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#41 Sustainability Clauses in Public Contracting & Advice for First-Year PhD Students

by | April 17, 2025 | English Podcast, News, Podcast, Publications, Research | 0 Comments

In this episode, Marta and Willem invite a long-time listener and supporter of the Bestek podcast and a postdoctoral fellow at PurpLE, Ezgi Uysal,...
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#40 Reform of Public Procurement Directives & New Ways of Examining

by | March 27, 2025 | English Podcast, News, Podcast | 0 Comments

In this episode, Marta and Willem discuss a particularly exciting topic - the upcoming reform of the EU’s Public Procurement Directives. They...
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Sustainability Clauses in ‘Public’ Contracts

by | March 11, 2025 | Articles, Blog, Events, News, Publications, PURPLE, PurpLE News, Research | 0 Comments

Sustainability Clauses under the Public Sector Directive: Sustainable Performance Contract Clauses A recent publication by our new Post-Doctoral...
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#41 Sustainability Clauses in Public Contracting & Advice for First-Year PhD Students
#41 Sustainability Clauses in Public Contracting & Advice for First-Year PhD Students

#41 Sustainability Clauses in Public Contracting & Advice for First-Year PhD Students

In this episode, Marta and Willem invite a long-time listener and supporter of the Bestek podcast and a postdoctoral fellow at PurpLE, Ezgi Uysal, to discuss her research on the topic of sustainability contractual clauses (SCCs) in public procurement contracts. The podcast begins with Ezgi briefly explaining what the SCCs are and what makes them unique, before quickly diving into a discussion about the contractualization of sustainability in public procurement. The speakers then examine different types of SCCs as well as challenges concerning enforcement. They discuss the potential consequences of the failure of contracting authorities to enforce said obligations. Additionally, the speakers argue in favour of the need for improvements in contract management to deliver sustainable public procurement and communication between the contract-drafting and contract-managing teams and discuss whether these problems could be solved by a legislative intervention. For dessert, Ezgi reflects on her PhD experience and provides some heartfelt advice for the first-year PhD students and beyond.

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| Apr 17, 2025 | 38 min read

English PodcastNewsPodcast
#40 Reform of Public Procurement Directives & New Ways of Examining
#40 Reform of Public Procurement Directives & New Ways of Examining

#40 Reform of Public Procurement Directives & New Ways of Examining

In this episode, Associate Professor Marta Andhov and Professor Willem Janssen discuss a particularly exciting topic - the upcoming reform of the EU’s Public Procurement Directives. They begin by describing the reform’s timeline and discussing how it is being affected by the current geopolitical setting. In their discussion, they assess the focal points of the reform, as described by reports of Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi. The speakers then provide their personal opinions, perceptions, and concerns while discussing their key takes from the two reports. These include, among others: the calls for simplification, flexibilization, and a more strategic and inward-looking approach to the European public procurement, the concerns around the enduring low competition, and the lack of focus on green and social aspects of procurement. For dessert, the speakers once again discuss academics, focusing on alternative ways of examination. They evaluate their own experiences with the less typical ways of testing to provide their opinion of how and why they should be used.

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| Mar 27, 2025 | 41 min read

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#45 Duurzaam aanbestedingsrecht: Herijken van de interne markt voor overheidsopdrachten

#45 Duurzaam aanbestedingsrecht: Herijken van de interne markt voor overheidsopdrachten

In deze aflevering kunt u de oratie 'Duurzaam Aanbestedingsrecht: herijken van de interne markt voor overheidsopdrachten' van Willem naluisteren die hij op 13 december 2024 mocht uitspreken aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen ter aanvaarding van zijn bijzonder...

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| Feb 4, 2025 | 1 min read

English PodcastNewsPodcast
#39 Circularity and Procurement & Procurement Awards

#39 Circularity and Procurement & Procurement Awards

In this episode, Associate Professor Marta Andhov and Professor Willem Janssen discuss circularity, and how it relates to public procurement. The hosts begin by introducing the concept of circularity, its promises as well as some points of skepticism. They also explain the concept of the R scale - a useful tool in determining the circularity of an economy. They then move on to the legal aspects and ask how public procurement could be used to encourage circularity and what are the main challenges and uncertainties behind circular public procurement. Willem also introduces his project CIRCLASH. Finally, for today’s dessert section, Marta and Willem talk about procurement awards. They discuss the added value of these events, describe their hopes and perspectives, and also provide the listeners with several procurement-related law competitions that could be interesting for students, practitioners, and academics alike.

