On the 12-13th of June, PREPARE participated in the National Procurement Days in Finland with the procurement team of the city of Oulu.
The procurement leaders, experts, planners, lawyers and project managers from all over Finland gathered for a 2-day-seminar to the beautiful idyllic city of Hämeenlinna. The main theme of the Days was cooperation and partnerships.
The keynote speaker of the first day was Mr. Tino Miettinen, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, with a heading “European changing operational environment”. He opened the last and fast changes in Europe and globally, which have impacted the whole operational environment and the implementation of the political decisions and recommendations in the member states.
Our partners from Oulu mentioned during his presentation how all the changed regulations, including sustainable development policies, have directly effected to public procurements. Pointing out that public procurements have a huge impact on local and regional vitality. Innovation-orientated procurements give a platform for SMEs to grow. Economic strength also means a better environment for security. Localization could be a positive counterforce when globalization is in trouble.
Other topics during the Days were: Service Design in Procurement Jurisprudence, Anticipation in Procurements, Artificial intelligence (AI) in procurement work, Changing procurement regulation and its effects, Recent law cases from the Market Court.
As a cherry on the cake, there was a guided visit to Häme Castle. Häme Castle was built 800 years ago – by a public procurement of its time. Its construction was meant to protect the region and create a closer bond with the Swedish crown. The first model of the castle was from the German camp fort. Finland was already connected to Europe at that time. The powerful Hanseatic League operated the coastal areas of Baltic Sea, and also Stockholm was a partner in the League. Later the castle was enlarged many times and in the 19th century, it was used as a prison. Now it is a valuable historical monument beside the beautiful Vanajavesi river.
