A critical analysis of the role for the competitive dialogue public procurement procedure to positively impact sustainability of its contracts

Abstract

The increasing governmental focus on providing added value through sustainable public procurement practices has seen a rise in the integration of sustainability considerations in award criteria. The competitive dialogue procurement procedure (CDP) is one intended for complex, high-value or large impact projects. It is characterised by the submission of unique solutions to the posed problem, distinguishing itself from open and restricted procedures, which focus on off-the-shelf solutions. The development of tailor-made solutions naturally comes with an increased potential for sustainable procurement practices as off-the-shelf solutions usually have inflexible supply-chains. There is however an apparent gap in the literature of in-depth, qualitative research on how CDP’s characteristics influence the integration of sustainability considerations in its contracts. This research project aims to critically analyse the potential of CDP as a driver of sustainability in public procurement by evaluating knowledge, experiences and opinions from industry-professionals to inform concrete recommendations to the procedure. The exploratory nature and interpretivist philosophy of this research warranted a qualitative, inductive approach to data collection and analysis. Using Grounded Theory coding techniques, categories and themes were derived from the results. The emerging theories formed the base of the justification for the concrete recommendations presented at the end of the report. Findings from this study indicated a significant gap of knowledge between procurers with training in sustainable procurement practices and those with no formal guidance. Direct buyer-supplier communication contributes significantly to integration of sustainability, which CDP’s main added value. Recommendations include the inclusion of a sustainability-leads in the CDP-team to contribute with meaningful sustainability considerations and more formal guidance on practical implementation of sustainability practices. Future research should explore ways in which direct buyer-supplier dialogue is facilitated in other procurement routes.