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Using a comparative framework, this volume presents case studies of issues of public procurement and discusses how procurement professionals and policy makers in different regions are responding to these challenges. This book discusses current issues in public procurement. Over the past few decades, public procurement has had to evolve conceptually and organizationally in the face of unrelenting budget constraints, government downsizing, public demand for increased transparency in public procurement, as well as greater concerns about efficiency, fairness and equity. Procurement professionals have also had to deal with a changeable climate produced by emerging technology, environmental concerns, and ongoing tension between complex regional trade agreements and national socioeconomic goals. The first section discusses innovation and reforms in public procurement and how practitioners are adapting to and making use of new technologies. The second section addresses the challenges of maintaining transparency, equity, and fairness in public procurement. The final section discusses preferential public procurement and introduces strategies for building sustainable public procurement systems. By combining theory and analysis with evidence from the real world, this book is of equal use to academics, policy makers, and procurement professionals.

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List of Reviewers or Scientific Committee Members.- 1. International Public Procurement: Innovation and Knowledge Sharing.- Part I. Innovation AND Reforms in Public Procurement Profession.- 2. Contract Management Innovation in Public Procurement: Costa Rica´s Experience.- 3. The Municipal Partnering Initiative: Mixed Contracting in Local Government Procurement.- 4.The Impact of Changing Patterns of Commercial Card Use by the U.S. Government on Governmental Efficiency and Cost Savings.- 5, Defense Management Research Capacities and Topics: Blind Spots in Defense Acquisition.- 6. Customers´ Preferences in Municipal Waste Services Procurement .- Part II. Public Procurement Transparency.- 7.Rationalising Public Procurement of Complex Construction Projects by the Price Component Selection.- 8.Pricing for Public Purchase: A Qualitative-Empirical Analysis of Public Procurement and Price Setting Practices.- 9. Procurement Conspiracies and Procurement Governance: Some Lessons from Thailand.-10. Collaborative Public Procurement: A Comparative Review of the Indian Position with International Practices on Pooled Procurement from Competition Law Perspectives.- 11. Regulating the Pre-Procurement Phase: Context and Perspectives.- 12. Construction Procurers´ Perceptions of Value for Money.- Part 4. Preferential Public Procurement.- 13. The Reform to EU Utilities Procurement: Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive?.- 14. Stages of Development towards Sustainable Public Procurement.- 15.Policy Implementation of Sustainable Public Procurement in China.- 16. The Role of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in a Sustainable Public Procurement System.

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