Electronic procedures in public procurement as a tool of improvement of the public sector efficiency

Abstract

The worsening economic situation, too small resources and financial capabilities of the state budget and other public sector institutions, on the one hand, and growing investment needs of this sector on the other hand, make that the actions of such entities as, among others, government administration,    local government units and public universities are aimed at more effective expenditures of their funds. A significant part of the expenses of these entities are realized through the public procurement system. The purpose of this article is an attempt to present the extent to which the correctly applied, electronic auctions, may be the final stage in open public procurement procedures, result in the achievement of lower prices in comparison with the same procedures but without any auction. Due to the small experi- ence in this type of activities in Poland, the calculations are made under assumption that the percent- age of savings in the e-procurement in Poland and in the „old" EU member countries is the same. The values of savings on the basis of realized public procurements conducted by means of open tenders and negotiations with an announcement are estimated for the years 2007-2012.