Kuntien palveluhankintojen murros. Tutkimus kuntien palveluhankintojen kilpailuttamisessa esiintyvistä ongelmista ja niiden syistä

Abstract

Kunnat tavoittelevat kumppanuuksia palveluhankinnoissaan

Palveluhankinnat ovat yksi vaikeimmista julkisten hankintojen alueesta. Ilona Lundströmin väitöskirjassa tutkitaan kuntien julkisia palveluhankintoja ja niiden hankintaprosessissa esiintyviä ongelmia. Tutkimuksesta käy ilmi, mitä ongelmia kuntien palveluhankinnoissa esiintyy ja miksi niitä esiintyy.

Hankintaprosessissa haasteita ilmenee erityisesti hankinnan suunnittelun ja tarjouspyynnön valmistelun vaiheessa. Useimmiten ongelmat kuntien palveluhankinnoissa johtuvat hankintaosaamisen puutteista. Kuntien palveluhankinnoissa haasteita aiheuttavat myös markkinat ja niiden toimimattomuus. Kuntien muutostilanteet, kuten kuntaliitokset heijastuvat niin ikään palveluhankintoihin ja aiheuttavat niissä ongelmia.

Kunnat pyrkivät palveluhankinnoissaan yhä useammin muodostamaan kumppanuuksia palveluja tuottavien yritysten kanssa. Kilpailuttaminen ei kuitenkaan tue kumppanuuksien syntymistä. Hankintamenettelyjen läpivieminen siten, että kumppanuuksien muodostaminen mahdollistuu, vaatii hankintayksiköiltä vankkaa osaamista ja suunnitelmallisuutta palveluhankinnoissa.

Suurin osa kuntien palveluhankinnoissa esiintyvistä ongelmista olisi vältettävissä hankintojen huolellisella valmistelulla. Tutkimustulosten käytäntöön jalkauttamisen voisi tiivistää hankinnan valmistelun osalta ohjeeseen: Hankinnan valmisteluun on varattava reilusti aikaa. Hankintaa kannattaa valmistella oman organisaation lisäksi potentiaalisten tarjoajien ja palvelun loppukäyttäjien, kuntalaisten kanssa. Toimimalla avoimesti ja hyödyntämällä verkostoja monet hankintaprosessin myöhemmässä vaiheessa eteen tulevat ongelmat ovat vältettävissä. Kuntien palveluhankintojen ongelmakohtien tunnistaminen ja niihin varautuminen on kunnalle keskeinen keino päästä palveluhankinnassa onnistuneeseen lopputulokseen.

Study examines the problems of public procurement process of services in Finnish municipalities. The objectives of the study are to increase understanding of problems that occur in public procurement of services in municipalities and to show in which parts of the procurement process and in which services the problems occur. The study describes the problems of service procurements in a comprehensive way so that the results of the study provide solutions to the problems for practitioners, which is done by dividing the problems by both steps of the procurement process and by the service category. The study also aims at finding links between problems of public service procurement and change in governance of municipalities so that new theoretical knowledge of changes of governance, operating environment and operations of municipalities. The study develops the theoretical basis of governance and the changing local administration through empirical evidence of public service procurement.

The empirical data of the research consists of e-mail messages sent by municipalities, cities, regions and other local level municipal actors to the Public Procurement Advisory Unit 2004-2006 holding questions about public service procurement. The Public Procurement Advisory Unit is a joint project of the Ministry of Employment and Economy and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. The Advisory Unit serves public procurement units by providing them with free advice on the public procurement law, the application of the law and good practices in procurement.

The research method in this study was qualitative content analysis. The analysis was carried out by means of abductive reasoning. The theory bound analysis was implemented at the first stage inductively. To the end of the analysis the theoretical framework influenced the reasoning as guiding principle.

The analysis resulted in six themes, which explains why the public service procurements of municipalities face problems. The themes are market, political influence, the change of local authority institution, the service provider, the mentality and skills. The themes explicate clearly the thematic areas in which the challenges in public service procurement occur.

The problems local authorities face in public service procurement become apparent in the empirical data in a way, which shows that service procurement, procurement culture and procurement environment of local authorizes hover in between old and new. Through the themes explaining the problems in service procurement a core idea and concept of the study was formed: the change in local authorities service procurement, which describes the transition from old procurement culture and environment to new one.

The change in local authorities service procurement can be divided into three distinct changes, which rise from the interpretation of research analysis. Local authorities service procurement is in transition in three dimensions which are structural change, operational change and change of control system.

Structural change consists of merger of local authorities and establishing new central purchasing bodies among others. In the background of structural change is also increasing of inter-municipal cooperation.

Operational change can be described with slogans from government to governance and from competitive tendering to procurement partnerships. The change of control system is based on co-operation and partnerships between municipalities and suppliers

The study resulted in an overall picture of local authorities service procurements problems and the causes why problems occur. The presence of the three elements in local authorities service procurement was clearly shown. The elements are: the bureaucratic and legalistic decision-making and its preparation, which constitute the formal public procurement process and at the same the bureaucratic wall which is built around the local authority during the tendering process; the competitive element, which consists of trading on the open market and; governance networks, which base on partnerships and co-operation between local authorities and suppliers.

When unwinding the study results and the core category into themes that are included in the change in local authorities service procurement, all the themes can be located in the above described elements and into the friction which is created in the interface of them. The friction of the three elements shows also the large transition that municipalities are facing in their operations and operation environment, which can be seen both in the theoretical discussion and in re-scaling of municipalities.

When the change in local authorities service procurement is seen in the light of theories of public administration, new public management and governance, the true core of the change is revealed. Old, but at the same time preserving represents the bureaucratic and legalistic administration. Old and at the same time fading paradigm is the NPM, which still describe the change of management in municipalities, but which does not as a whole describe the municipalities operating environment. The new is represented by governance theories, which reflects one of the core issues of the change in local authorities service procurement: networks and partnerships.

The friction surfaces of the elements that describe the change in local authorities service procurement also change the operating environment where local authorities purchase services. They reinforce the partnerships between the local authorities and suppliers within networks, as well as the governance networks in general as the ground for public procurement of services. The change in local authorities service procurement also include the re-scaling of municipalities and the re-drawing of the municipal borders in terms of networks in circumstances where municipalities as institution itself are undergoing change.