The 5th Workshop of the International Study of Public Procurement was hosted by the University of International Relations in Beijing, October 2011.

The theme of this workshop was to understand: 

How Successful governments are in delivering public procurement opportunities to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Participants were invited to prepare and discuss papers outlining the approach in their respective countries for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in contracts and tenders offered by the public procurement sector.

The research better understood the efforts undertaken in participant countries to enhance the opportunities for SMEs to compete for government contracts. Specifically:

• Whether there were any laws or regulations that require public procurement to ensure that SMEs have an opportunity to win both large and small contracts?
• How SMEs could be assisted to ensure they are both competitive and able to connect with public procurement contracting opportunities?
• To establish whether regulations enhance the opportunities for SMEs work in practice or are SMEs excluded from major contractual opportunities?
• This research provided a set of policy and practice outcomes to support public policy practitioners across the globe.

Our sincere thanks to the solo sponsor for IRSPP5