Relaunching the country after the Covid-19 virus pandemic by putting the role of public administration at the center and focusing increasingly on digitization. This is the goal of the Recovery Procurement Platform, a plan of reforms included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP) intended to radically change the way government procures goods and services.
New digital tools, investment in staff training and the use of platforms that speed up and simplify the work of operators become the starting point for initiating a process of innovation that will involve the entire country.
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan: new challenges for public administration
Italian public administrations are called upon to play an essential and irreplaceable role in the management of the funds that Italy will receive, over the next 5 years, under the Next Generation EU plan, and are therefore faced with a real revolution in their internal organization and operating methods.
In fact, the 230 billion in the plan, on the basis of what was established in the NRP, is disbursed in a precise manner, which includes special procedures for planning and reporting on investments. European funds must be earmarked for the implementation of specific works, which must be completed within the five-year duration of the Plan, and are not paid in a lump sum, but rather on a semi-annual basis and following the achievement of specific milestones and intermediate objectives, which must be specified when the application is submitted. It is the responsibility of the requesting administration to demonstrate, at the end of the six-month period, that it has met the expected targets; otherwise, payment is suspended and may not resume until six months later, upon implementation of all necessary measures to resolve the critical issues and get back on track. If this is not done, there is a real risk of permanently losing European funds: if there is no documented progress for 18 months, funding is suspended and any prefinancing received must be returned.
In this scenario, Public Administrations play a decisive role in obtaining and managing funds: for this reason, a specific plan of reforms, the Recovery Procurement Platform, has been envisaged within the NRP, which aims at training public personnel and digitizing purchasing procedures, in order to facilitate the activity of Entities and make the acquisition and management of European funds easier.
The Recovery Procurement Platform and the digitization of government procurement
Given the particularity of the situation we are experiencing and the importance of proper management of funds from Europe, the Italian government has promoted a series of activities aimed at digitizing the activities of the Public Administration. Because of the particular situation we are experiencing and the importance of proper management of funds from Europe, the Italian government has promoted a series of activities aimed at digitizing the activities of the Public Administration.
eProcurement will play a key role in the transition of government to digital: procuring goods and services through platforms will provide them with countless advantages:
- Saves time and increases efficiency as the platform simplifies and streamlines activities related to the creation and management of tenders
- Maintaining broad freedom of action by being able to manage its own tenders independently, without using external contracting stations
- Increased transparency and better management of its processes, resulting in better adherence to guidance from the EU
- Growth in the skills of staff, who by actually using the platform become more and more autonomous in managing digital processes over time and thus increasingly efficient
- Ability to receive assistance and support even in the interpretation of complex and constantly changing regulations
- Reduced risk of appeals and litigation, which, in this context, could have particularly serious consequences, since a blockage of procurement procedures due to a potential supplier’s appeal could result in delays in the achievement of planned objectives and thus jeopardize the disbursement of funding.
eProcurement platforms to simplify the work of contracting stations: the benefits of PRO-Q
Using Venicecom’s PRO-Q eProcurement platform enables public administrations to better cope with the changes the public sector is undergoing.
PRO-Q, in fact, is a tool designed to facilitate the work of contracting stations, is highly customizable and allows for a workflow that is, at the same time, extremely flexible in the design phase but rigorous in the execution phase. In this way, the contracting station is guided and accompanied along all the steps of the tender process, and is assured that it always operates transparently, efficiently, and in compliance with regulations.
PRO-Q, moreover, allows the entire purchasing process to be managed while remaining within the platform, while also using external tools (email, pec messages, Excel files, and so on): this simplifies the operator’s activity, shortens time and facilitates reporting processes, which are essential in a context where greater and greater transparency and ability to share processes is required.
Finally, PRO-Q’s service is designed to adapt to the different needs of client entities: in fact, Administrations that choose to equip themselves with the platform do not just receive a simple software, but can take advantage of an all-round consulting service and, in case of need, can request the intervention of PRO-Q professionals who will work alongside internal staff, providing operators with all the assistance necessary to make them autonomous in the use of the new digital tools. In case the Entity needs to manage a very limited number of tenders and is not interested in purchasing the platform, on the other hand, PRO-Q offers the possibility to take advantage of the “SOS single tender” service. In this way, the administration will be able to take advantage of PRO-Q’s potential without the need for a proprietary platform, and will be able to achieve the required efficiency, speed and transparency goals in the simplest way.
PRO-Q is the right solution to meet the needs of Administrations that are looking for an eProcurement platform capable of fostering digital transformation: contact us to learn more about our tools and the benefits it provides to Public Administrations.
