Manipulating Public Procurement Procedures EU-Conference on Smart Procurement Athens 20/06/2014

1 The Federal Procurement Agency (Beschaffungsamt des BMI, BeschA) 1.Is one of 4 central purchasing bodies in German federal administration 2.Conducts procurement procedures for customers within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior 3.Awards framework agreements for the demand of all of German federal administration 4.Supplies different means of electronic procurement for federal and regional authorities such as e-Vergabe, X- Vergabe, Kaufhaus des Bundes

2 Case Study: “The Member of Parliament”

3 Definition 1.Public procurement procedures are susceptible to manipulations. 2.Manipulation in this context means: Trying to influence a procedure, if necessary by bending or avoiding public procurement regulations. 3.Manipulations in public procurement procedures are not necessarily correlated with corruption, but they often share the same symptoms and take the same paths. 4.They are daily routine for procurement officers. 5.It is important to find ways to deal with manipulations in an adequate manner.

4 Questions 1.WHEN do manipulations happen? WEAK SPOTS 2.HOW do manipulations happen? WAYS AND MEANS 3.WHO manipulates? ACTORS 4.WHY is procurement being manipulated? MOTIVES 5.WHICH measures can be taken? DEFENSE STRATEGIES

5 WHO manipulates? ACTORS Political institutions A tenderer or candidate The customer The supervisory control The procurement body itself …

6 HOW and WHEN WEAK SPOTS, WAYS & MEANS „Creating demands“ Unique features Unrealistic calculation of time, effort, contract value Information tactics; time pressure; delaying tactics „Special-case-theory“ Attempted intimidation of the procurement officer Indiscretions Mobilizing other players or hierarchical levels Knowing tender prices before assessment Customer refuses control by the procurement body A corrupted jury …

7 WHY? MOTIVES & REASONS Political interests Protection of local companies Gaining advantages in competition Wishing for a calculable risk Insecurity; fear; laziness High workload Ignorance of procurement law Ego: „we ordered steak, not sausage“, „this project is the flagship of our agency“ Prejudices against procurement bodies: „you are anyway taking the cheapest tender…“, “procurement law is just a nuisance“ …

8 WHICH measures PREVENTION & DEFENSE „Talk, talk, talk“: understanding the needs of your customer Continued personal monitoring of the procurement procedure Objectives and priorities for contract award criteria (plausibility!) Anonymous tender assessment without tender prices The wing man: acting with a partner (security, witness) Escalation (hierarchy, legal dept., contact person, ombudsman) Documentation

9 …any questions? ODER: Jeder Bewerter bewertet unabhängig ohne Austausch mit den anderen Mitgliedern des Bewertergremiums. Vorteil: Transparenz, „demokratisch“ gefundenes Ergebnis. Plausibilitätsprüfung durch die Vergabestelle. Verdachtsfälle: nach Möglichkeit noch vor Ort mit dem Bewertergremium besprechen + dokumentieren. Bewertung wiederholen? Einbindung Z13. Eskalation/Einschalten weiterer Ansprechpartner: in der Linien- Hierarchie, Justiziariat; Ansprechperson für Korruptionsvorsorge; Externe Ombudsperson Dokumentation! z.B. durch Gesprächsprotokolle, Vermerke o.ä. zur eigenen Absicherung als „Munition“ für eine Eskalation Ellen Lücke Contact Person for the Prevention of Corruption Beschaffungsamt des BMI