Public procurement accounts for a significant proportion of overall demand for goods and services and is increasingly seen as an attractive and feasible instrument for furthering the goals of innovation policy. However, public procurement is already expected to address a wide range of social...

The paper provides an overview of the development of public procurement (PP) rules in the EU and in selected international organisations. The EU rules were originally designed to foster competition and efficiency, and the dominant award criterion was the price. Over time, and in particular in...