1. Public Purchasing in a Global Economy: An American Perspective
Professor Steven L. Schooner

2. US Public Procurement: Salient Features
Federal (Central) – State (Subcentral) Divide
Defense Dominated (2/3)
Services ($$$), Supplies (goods) ($$), and construction (works) ($)
Cradle-to-grave (includes K performance)
Heavily regulated, with emphasis on transparency, corruption control, accountability
Competition (market) based, but
Flexible (negotiation, cost-reimbursement contracting)
Historic wealth distribution/preference regime for SME’s, domestic industry
Constant reform/change

4. US Public Procurement Current Challenges
Budgeting (and contracting) instability = uncertainty
Anti-contractor sentiment (largely uninformed) in legislature, media, public
Capacity – acquisition workforce – experiencing critical shortages (in personnel, training, experience, support) after two decades of under-investment and failed succession planning

5. Globalization Free trade facilitates the free flow of Capital
Multinational markets
Multinational firms
Global supply chain
Free trade facilitates the free flow of
Capital
Information
Technology
Personnel

6. Harmonization of international procurement norms?
WTO GPA
All eyes on China! EU
OECD
UN-UNCITRAL Model Law
Bilateral, regional agreements

7. US-Global Issues
Inconsistent Policies: Free Trade Proponent in Conflict with Web of Preferences for
Domestic Manufacture
SME’s (small, women, minority, veteran, high unemployment zones, indigenous (Alaskan, Indian), etc.
Corruption Control: Complex, Voluminous Regulation
False Claims Act (FCA)
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
Security
Counterfeit parts
CIFIUS: Council on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

8. Global Observations (BRIC’s and beyond)
Models Are Plentiful – Accordingly, Drafting Laws, Regulations & Policies is Easy
Implementation is the Challenge
Difficult, Time Consuming, Labor Intensive, Expensive
The China Example
Human Capital: Critical/Scarce Resource
Government actors lack fundamental business skills (market research, negotiation, etc.)

9. Supplemental Information

10. Online Resources
Acquisition Central – U.S. Government “Single Point of Entry” –
Federal Acquisition Regulation [FAR] – Uniform Regulation (and guidance) –
USA Spending – data (for contracts and grants) –
Government Procurement Law at GW – govcon

11. Additional Reading (SSRN, JEL H57)
The WTO’s Revised Government Procurement Agreement - An Important Milestone Toward Greater Market Access and Transparency in Global Public Procurement Markets,
Public Procurement: Focus on People, Value for Money and Systemic Integrity, Not Protectionism,
Tempering 'Buy American' in the Recovery Act - Steering Clear of a Trade War,
Desiderata: Objectives for a System of Government Contract Law,

12. Capacity Building Human Capital
Government Personnel, Resources
Policy makers
Legal, regulatory, guidance
Requirements (needs)
Market research
Contracts drafting
Attorneys (counsel)
Negotiators
Contract managers
Contract support (CO, COR, COTR, QAR, etc.)
Oversight
Auditors
Inspectors General
Challenge regimes (judges?)
Training
External resources
Industry
Open Media
Private Attorneys General (whistle-blowers)
Capacity Building Human Capital

13. Capacity Building: Human Capital
Identification, recruiting, deployment
Education and experience
Independence
Incentives (compensation) and disincentives
Professional Development, retention
Professional standards
Performance
Ethics

14. Conclusion: Share Your Experiences!