Russian public procurement reform II project

Public procurement in Russia is now more effective, efficient and transparent following a two-year reform project. The project introduced monitoring tools, set up an e-procurement system, and trained Russian procurement officers. Crown Agents was responsible for the training element.

The project activities took place in two pilot regions; Karelia Republic and Yaroslavl oblast. Larissa Kokareva, Crown Agents country manager in Russia, was deputy team leader on the project and was responsible for the training component. She undertook a full training needs assessment at the beginning of the project. We then designed suitable training materials and organized relevant study tours. In total 507 public procurement specialists attended 14 seminars and workshops; over 300 more than originally required. The participants' professional level of public procurement has now considerably improved and a new regional public procurement training centre is being established in Karelia Republic.

Not only did the project train procurement specialists, but we also built capacity by training 20 Russian procurement specialists to become trainers too. This will ensure that our work is sustainable. The 'train the trainer' textbook has been published and is to be distributed throughout Russia. This will help to improve professionalism in procurement throughout the country.