United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Issuing a public call for bidders on government-financed projects has a long tradition in Austria. Both federal and regional governments previously had their own laws which precisely regulated public expenditures. In 2002, the various laws on this procedure were harmonised. This brought advantages to the economy because the same law would thereafter be applicable to a much broader area. In 2006, Austrian legal provisions on public procurement have been amended in accordance with the development of the respective EU directives.

Within the European Union, e-Procurement is regarded as an important project for increasing transparency and for improving competition. As expected, the European-wide guidelines have presented a multitude of possibilities for developing electronic procurement models.

The nomination presented herewith addresses the official general announcement of public tenders. It is not just about the presentation of a software solution, but rather about the ways and means towards achieving this goal. The software solution was implemented by the “Wiener Zeitung”, Austria´s official newspaper for issuing of public announcements.

Today in 2006 --- thanks to the close cooperation among legislative, administrative and technical bodies --- there is a future-oriented way forward: Paper is being replaced by issuing public announcements electronically on the Internet. This new development will increase transparency, save both money and time, and will make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to be well informed about bid invitations.

The system being nominated here will, because of legal implications, be used by all federal and many regional and local officials who issue bid invitations. Those responsible for gathering data for public announcements will automatically be forwarded information to ensure that data and announcements are in compliance with the legal framework of the European Union. This will increase transparency in the issuing of public contracts.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The system being nominated here is a combination of technology and legal regulations. In contrast to other EU Member States, this will provide the government with a central, nation-wide and compulsory platform for public information. All federal officials must, in compliance with legal regulations, present their public bids on www.lieferanzeiger.at. This public information and the accompanying documents required for bidding will be presented at no additional cost on the Internet at www.wienerzeitung.at/lieferanzeiger. Interested economic parties (potential bidders) can download and register this data and be automatically updated on developments related to the applicable procurement procedures. In addition, collected public information from the party issuing the bids will be, after a specific volume of procurement (and in accordance with EU guidelines), automatically sent in an XML format to the official European gazette for public information. This information will then be processed and publicly distributed throughout Europe. Today the actual printing of public information is being carried out on a voluntary basis to reach business people who are not yet logged on-line. It can be assumed that today more than 98 percent of information related to public bids and procurement is accessed on-line (on a federal level). All public issuing and awarding of federal bids can be covered by this solution. AFTP saves public officials financial resources and provides a synergy of technical and operational applications. AFTP provides businesses with ONE medium and with a SINGLE contact point (personal service desk) which can be addressed in case questions arise. AFTP provides transparency and saves money! The system being presented here has been conceived in a way that it may be applied also in other countries.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The concept for such a solution emerged in 2001. The first application of the solution followed in 2002. The solution was awarded with the Austrian State Prize for Multimedia. In 2006, the entire solution was further expanded to include an automatic communication link to the EU´s central office for public media. In addition, the system was reorganised to provide new possibilities and for more accessible routes to electronic procurement.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
In Austria, eGovernment played a major role ever since. Public administrations on all state levels are working intensely on ways to provide more and more public services electronically. This ambition also affected the subject of electronic procurement. According to the EU´s Manchester Declaration, all services related to electronic procurement must be in place across the European Union by 2010. The actual use of such services should be at around 50 percent. Austria wants to be a leader in the field of electronic government. This is one of the reasons why this system was created and why it works.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The goal is to have a process which is in accordance with the legal framework of the European Union and which simplifies administrative tasks for both citizens and business people. A high level of synergy should be achieved through the central provision of a solution which is capable of communicating with a decentralised system (linking the respective systems of the EU and the procurer). This should also avoid future costs for multiple development and systems. For this reason, AFTP will be available to service all public offices. Federal officials will be obligated to use the system, while regional and community officials will use the service on a voluntary basis. AFTP has been conceived to easily incorporate innovations related to electronic procurement. The system’s advantages are obvious. Because this system is being offered on a centralised level, its various users will be able to benefit from each other’s innovations. It will also benefit economic interests as well as administrators.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
All eGovernment activities in Austria are coordinated to avoid any unnecessary duplication. This solution should also be open to other official users, as well as business people. It should also be able to take advantage of future technical developments. It must also be inter-operational with other systems.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Official public announcements are today more likely to be found on the Internet than in a newspaper. Documents can now be sent in the blink of an eye and must no longer be copied and mailed through the postal system. Through registering and logging on-line, communication between the procurer and the bidder and all actions between the two parties can be carried out with a high degree of transparency.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
By conforming to the EU legal framework, the technical components of AFTP are ideally suited to be transferred also to foreign authorities provided that – as in Austria - a clear political will for such a transfer exists. In promoting electronic procurement in public administration, certain legal and organisational pre-conditions must also be fulfilled. At this time (November 2006), Croatian administrative representatives are being evaluated for receiving the Austrian system.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Sometimes organisational and legal questions needed more attention while technical challenges were easier to solve. The strategy of “small steps” has turned out to be highly valuable: To work from small to big solutions and from simple to complex solutions. Only the final result will convince and win over the users of www.lieferanzeiger.at. This path will also be followed in the future.


Institution Name:		Austrian Federal Tender Platform
Institution Type:		Organization Performing Outsourced Public Service Functions
Contact Person:		Paul Humann
Title:		CEO
Telephone/ Fax:		++43-1-20699-480
Institution's / Project's Website:		++43-1-20699-100
E-mail:		humann@auftrag.at
Address:		Wiedner Guertel 10
Postal Code:		1040
City:		Vienna
State/Province:		Vienna
Country:		Austria

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information