Influencing factors and recommendations to foster cross-border, interoperable public services in Europe
While public procurement accounts for over 14% of the EU GDP, cross-border GovTech procurement remains a limited practice rather than an established norm in the European Union, accounting for less than three percent of all public tenders. This study provides the first systematic, data-driven analysis on public administrations as procurers (the buyer side) of the GovTech ecosystem, identifying the institutional, strategic, and governance factors that shape public administrations’ readiness to procure innovative digital solutions across borders.
Based on more than 1.6 million procurement records from Tenders Electronic Daily and complemented by interviews with practitioners from public administrations across Europe and expert from the area, the results show that innovation-oriented strategies, professional procurement structures, and flexible procedures significantly, increase the likelihood of cross-border engagement by public administrations that combine these internal capabilities with external openness, transparency and market awareness form the most dynamic segment of Europe’s emerging GovTech market.
The policy implications and recommendations described in this study extend beyond the GovTech area and procurement itself. They underline the importance of policy coherence and regulatory coordination at all levels (EU, national and regional/local level), strategic behaviour and administrative capability, market knowledge and institutional trust as necessary preconditions for an integrated European GovTech market.
NIEHAVES Björn;
KLASSEN Gerhard;
MANZONI Marina;
2026-03-19
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC145627
978-92-68-37481-8 (online),
978-92-68-37482-5 (print),
OP KJ-01-26-066-EN-N (online),
OP KJ-01-26-066-EN-C (print),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC145627,
10.2760/5278978 (online),
10.2760/4205711 (print),
