Unified Information System In Public Procurement As A Government Digital Platform: The Present State And Prospects

Technological progress and economic incentives contribute to the rapid development and digitalization of all areas of government activity, including public procurement. The key role in digital transformation belongs to electronic platforms. They provide technological feasibility of electronic procurement process and its accessibility for all the participants. This article presents the analysis of previous studies on the use of the concept of "platform" or "state platform" in relation to the public procurement system. The authors examined regulatory and industry sources, conducted a number of semistructured interviews with experts in the field of public procurement, including questions about the general understanding of the term "public digital platform", the presence of signs of digital platforms in the existing public procurement system, its further development, taking into account the capabilities of platform technolo gies and, in general, their applicability in the Russian context. Based on the analysis carried out, for the first time in Russian practice, an integrated approach is presented for defining a digital platform in the field of public procurement. We identified ten main features that characterize a digital platform in the field of public procurement. On the basis of these features, the Russian unified procurement information system (UPIS) in the field of procurement was analyzed for its compliance with the concept of a digital platform and it was concluded that at present the UPIS cannot be called a state digital platform either by itself or as part of a complex of information systems of electronic platforms. Taking into account the already created and functioning ecosystem in the field of public procurement, it seems inappropriate to digitally transform the public procurement system into a single platform. In general, it was concluded that the EIS in the field of public procurement certainly needs to be developed, not due to the large-scale platformization of the system, but through the development of mechanisms for specific services due to their local approximation to the general logic and highlighted features of the platform approach.