Society has become increasingly aware of environmental and human rights-related risks in global supply chains in recent years. Public procurement can make a positive contribution to economic, environmental and social progress. This report takes stock of current practices integrating responsible business conduct (RBC) in public procurement and identifies possible avenues to increase the impact of public procurement strategies to promote responsible business conduct objectives.

Society has become increasingly aware of environmental and human rights-related risks in global supply chains in recent years. Public procurement can make a positive contribution to economic, environmental and social progress. If not used strategically, though, people and the planet may face more negative impacts. Meanwhile, governments and businesses face calls to take greater responsibility for their purchasing decisions. Risk-based supply chain due diligence can help public buyers to boost responsible business behaviour through public procurement. This report takes stock of current practices integrating responsible business conduct (RBC) in public procurement and identifies possible avenues to increase the impact of public procurement strategies to promote responsible business conduct objectives. Based on a survey with both OECD Members and Adherents to OECD instruments on public procurement and RBC, it covers a wide geographical range and features data focused on responsible business conduct aspects in public procurement. The report encourages policy makers and practitioners in public procurement and RBC to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders, drawing on good practices from across policy areas.

The OECD Principles for Integrity in Public Procurement are a ground-breaking instrument that promotes good governance in the entire procurement cycle, from needs assessment to contract management.

This book is an early warning to public officials, policymakers, and procurement practitioners on the impact of AI on the public sector. Many governments have established national AI strategies and set ambitious goals to incorporate AI into the public infrastructure, while lacking AI-specific procurement guidelines. AI is not traditional software, and traditional processes are not sufficient to meet the challenges AI brings. Today’s decisions to embed AI and algorithmic systems into public system infrastructure can – and will – have serious repercussions in the future. The promise of AI systems is to make the public sector more efficient, effective, fair, and sustainable. However, AI systems also bring new and emerging risks which can impact rights and freedoms. Therefore, guardrails are necessary to consider the socio-technical dimensions and impact on individuals, communities, and society at large. It is crucial that public sector decision-makers understand the emerging risks of AI systems, the impact on the agency and the wider public infrastructure, and have the means to independently validate vendor claims. This book is a result of interviews with more than 20 public procurement professionals across countries, offering an in-depth analysis of the risks, incidents, governance practices, and emerging good practices around the world, and provides valuable procurement policy and process recommendations to address and mitigate these risks.

Compelling and robust, this book provides an analysis of challenges in public service outsourcing and considers how to avoid failure in the future. Crucially, it proposes a governance mechanism where outsourcing public services nurtures less extractive and more sustainable corporate organizations that are oriented towards a productive purpose beyond maximising shareholder value, with implications well beyond public services. Under these proposals, supporting firms that are independently and inclusively governed and use profit to pursue purpose can improve both public services and wider economic organisation. The book examines how barriers to implementing this idea within the existing legal framework for public procurement may be addressed, and it formulates actionable policy proposals.

In Malta, public procurement accounted for approximately 6% of GDP in 2019 and is recognised as a strategic instrument for achieving government policy goals, including recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite recent efforts, the public procurement system still faces several challenges in several areas.

An essential text for innovators, this accessible book explains how medical and healthcare professionals and students who are new to innovation in healthcare can best progress their innovation projects and how those interested in healthcare innovation can develop an improved understanding of novel treatments and developments. The book provides a clear framework for the innovation pathway, describing step-by-step how projects are taken from concept to marketing, and also includes a current assessment of emerging technologies that will influence medical innovation in the future. Key Features: Wide-ranging and comprehensive coverage of the field, from digital health and AI technologies, through stem-cell applications and robotic surgery, to specialty-specific innovations including those in cardiology, public health and ophthalmology Illustrated with real-life examples of success and failure and what can be learned from these projects Reflects a greater emphasis on clinical innovation within health systems and its inclusion in undergraduate and postgraduate medical curriculae and medically related courses Supports national and international initiatives to encourage innovation in healthcare and maximize the novel ideas generated by university staff and students, as well as practicing clinicians Ideal for students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and medical practitioners and allied medical health professionals, it will also be of interest to clinical innovators and healthcare businesses seeking to increase uptake of their products both in the UK and internationally.