Lear provided an independent economic assessment for an Italian waste management and recycling consortium on the optimal auction mechanism to adopt for the allocation of the collected material. Starting from a thourough economic literature review of all the auction mechanisms (i.e. sealed bid-first price, English auction, Dutch auction and Vickrey auction), Lear carried out economic analyses to verify the potential effect on the competitive dynamics in the market for recycled paper resulting from the adoption of one of these auction mechanisms, given the reference framework

Lear provided an independent economic assessment on the competitive impact of a revision of the current auction system implemented by a waste management and recycling consortium to allocate the collected material. In order to assess the compliance to competition principles, Lear delivered an economic analysis of the potential criticalities that may arise from an extension of the contract duration and the introduction of a price indexing mechanism for the awarded contracts. Both aspects are to be firstly implemented only on a selection of contracts in a pilot phase in order to assess the effectiveness of this revision.

Lear, in partnership with PPG, assisted the Bosnian Public Procurement Review Body in undertaking concrete steps to improve its system of protection of rights through targeted capacity building programmes. This project was financed by the EBRD, through UK Aid funds and consisted in the preparation and delivery of a series of trainings on remedies in public procurement procedures tailored to different stakeholders: the Bosnian Public Procurement Review Body members and staff, contracting authorities and bidders.

Lear, in partnership with PPG, provided technical assistance to the Bosnian public Procurement Review Body in the process of reforming its internal appeal review procedures. This project was financed by EBRD, through UK Aid funds, and had the goal of further strengthening PRB’s institutional framework in order to overcome its existing operational challenges and bottlenecks. To this end, Lear implemented the following activities: (i) development of an Action Plan for the Institutional strengthening and efficiency measures for the Bosnian public Procurement Review Body; (ii) preparation of a “Compendium of Legal Cases”; and (iii) design of an IT solution for the digitalization of the complaint appeal cases

Lear’s economists provided technical assistance to the Serbian Republic Commission for Protection of Rights. The expected outcome of the project was the enhancement of the system for protection of rights in public procurement procedures. Lear firstly developed two training programmes, one targeted to the staff and officials of the Serbian Republic Commission for Protection of Rights to strengthen their professional capacity; and one targeted to bidders from the Western Balkans region.

Secondly, Lear fostered the cooperation with other relevant complaint review bodies in the Western Balkans, through the organization of a Regional Conference and the creation of a Network of Institutions. Finally, Lear produced a Report with a comprehensive analysis of the system for protection of rights in Serbia and a Manual on Protection of Bidders Rights in public procurement, consisting in a practical toolkit that provides any tenderers or interested parties with essential information on how to use legal remedies in Serbia.

Lear’s economists provided technical assistance to the Serbian Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government under EBRD’s Programme for Enhancing Public Procurement Practices in Serbia. Lear’s experts conducted a review of the entire public procurement system in Serbia, from the legal and regulatory framework to the institutional system and management capacity. Lear also conducted a benchmarking exercise against international standards and against other countries of the Western Balkans region and of the European Union. Based on the findings of these activities, Lear prepared an implementable Action Plan, which identified a set of specific objectives and activities to enhance Serbian public procurement system, including performance indicators, risk management strategies and potential responsible institutions.