In brief Austrian procurement law is seen as transparent and legally certain, but slow and not very practicable. For 2030, respondents above all want simplification and acceleration, more discretion and a stronger focus on quality rather than price. This is shown by the Vergaberadar 2030 study with 211 respondents.
About the study
Between 23 June and 30 September 2026, TQS Research & Consulting surveyed a total of 211 procurement experts online. 160 of them are contracting authorities, including public contracting authorities, sector contracting entities and state-related companies. 51 come from law firms, academia, the legislature and the media. The margin of error is ± 7 percentage points. The study was commissioned by Schramm Öhler Rechtsanwälte and Business Circle.
Legally certain, but too slow
On a scale from 1 (not met at all) to 7 (fully met), respondents rated how well current procurement law meets its objectives. Transparency (5.27) and legal certainty (5.04) score best. Innovation (3.24) and speed (2.93) are weakest.
Values as a table
| Objective | Mean |
|---|---|
| Transparency | 5.27 |
| Legal certainty | 5.04 |
| Competition | 4.67 |
| Sustainability | 3.85 |
| Crisis resilience | 3.40 |
| Practicability | 3.34 |
| Innovation | 3.24 |
| Speed | 2.93 |
More quality, less focus on price
Asked where procurement law should position itself in 2030, respondents clearly lean towards more discretion rather than strict formalisation (70.7 on a scale from 0 to 100) and towards a focus on quality and impact rather than price (64.6). Among law firms, academia, the legislature and the media, the wish for a quality focus is even more pronounced at 68.7 than among contracting authorities (63.3).
One respondent describes the target vision as follows: “In 2030, the procurement system enables the selection of the best supply solution – not merely the formally best offer.”
Existing scope is hardly used
Existing legal scope is only partly exploited. On average, its use is 58.6 out of 100. Only around one fifth of respondents say they use it (almost) fully. 40 per cent describe practice as “rather pragmatic and effective”, 34 per cent as “rather formally correct than innovative” and 22 per cent as “rather slow and unassailable”. Only 4 per cent say “rather experiment than block”.
Decisions are shaped above all by audit pressure from the Court of Audit (4.77 out of 7) and internal approval structures (4.65), followed by fear of review proceedings (4.39).
The greatest effort comes before the procedure
Contracting authorities see the greatest effort in the specification of services: 63 per cent rate it as high or very high. This is followed by internal coordination (59 per cent) and the coordination of documents (58 per cent). The evaluation of awards causes comparatively little effort (21 per cent).
What this means for awarding creative services
The study does not ask specifically about communication services. Its results, however, apply there in particular. Creative quality can only be procured sensibly with quality-oriented award models. And the effort is concentrated exactly where most mistakes are made in agency tenders: in the specification of services and the briefing.
Our conclusion: anyone who wants to use the existing scope needs criteria that make quality tangible and documentation that withstands review by the Court of Audit and review bodies. Award criteria for creative services
Further results
- Need for reform: Simplification is named by a wide margin as the most urgent area for reform, ahead of acceleration.
- Artificial intelligence: Respondents see useful support above all in market research, reporting, contract analysis and documentation. 76 per cent say award decisions should never be automated.
- Sources of information: Personal exchange (70 per cent), seminars (68 per cent) and law firm newsletters (64 per cent) are the most important sources on procurement law.