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| Jan 23, 2025 | 39 min read

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Thank You, Sven!
Thank You, Sven!

Thank You, Sven!

After more than three years as a student assistant at the University of Copenhagen, working on various procurement-related projects, Sven Mikulic has successfully graduated from Copenhagen Business School.

Sven joined the University of Copenhagen in 2021 as Associate Professor Marta Andhov’s student assistant. Over the years, he contributed to projects like the Carlsberg-funded PurpLE, the Horizon-funded COCOREADO, and the SAPIENS Network, as well as to the Bestek Podcast. His contributions included conducting research and supporting communication and dissemination activities for these projects.

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| Jan 14, 2025 | 2 min read

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Welcoming Dr. Ezgi Uysal to the PurpLE Project

Welcoming Dr. Ezgi Uysal to the PurpLE Project

We are pleased to welcome from 1st January 2025 Dr. Ezgi Uysal as a Post-Doctoral Fellow on our Purchase Power – Sustainable Public Procurement through Private Law Enforcement (PurpLE) Project.

Ezgi earned her law degree magna cum laude from İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University in Turkey and completed her master’s degree in European and International Business Law at Leiden University, graduating as valedictorian with cum laude. During her studies, she received the Jean Monnet Scholarship, which supports research on EU-related topics.

Recently, Ezgi defended her PhD thesis, “Enforcing Sustainability in Contract Performance under the Public Sector Directive,” at the University of Turin. As a Marie Curie PhD Fellow, her research was part of the SAPIENS Network, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. Her work focuses on public procurement, contract law, and sustainability.

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| Jan 7, 2025 | 2 min read

English PodcastNewsPodcast
#38 When Contracts Collide Public Procurement and Contract Law Context & Pop Culture
#38 When Contracts Collide Public Procurement and Contract Law Context & Pop Culture

#38 When Contracts Collide Public Procurement and Contract Law Context & Pop Culture

In this episode, Associate Professor Marta Andhov and Professor Willem Janssen discuss the intersection of public procurement and contract law. The topic of the research project PurpLE (Purchase Power – Sustainable Public Procurement Through Private Law Enforcement) led by Marta. This episode provides an introduction to an upcoming series of episodes that will dive deeper into its individual aspects. The hosts provide a general overview of how public procurement contracts are perceived across the EU within its many Member States, differentiating between the two models of approach - the administrative approach present in, for example, France or Spain, and the more civil commercial one presented in the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, and across Scandinavian Countries. They outline the need to differentiate two phases; the pre-contractual and post-contractual, as legal frameworks differentiate between them. Marta & Willem briefly introduce what type of practical and relevant issues arise in each of the mentioned phases, for example, the possibility of culpa in contrahendo, the issues of interpretation, and termination to name a few. Finally, for dessert, they switch gears and talk about the instances where public procurement appeared in the entertaining world of pop culture. How the pop culture references can be used and what should be your new movie, or series to watch if you want to combine your passion for procurement with some entertainment?

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| Dec 11, 2024 | 40 min read

English PodcastNewsPodcast
#37 Societal Challenges and Interdisciplinary Work in Public Procurement & Teaching the Interdisciplinary Aspects to Students

#37 Societal Challenges and Interdisciplinary Work in Public Procurement & Teaching the Interdisciplinary Aspects to Students

In this episode, Marta and Willem discuss interdisciplinary work in public procurement and law in general. They reflect on their many personal experiences of working across disciplines and examine the recent push for interdisciplinary work in academia. They evaluate the positives, the negatives, and the relevance of both simple mono-disciplinary work in public procurement law, and inter-disciplinary collaborations and projects, focusing on the most common challenges and how to overcome them. In their discussion, they emphasize the importance of openness and mutual understanding in interdisciplinary collaborations. They discuss the optimal time for crossing disciplines during one’s studies and finally, for dessert, they talk about their approaches to teaching the interdisciplinary aspects of public procurement to their students.

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| Nov 14, 2024 | 35 min read

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