 m2 open plan office in central Cardiff. To do this, PHW released a tender for the design of office space and supply of furniture. PHW decided to include a series of sustainability requirements as part of the tender, and included an inventory of all furniture which was owned by the organization. The winning bid came from a consortium of a sustainable office design service, and a community interest company.

In the end, out of the 2.563 items used in the new office 45% of items were re-used, 49% were remanufactured, and only 6% of items were sourced from new stock. In total, it is estimated that by re-using available resources, 41 tonnes of waste were diverted from landfill, and the project saved around 134 tonnes of CO2.