DESCRIPTION

The Public Buyers Community is a collaborative digital platform initiated by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) to support modernisation and strategic use of public procurement across the European Union. It functions as a community of practice for public buyers — including cities, regional authorities, central purchasing bodies and other public entities — to exchange knowledge, share practices, participate in thematic working groups, and develop capacity in sustainable, innovative, and strategic procurement.

The platform organises procurement practitioners into Communities of Practice (CoPs) focused on specific sectors or policy priorities (e.g., social procurement, zero-emission buses, circular ICT, innovation procurement, healthcare sustainability). Members can share resources, reports, training, events, and collaborative workflows tailored to different procurement challenges, from green and social procurement to digital and AI-related buying.

The Public Buyers Community also complements EU initiatives such as Big Buyers Working Together, which encourages public authorities to combine demand and strategic market engagement for sustainable and innovative solutions.

Tags: public procurement, sustainable procurement, innovation procurement, collaborative platform, communities of practice, strategic procurement, EU procurement, knowledge exchange, capacity building

LINKS

Official site: https://public-buyers-community.ec.europa.eu/

Communities listing: https://public-buyers-community.ec.europa.eu/communities

SOURCE

The Public Buyers Community Platform is managed by the European Commission (DG GROW) as a strategic tool to enhance procurement practices across the EU, enabling peer collaboration, capacity building, and knowledge sharing among public procurement practitioners.

YEAR

Launched in 2023 and actively evolving with new communities, resources and events throughout 2024–2026