Digital Transformation of Public Procurement Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

Rationale

Digital transformation efforts have permeated all spheres of action in the public sector, seeking higher standards of efficiency and improvements in transparency indicators. As a result, the countries of the region have implemented e-government strategies in which public procurement is a particularly relevant area.

Public procurement accounts for 30% of the budget and 8.6% of the GDP of the countries in the region (IDB, 2018), so it is important that its processes are associated with standards of transparency and reliability.

Hence the importance of continuing to strengthen the performance of the region's countries in the area of digital government. Progress in this area could result in a more rational use of resources and greater impact of government actions.

Objectives

In order to address this issue, an analysis by experts is proposed to highlight the scope of digitisation in public procurement systems with a view to the following objectives:

Present the importance of the development of ecosystems that support the digitisation efforts of public procurement.
Promote the need to increase the digital skills of public employees and citizens.
Strengthen the strategic vision of public procurement.
Raise awareness of the potential of digital tools to optimise the public procurement process.
Encourage the development of flexible institutional structures that keep up with the pace of change of new technologies and allow for continuous improvement while preserving standards of transparency.
Review the use of new technologies in public procurement systems.

Keywords: open government, open data, transparency, digital government, data governance, digital transformation and innovation, public procurement.

Organization of Work

Special Panel of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), to be held within the framework of the XXVII International Congress of CLAD on the Reform of the State and Public Administration.

Date and place: 24 November 2022 - Time: 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. International Convention and Cultural Centre (CICC), Room 3. Sucre-Bolivia.

Participants: leading specialists in the field, regional public procurement agencies and interested members of the public linked to the topic to be addressed.

Agenda

Date: 24 November 2022

12:30 m. – 12:35 m.	Presentation of speakers Jean Paul Guevara, Consultor. Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA).
12:35 – 1:05	SCOPE OF DIGITALIZATION IN REGIONAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS
12:35 – 12:50	Eduardo Chomali, Chief Executive of Digital Transformation, CAF-development bank of Latin America. Digital Transformation of the State Division. Public purchases and public value: approach from digital transformation (Spanish)
12:50 – 1:05	Natalia Tanno, Lawyer and specialist in public procurement. Director-General of Security and Emergency Procurement at the Government of the City of Buenos Aires.
1:05 – 1:50	REGIONAL EXPERIENCES: TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCESSES
1:05 – 1:20	Rocío Quinteros Villanueva, Director-General of the State Procurement System (SICOES) of Bolivia. Digital transformation of the Bolivian State Procurement System (SICOES) (Spanish
1:20 – 1:35	Pablo Seitz, Director of the National Directorate for Public Procurement (DNCP) of Paraguay. Electronic shopping platform of Paraguay (Spanish)
1:35 – 1:50	Eduardo Viveros, Head of Projects Department, ChileCompra. Modernization of public procurement in Chile (Spanish)
1:50 – 2:00	QUESTIONS AND CONCLUDING REMARKS / CLOSING SESSION
PANEL COORDINATION	Ambassador Clarems Endara, Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA)