Procurement Procedure
More informationPublic procurement system is quite decentralised.
Contracting authorities have the right to decide even whether they would like to conduct public procurement or not if the value of the purchase is below the EU threshold.
All the schools are independent and have the right to make their own decision and to launch public procurements in order to purchase their own ICT tools for educational purposes. They do not have the right to decide which educational technology tool to purchase. Municipalities can decide in this question.
If there is a centralized procurement system, the process is carried out by the principals meeting (decision making), otherwise, it is the task of the principal of the school.
There are cities in Finland where primary/secondary schools can order technology (eg. IT tools) from municipal ICT providers, that handle equipment/software in large scale.
Learning materials (even digital materials) can be purchased at the school level.
Teachers play an active role: they create and formulate the contents, needs and usage descriptions. Generally, schools try to get all the new software, solutions or services to be tested by teachers before starting the procurement processes.
If a procurement is needed with a considerable value, the process must include the data management department and the practitioners from the field of procurements.
Ministry of Employment and Economy (MEE):
- executes the national policymaking,
- drafts the national procurement legislation and its amendments
- provides help to economic actors and contracting authorities regarding the interpretation of the respective law
Ministry of Finance:
- management of central government procurement processes
- determined the purchase strategy
- conducts the centralised procurement
Finnish National Audit Office (NAO): oversight body
- monitors and checks public procurement processes in terms of budget, accounting and financial operations
- reports the findings directly to the Parliament
Market Court: act as a specific review body in the first instance having authority to cancel a decision of a contracting authority partly or even fully. Against its decision appeals can be issued to the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC).
Steps of the procurement process:
- Feasibility study and need analysis of the system
- Tender for the industry in public info channels (if the price of the tool to purchase is small enough the schools have got the right to buy it straight, without tender)
- Evaluation of the offers
- Decision
The following factors are important when making decision about the purchase of educational technology tools:
- price
- time saved for teachers
- compatibility with already used systems, software
- technology is combined with training that help to use it
- the opinion of the school/teachers
As regards implementation, there are differences among communities according to their level of development.
- If the community is advanced, implementation process will be the responsibility of the education ICT centres.
- In any other cases, the ICT departments are responsible.
Sources:
European Commission / EACEA National Policies Platform / Eurydice / Finland Overview:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/finland_en
Public procurement – Study on administrative capacity in the EU Finland Country Profile:
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/how/improving-investment/public-procurement/study/country_profile/fi.pdf
Procurement process in Finland
Source: Own elaboration by Konnevesi