Strengthening administrative capacities in the Croatian public procurement system

The Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts of the Republic of Croatia is the central government body responsible for the development, improvement and coordination of Croatia’s public procurement system. Its responsibilities include professional support to procurement stakeholders, public procurement training and certification, management of the Public Procurement Portal, and analytical monitoring of the system.

Croatia was entering a major change in public procurement practice driven by the new EU procurement directives and the stronger role of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) criterion. The central challenge was not merely regulatory compliance, but the practical ability of contracting authorities to design, evaluate and defend quality-based award criteria while continuing to ensure transparency, value for money and a low level of procurement irregularities.

At the start of the project, public procurement practice was still strongly price-oriented. The project had to identify the real barriers to wider use of MEAT, strengthen the knowledge of central and local contracting authorities, provide practical tools and examples, and improve the Ministry’s own administrative processes and digital infrastructure for public procurement training and certification.

The assignment combined policy and legal analysis, a nationwide empirical survey, preparation of a comprehensive practitioner manual, large-scale training, international benchmarking and knowledge transfer, business-process redesign, and development of a new web-based information system – all within a 12-month implementation period and in close coordination with the Ministry and CFCA/SAFU.

The team used an integrated evidence-to-implementation approach: diagnose the system, identify the most important practical gaps, translate the findings into guidance and training, benchmark good EU practice, redesign internal processes, and digitalise the resulting administrative workflows.

The starting point was to connect system-level improvement with practical training delivery, combining analysis of capacity gaps, development of educational content, delivery of trainings and dissemination of project results.

We began with an evidence-based diagnosis, analysing the legal and regulatory framework for public procurement training and certification and designing a nationwide web survey of public and sectoral contracting authorities. Distributed through the Croatian Electronic Public Procurement Classifieds (EOJN), the survey generated 623 completed questionnaires, substantially exceeding the target sample of 420.

This fed into a data-driven needs assessment, analysing procurement behaviour, use of MEAT, training needs, qualification requirements and recurring practical problems. The findings showed, among other things, that 77.05% of respondents had not used MEAT criteria, providing a clear evidence base for the project’s subsequent interventions.

Based on this evidence, we developed a comprehensive MEAT practitioner manual with concrete examples for frequently procured categories, including energy, technical services, construction and equipping of kindergartens, road works, IT equipment and software. The manual also covered technical specifications, economic/financial and technical/professional capacity requirements, typical errors and practical recommendations.

We then moved to capacity building at national scale, designing and delivering a two-day specialist workshop for central public procurement institutions and eight one-day regional workshops in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek, Varaždin, Zadar, Pula and Dubrovnik, using the manual, exercises and real-life procurement cases as core training material. The relevance of this training framework was further tested through pilot trainings in two statistical regions.

To support EU benchmarking and peer learning, we selected Finland, based on its successful use of MEAT and organised a study visit for 10 Ministry officials, with meetings including the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Ministry of Finance, Hansel Oy, Market Court, City of Helsinki, Motiva and public procurement experts.

In parallel, we carried out business-process redesign and digitalisation, mapping the Ministry’s processes for public procurement certification, training-provider authorisation and approval of professional-development programmes, preparing improvement and technical specifications, and translating these into a new web-based application and electronic database.

Throughout, the project relied on close, iterative client collaboration. Draft analysis, the manual, process designs and technical specifications were reviewed with the beneficiary, and comments from institutional stakeholders and training participants were incorporated before finalisation.

This required close coordination with the Ministry, SAFU and local and regional stakeholders – public information confirms the project was presented to county prefects and regional coordinators as part of broader efforts to improve project preparation and implementation and increase the use of EU funds.

The work was structured around three contract components: system improvement, pilot training implementation, and final promotional event organisation, relying throughout on capacity needs assessment, curriculum and training material development, adult learning methodology, pilot training delivery, participant feedback and promotional activities.

All seven contractual result areas were completed.

The national survey reached 623 contracting authorities, well above the target of 420, producing a clear picture of training needs and practical barriers to using MEAT. This informed a comprehensive practitioner manual, published on the Public Procurement Portal and printed in 1,200 copies across two editions.

Training combined a two-day central workshop for 60 participants with eight regional workshops reaching 299 participants across Croatia, rated 4.81/5 on average, plus a five-day study visit to Finland for 10 officials to learn from leading procurement institutions.

The Ministry’s certification and training-management processes were redesigned and digitalised into a new web-based application and database, supporting online applications, electronic certificates, searchable registers, automated exams and reporting – improving transparency, speeding up certification, and cutting administrative effort. Seven staff were trained to operate the system.

The project closed with a final conference for 65 participants, covered by national television.

The project demonstrates how public administrations can build lasting EU funds capacity by:

• Establishing a structured training system with practical content, aligned continuously with the needs of the institutions that prepare and implement projects.
• Offering local and regional stakeholders clear, operational and accessible training that helps them apply ESI Funds rules in real project situations.
• Connecting policy objectives with practical training delivery, drawing on expertise in EU funds, public administration capacity building, training design and technical assistance to translate complex rules into usable knowledge.
• Applying a transferable approach to ministries, managing authorities, intermediate bodies, regional development agencies, local governments and public institutions seeking to strengthen internal capacity for EU funds, public investment planning, project preparation and implementation.