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Bestek - Public Procurement Central

You might ask: why include the cutlery symbol in the Bestek logo?

No, we did not start a restaurant.

Well, ‘Bestek’ is a Dutch word with a double meaning. Most Dutchies know it as ‘cutlery’. Therefore, it fits our love for food and wine. However, public procurement affecionados in the Netherlands will also know it as a reference to the written wishes and demands of a contracting authority that aims to tender a public contract. So there you have it: the circle is complete.

BESTEK – Public Procurement Central is a fun and light-hearted place for insightful and in-depth conversations about public procurement law in a fun manner – dare we say.

Willem Janssen is an Associate Professor in European and Dutch Public Procurement Law at the law department of Utrecht University, and a researcher at the Centre for Public Procurement (UUCEPP) and Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe (RENFORCE).

His line of research on public procurement law focusses on sustainable and responsible outsourcing and insourcing in the public procurement (law) context. He was a visiting fellow at George Washington University (D.C.) and at Copenhagen University. He is often asked to provide expert opinions and has led research projects for various public authorities and market parties, including the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Affairs and Ministry of Economic Affairs.

In addition to having presented his work at, amongst others, Universities of Oxford, Antwerp, Turin, Nottingham, his work has been published in various international and Dutch academic journals. In 2018, he published his monologue on the influence of EU public procurement law on self-organisation by public authorities (reviewed in Tijdschrift Aanbestedingsrecht & Staatssteunrecht, SEW and C.M.L.R.), and led a committee that advised the Dutch State Secretary of Economic Affairs on improving public procurement practices in the Netherlands.

Marta Andhov is recognised expert in public procurement law. Currently, she holds a position of associate professor at the at Faculty of Law, the University of Copenhagen. Her main research interests focus on public procurement law, sustainability, governmental contracts and interaction between public and private law in the context of international trade.

Marta's projects
Projects
Marta's projects
INSIGHTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

In the past, Marta has provided her insight and expertise to key projects for the European Commission, EU Parliament, and Danish Institute for Human Rights. She contributed to the professionalization of the procurement sector through collaboration, teaching and training at multiple universities, national procurement agencies and various institutions and public authorities (e.g. Dansk Initiativ For Etisk Handel, Municipality of Copenhagen), including a series of seminars/training for the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (Italy) and Procurement Regulation Postgraduate Diploma at King’s College, (United Kingdom). Advocate General, in his opinion to Case  C-332/20, referred to Marta’s research, as well as EU Commission, WTO and UNEP are some of the decision-makers that have cited her work.

Marta's projects
COLLABORATIONS

In 2019, Marta was a Visiting Scholar at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law (New York) at Pace University’s Environmental Program which is ranked #1 program in the United States. Marta also frequently collaborates with research centres and practitioners worldwide, most recently on sustainable capital cities with the George Washington University in the United States and visual contracting in public procurement with the University of Western Australia.

Marta's projects
Teaching

At the University of Copenhagen, she teaches

  • EU Public Procurement Law / EU Udbudsret
  • Sustainable Public Procurement
  • Government Contracting.
Marta's projects
Education

Before taking up her position at the University of Copenhagen, she completed her postdoctoral fellowship and her PhD at Aarhus University, Denmark. During that time, Marta was a visiting scholar at Murdoch University, Australia and the Institute for Competition & Procurement Studies, Bangor University, United Kingdom.

Her 2019 co-edited book, Cost and EU Public Procurement Law – Life-Cycle Costing for Sustainability, contributes to developing life-cycle criteria tools and methodologies for public procurement in the EU.

Sven Mikulic is a student research assistant at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law, and is currently pursuing an MSc degree in International Business and Politics at Copenhagen Business School. As part of the BESTEK team, he manages the Bestek website and handles its SoMe. 

Aside from this, he is actively contributing to PurpLE, SAPIENS Network, and COCOREADO  projects with a research focus on the economic analysis of sustainable public procurement law and policies. He is also researching contract automation systems and other LegalTech topics from a business perspective within Copenhagen Legal Tech Lab.

CONTRIBUTORS

DUTCH PODCAST 

Matanja Pinto
Matanja Pinto

Matanja Pinto is an attorney at law since 2005 and an expert in the field of procurement law, has a passion for radio, and is a host of the Dutch episodes of Bestek – de Aanbestedingspodcast. His vast experience in complex matters and matters of high value make him the attorney of choice for many large organizations. Matanja’s focus on sustainability and all phases of the lifecycle of property is highly valued by his clients.

Matanja is co-author of ‘Tekst & Commentaar Aanbestedingsrecht’ published by Kluwer and ‘Commentaar Aanbestedingsrecht’ published by Sdu, the standard texts on procurement law. He is a PhD candidate at Maastricht University and writes about free will and private law. He teaches courses on purchasing and procurement.

BLOG

Editors

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Editors

THANKS: Ezgi Uysal, Nadia Sava Magdalena Maria Socha,

01

Bestek Discusses…

…the world of public procurement law via our discussions, we hope to contribute to solutions and a better understanding of public procurement law through BESTEK.

02

Bestek
Makes…

…research accessible. Research results often do not reach the place in which it matters the most. Through the BESTEK – Public Procurement Central, we aim to make such findings accessible to the public procurement world by providing a starting point for discussions between academics, attorneys, public officials, contracting officers, judges and policymakers.

03

Bestek Improves…

…the public image of public procurement. Ultimately, Bestek hopes to contribute to a better understanding of public procurement (law). The public debate often sketches a somewhat limited view of the added value and workings of public procurement rules and practices. BESTEK attempts to fight fake news and aims to balance the debate by highlighting benefits and negative effects.

Our Podcasts

Dr. WiIlem Janssen, dr. Marta Andhov and Matanja Pinto take great pleasure into crafting BESTEK podcast episodes that can start discussions about public procurement law and practice. Join them in improving the public procurement worlds!

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OUR Research

Research results often do not reach the place in which it matters the most. At BESTEK, we aim to make such findings accessible to the public procurement world. We provide a starting point for discussions between academics, attorneys, public officials, contracting officers, judges and policymakers through our articles on this website. We also publish our own research and share that with our visitors through the BESTEK.

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