Consip is an Italian

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

company that provides frameworks and consultation for the

procurement Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual ...

of public

goods and services Goods are items that are usually (but not always) tangible, such as pens or Apple, apples. Services are activities provided by other people, such as teachers or barbers. Taken together, it is the Production (economics), production, distributio ...

. It was set up as a

joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...

in 1997 and is owned by Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), which is the sole shareholder. The company operates in keeping with the MEF's strategic goals, working exclusively to serve the

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

. Consip’s mission is to make the use of public resources more efficient and transparent, by providing tools and skills to

. The goal is to allow them to perform public purchases and at the same time stimulate a competitive participation of enterprises to public tenders. Consip is a member of the

Procurement G6 The Procurement G6 is an informal group of six national central purchasing bodies. It is also known as the Multilateral Meeting on Government Procurement (MMGP). Members Members of the Procurement G6 are: * : Public Services and Procurement Cana ...

, an informal group leading the use of framework agreements and

e-procurement E-procurement (electronic procurement, sometimes also known as supplier exchange) is a collective term used to refer to a range of technologies which can be used to automate the internal and external processes associated with procurement, strat ...

instruments in

public procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the purchase of goods, works (construction) or services by the state, such as by a government agency or a state-owned enterprise. In 2019, public procurement accounted for approximately 12% of GDP ...

. Consip obtained the ISO 9001:2008 quality certification for the “design, implementation and launching of framework contracts and e-marketplaces for the

of public Goods and Services, in its role as a central purchasing body”.

History

Consip, under the original name of CON.S.I.P. “Concessionaria Servizi Informativi Pubblici”, was founded in 1997 for the purpose of bringing about changes in IT management for the former Italian Ministry of the treasury, budget, and economic planning. Through Legislative Decree n. 414 of 19 November 1997, Consip was assigned with ICT activities for Italy’s national

in the areas of finance and accounting. Subsequently, through the Decrees of the Ministry of the treasury of 22 December 1997 and 17 June 1998, the company was put in charge of managing and developing ICT services for said Ministry. Two years later, Consip was assigned with launching the “Programme for the rationalization of public administration purchases”. In fact, in enforcing the 2000 Budget law, through the Ministerial Decree of 24 February 2000, the Ministry of economy and finance put Consip in charge of assisting the public administrations with their procurement of goods and services. Over the years, many projects have influenced the development of activities assigned to the company. Today, Consip operates as Italy’s central purchasing body, providing support for individual PAs, and carrying out new tasks assigned through legal provisions and/or administrative acts.

Main activities

The company carries out activities in consulting, assistance, and support in procuring goods and services for Public Administrations (PAs). Consip’s activities involve three main areas: * as central purchasing body, it runs the Programme for the rationalisation of public administration purchases, through the use of ICT and innovative procurement tools: framework contracts, e-marketplace for public administration, framework agreements, dynamic purchasing system, ASP tenders (Central

Procurement Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual ...

Area). * based on specific agreements, it supports the individual PAs in all areas throughout the procurement process (Vertical

Area). * through legal provisions and/or administrative acts, it develops programmes that make use of its know-how in the area of procurement, as well as its ability to manage complex and innovative projects in the sphere of Public Administration (Other Initiatives Area).

Methodology

Consip offers

consultancy A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Con ...

and project-design services, having developed, over time, technical, legal and project

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

skills. Consip is a competence centre specialized in all phases of the procurement value chain; it stands beside public administrations both in the procurement

strategic planning Strategic planning is the activity undertaken by an organization through which it seeks to define its future direction and makes decisions such as resource allocation aimed at achieving its intended goals. "Strategy" has many definitions, but it ...

phase and in the real purchasing phase, by providing e-procurement tools, assistance, and consultancy. Consip relies on about 340 staff members, with an average age of 43 years. 83% of the employees are university graduates and 51% of them are women.

Board of directors

Consip's board of directors chronology:

Acknowledgements

Best Practice in Public Assets Award – 6th year, 2015.European Energy Service Award - Category “Best European Energy Service Promoter”, 2014.Ambrogio Lorenzetti Award for Corporate Governance, 2014.European European eGovernment Award, 2009.European Public Service Award, 2009.

References

External links

*
Ministry of economy and financeConsip e-procurement platform
{{authority control Government-owned companies of Italy Companies based in Rome Italian companies established in 1997 Public eProcurement