Public Procurement, Trade and Sustainable Development
The Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, is pleased to offer a new Executive Education course on Public Procurement, Trade and Sustainable Development. This course is a 10 week programme of 3.5 hour sessions, divided into interactive lectures, practical or negotiating exercises and tutorials to help participants develop and build upon existing expertise in this area by focusing on the legal and policy aspects that are of critical importance to the public procurement, trade and development practitioner.
Key information
When:
- Wednesday 1 October, 12pm - 3:30pm BST
- Wednesday 8 October, 12pm - 3:30pm BST
- Wednesday 15 October, 12pm - 3:30pm BST
- Wednesday 22 October, 12pm - 3:30pm BST
- Wednesday 29 October, 12pm - 3:30pm GMT
- Wednesday 5 November, 12pm - 3:30pm GMT
- Wednesday 12 November, 12pm - 3:30pm GMT
- Wednesday 19 November, 12pm - 3:30pm GMT
- Wednesday 26 November, 12pm - 3:30pm GMT
- Wednesday 3 December, 12pm - 3:30pm GMT
Location: Online
Fee:
- Standard: £1,500
- Government Lawyers and Officials: £850
We are pleased to offer a 10% discount for QMUL alumni.
A group discount of 20% is available to organisations registering 3 or more people. Please get in touch for further information.
A certificate of completion will be provided to participants upon conclusion of the course.
Course description and aims
This programme will prepare and enable participants to:
- Understand how trade and sustainability considerations can impact on each stage of the public procurement contracting lifecycle.
- Develop the skillset required to prioritise and contribute to policy development and implementation with respect to different goals for public procurement contracting along with their legal basis for promoting these goals, including: value for money; corruption control; innovation; environment; social inclusion and social value; small businesses.
- Understand key features of the UK Procurement Act; the EU Procurement Directives; the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.
- Develop/improve your negotiating skills in public procurement contracting.
- Develop/improve your negotiating skills with respect to international trade and other agreements impacting on public procurement policy.
This programme is designed for international participants including: public procurement practitioners; trade delegates and officials; representatives of civil society organzations; academics and university graduates in law, economics; sustainable development and other relevant disciplines. It is equally suited to professionals working in governmental institutions; local authorities and international and non-governmental organisations.
For participants new to public procurement as a specialized discipline, a review of fundamental aspects of public procurement processes will be provided during the first day of the course.
Delivery Format
The course takes place every Wednesday afternoon for 10 weeks. The agenda is below:
Week 1: Overview of Objectives - Significance for Trade and Sustainability
- Procurement policies
- Procurement laws
- Implementation and enforcement
Tutorial Topic: Competing objectives for procurement
Week 2 Modalities of Public Procurement
- 1 and 2 stage procurement
- Technical specifications
- Selection and award criteria
Tutorial Topic: Promoting horizontal policy objectives through procurement law
Week 3: Current Challenges and Remedies
- Conflicts of interest and corruption control
- Public Private Partnerships
- Role of appeals
Tutorial Topic: Comparing domestic bid challenge mechanisms
Week 4: Activity
- Negotiating procurement contracts
Tutorial Topic: Feedback from negotiating activity
Week 5: WTO GPA as a Multipurpose Trade Agreement
- The 2012 renegotiation
- Competition / Value for money
- Environment and Innovation – green procurement
- Offsets: Social value; Gender; SMEs
Tutorial Topic: Examining the WTO GPA Annexes
Week 6: National Procurement Rules
- Domestic laws and sustainable development
- UK Procurement Act
- EU Procurement Directives
Tutorial Topic: Comparative domestic regimes - presentations
Week 7: Key Regional Trade Agreements and their Relation to WTO GPA
- CPTPP
- USMCA
- Growing trade-protectionist pressures
Tutorial Topic: Comparative RTAs: Presentations
Week 8: Policy Linkages and Negotiating Activities
- Negotiating public procurement agreements
- Negotiating market access schedules
Tutorial Topic: Negotiating techniques
Week 9: Activity
- Negotiating procurement chapters in trade agreements
Tutorial Topic: feedback from negotiating activity
Day 10: Closing Reflection Session
- Overview of course
- Q&A
- Quiz
Course Coordinators
Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson is Honorary Professor in the School of Law at the University of Nottingham, a member of the Public Procurement Research Group, a member of the Editorial Board of the Public Procurement Law Review, and an independent consultant, researcher and trainer. He previously served as Senior Counsellor and Team Leader for Government Procurement and Competition Policy in the WTO, where he worked for more than 21 years. His most recent book is Combatting Corruption and Collusion in Public Procurement: A Challenge for Governments Worldwide (Oxford University Press, 2024; jointly authored with A. Jones and W. Kovacic).
Kamala Dawar
Dr Kamala Dawar is Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at Queen Mary University School of Law. She has more than 25 years of experience working for governments and international organisations advising, teaching and training public officials and students working on public procurement, the WTO GPA, trade agreements and related issues. Her key academic focus is on the role of public procurement in promoting domestic policy objectives. She has authored numerous reports and academic articles on the role of public procurement in promoting sustainable development, innovation, small businesses, gender and social inclusion.