Governments across OECD countries are seeking to make public service delivery more efficient and cost-effective, largely because of budgetary constraints but also to respond to growing expectations from citizens. In exploring different policy options, they are finding that technical policy instruments, such as procurement contracting tools, can also be levers for change. This report looks at framework agreements in the procurement processes in Chile.

The Government Programme of Chile for the period 2014-2018 defined an ambitious set of economic, political and social reforms, including measures to improve public service delivery. These measures involved changes to public procurement to make it more sustainable and efficient.

Representing almost one-third of government expenditure, public procurement significantly impacts on the delivery of public services, either directly with the provision of infrastructure, healthcare services or educational facilities, for example, or indirectly by generating business opportunities for the private sector.

Strategic public procurement, by streamlining and rationalising processes, supports public sector transformation and productivity growth and shapes the private sector’s contribution to public service delivery. It also allows government to evaluate policy efficiency in an area that has a direct economic impact.