The aim of the project "Support to Governance Reforms in the Ministry of Defense" implemented by the Center for Change Management - CUP (www.cup.org.mk), and financially supported by the Government of the United Kingdom, is to contribute to better governance in the Ministry for defense through the establishment of a system for planning, monitoring and early warning regarding the public procurement processes in the ministry.
The system presented at this event is designed and prepared in an inclusive process, ie with the active participation of the users from the MoD and the General Staff, based on the thematic analysis of the process in the MoD regarding public procurement.
The system enables automation of processes in most of the steps of preparation, implementation of procurement, as well as monitoring the implementation of contracts. This modernization refers to the processes that take place within the MoD and the General Staff of the Army (GS), while all procedures for conducting public procurement in terms of their publication, communication to suppliers and electronic auctions are coordinated by the Public Procurement Bureau and not is part of the newly developed MoD system.
The new electronic system introduces management modules:
- Procurement planning of the MoD and GS
- preparation of all internal procurement documents (tender documentation)
- initiating and conducting procurements
- monitoring the implementation of the agreements
- issuing orders within the concluded contracts
- quality control.
In order to be included in the system, the MoD standardized a number of forms for the documents that the system now automatically produces, which will require minimal work by employees. The system will store all documents for conducted public procurements of the MoD and the General Staff, but also all special procured items, which will provide an institutional memory that will facilitate future work. Since the MoD and the General Staff usually repeat the procurements on an annual basis, in this way all the data on the items that are repeated will already be existing in the system, ready for use in the future.
The system also includes early warning of deadlines that apply to all public procurement processes, e.g. for the start or deadline for the implementation of the procedures, for which the users will be automatically notified. On the other hand, the management in the institution will have more control over the public procurement procedures through a transparent review of the status of all procurements and whether the given deadlines are respected. If there is a problem or delay in some procurements, the management will have equal insight and will be warned in a timely manner. This review of all procurements in each of their phases gives an overview of the responsibilities between the employees in the MoD and the General Staff, which again gives the management the opportunity to manage the processes more efficiently.
Although the public procurement management system is an internal system and will not be open to the public, it will provide data that the ministry can proactively publish to inform citizens.
In the next period, the Logistics Sector in the MoD and the Section J-4 in the General Staff, which are the main users of the system, will test it with the support of project experts, will fill it with data, and in parallel will train a wider range of users. in the MoD and GS how to practically use the system.
More about the project at: https://cup.org.mk/proekti/support-for-improved-governance-in-the-ministry-of-defence-of-north-macedonia
Date: 01.11.2024
Date: 06.10.2024