IT-procurement

The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency coordinates the procurement of framework contracts concerning products and services for the entire public sector in the fields of information and communications.

One hundred suppliers have approximately 80 framework contracts with The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency and about 1000 retailers are tied to these framework contracts. The purpose of this is to make financial savings through simpler administrative procedures, better terms and lower prices within the IT sector, as well as guaranteeing sound competitive terms in this market.

Public procurement is governed by EC directives and by the Swedish Public Procurement Act (LOU). Under this legislation, public procurement decisions are to be based on impartial grounds.

IT procurement promotes the development of e-services

There are significant synergy effects between the mandate to promote electronic government and the procurement of framework contracts within the IT sector. By quality-assuring and standardising the technical solutions, the IT framework contracts have had a major impact in terms of creating de facto standards within public administration and improving the quality of the range of services available.

IT procurement saves billions of kronor

The main goal for IT procurement is to create added value. The results of procurement within the IT sector are measured by monitoring turnover over the period of the contract, and conducting surveys of users and suppliers. Government agencies estimate their total savings (including simplified administrative procedures) for these contracts to be in the region of SEK 0.8 and 1.2 billion annually.

IT procurement gives legal peace of mind

The Public Procurement Act states that unwarranted considerations should not affect the treatment of tenderers, candidates or tenders. When a supplier submits a tender, it is of the utmost importance that the tender is as competitive and as complete as possible. The regulatory framework means, with few exceptions, that it is impossible to re-negotiate during the procurement process. The regulatory framework also means that in certain cases IT procurement is forced to afford more consideration to legal conditions than to commercial risks. For suppliers and vendors participating in this tendering process, this in turn gives security and confidence that the framework contracts are entered into on legally secure grounds.

Municipalities and county councils use IT framework contracts

Municipalities, county councils and other public bodies can also enter into these framework contracts. To achieve the best results, we enter into a close dialogue with users about their needs and special requirements, and the suppliers’ ability to meet these. During the procurement process, there is a reference group which prepares general queries concerning the direction of the procurement. The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency
values the opinions of purchasers and welcomes active participation in writing requests and evaluating tenders.

The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency framework contract procurements are guided by the following principles and priorities.
The procurements are to be characterised by customer-benefit, professionalism and cost-efficiency. Demands and conditions should be in proportion to the needs of the public sector and market conditions.

• The quality of the procurement is to be ensured by clear, well-defined and well-documented methods of working, procedures and roles.
• Framework contract areas are to be specified and clearly defined. Where new or changed framework contract areas arise, special efforts are to be made to familiarise users with the new/changed agreement.
• The number of framework contracts in each area should be kept to the minimum necessary to acceptably cover requirements.
• The procurements are to be designed in such a way that small businesses are able to tender on equal terms with large companies.
• Increased attention will be given to usability, ergonomics, and accessibility for the disabled, to ensure that the procurements contribute to lower user-costs, higher job-satisfaction for employees and make it easier for the agencies to comply with the standards set by the Work Environment Act for software and systems.
• IT procurement must be in the forefront when it comes to setting environmental requirements during the procurement of IT products. Opportunities to set higher environmental requirements than those currently available and to extend these beyond the minimum levels laid down in current environmental legislation, are to be seized.