Centralized Procurement Organizations have been established and being developed intensively in Ukraine since 2016. CPOs have an important task: to organize and conduct tenders and procurements under framework agreements in the interests of various procuring entities in accordance with the Law.
CPOs were expected to address the issues related to complexity and delays in procurements and to improve their efficiency and transparency. Also, CPOs were supposed to consult customers on how to draw documents, manage procurements, and mitigate corruption risks.
It is worth noting that in recent years there has been an increase in the number of Centralized Procurement Organizations. That means that central and local authorities are interested in the development of that institution. Unfortunately, the overall efficiency of procurements by the existing CPOs is the same (or even lower) compared to regular procuring entities.
Therefore those contemplating initiating a Central Procurement Organization should thoroughly study expectations, positive effects and, most importantly, current challenges of already existing CPOs. This will facilitate responsible and balanced administrative and managerial decisions and help build a professional and efficient centralized procurement organization.
The DOZORRO team of Transparency International Ukraine has researched how CSOs work in Ukraine, so that it will be easier for those who are considering whether to create a new CSO to make a decision.
Read: Centralized Procurement Organizations in Ukraine
This publication was prepared with the financial support of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.