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Jorge Lynch

Procurement in Context: Project Procurement

Project Procurement is also a process used to acquire goods and services,but what distinguishes project procurement from other forms of procurementare the series of procurement activities carried out during the execution of aproject, some interdependent and some not. Project objectives arepredetermined primarily in the project proposal, and there are acorresponding set of procurement activities undertaken in accordance withthe project procurement plan over a period of time to achieve the projectobjectives.

Project procurement is dependent on the objectives and goals of the projectwhich it supports. It is a fundamental part of project management because it is crucial to the success of theproject that procurement activities are appropriately planned and executed; hence, project procurement planningand strategy development are vital to the implementation and successful outcome of a project.

For our purposes project procurement will be classified, based on the sector served, as public sector projectprocurement and private sector project procurement.

Public Sector Project ProcurementPublic sector project procurement supports projects funded and developed to meet the objectives of government,including the provision of public goods and services to the population. These public sector projects (building ofroads, bridges, dams, electric power plants, hospitals, schools, ferries, etc.) can be donor funded, governmentfunded, a combination of both, or funded through public private or public-public partnerships; however, regardlessof their funding arrangement, their distinguishing factor is that the purpose these projects serve is entirely public.

Private Sector Project ProcurementPrivate sector project procurement focuses on procurement activities that satisfy the requirements of projectsdone for private sector entities, such as small, medium or large businesses and corporations, and which areprimarily profit-making in nature given that their main objective is the monetary benefit of the owners orshareholders of the business.

To conclude, based on the sector served, Procurement can be classified as follows:

Public Sector Procurement,

Private Sector Procurement,

Project Procurement (further classified as):

- Public Sector Project Procurement and

- Private Sector Project Procurement.

Our Procurement ClassRoom will focus primarily on Public Sector Procurement and Contract Administration, andto a lesser extent to Public Sector Project Procurement (primarily donor funded).