Section for regulation, monitoring and supervision of administrative matters

As a result of the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, the Section for regulation, control and supervision in administrative matters includes the internal service of the Archives and performs its main functions in the areas of procurement regulation and information technology.

In the first sector, this Section formulates proposals for the regulations, guidelines, directions and procedures regarding procurement, providing support and promoting the compliance of procurement procedures with current regulations.

As for the field of information technology, the Section serves the Entities and oversees the computerization of formats and procedures in order to simplify operations and to promote a rational organization of information in the administrative sphere and the efficiency of controls.

With an Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio dated May 19, 2020, the "Norms on transparency, control and competition in the procedures for awarding public contracts of the Holy See and Vatican City State" were adopted, which incorporate international best practices in the field of public contracts and implement those principles established by the United Nations Convention against Corruption, to which the Holy See had already adhered in September 2016.

The "Norms" establish an effective system for managing the resources that the Holy See administers, with the goal of pursuing the ends that are proper to the Church (C.I.C., can. 1254).

Within this framework, the Procurement Regulation Office was established, which, from a perspective of service to entities, interprets and applies the "Norms", ensures that they are updated, guarantees compliance and defines guidelines, models and operating procedures.

The Procurement Regulation Office, as an independent body with respect to the central purchasing offices (APSA and the Governorate of the Vatican City State) and the entities seeking to purchase goods and services, with a view to segregation of functions, mainly carries out the following activities:

i)      verification and monitoring of the process of requirements on the part of economic operators, for the purpose of accreditation in the IT Vendor list;

ii)     definition of supplier performance evaluation standards;

iii)    update of the list of those qualified for the roles of project designer, expert and member of the Tender Selection Committee, and select those who serve as tender commissioners;

iv)    definition of the periodic process of reviewing and updating reference prices;

v)     support of Entities for the purposes of procurement planning and preparation of internal procedures, including those aimed at the decentralization from centralized Authorities.

In carrying out the afore-mentioned activities, the Office works in dialogue with the Centralized Authorities and promotes an exchange of information (a) with the Monitoring and Supervision Area and the Human Resources Department of the Secretariat for the Economy, on issues of common interest, (b) with the Auditor General’s Office, in its capacity as an anti-corruption authority, and (c) with the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority.

The Regulations section of the website www.bandipubblici.va includes all the reference documents related to the management of public procurement, including the primary legislation (the "Norms") and the Regulations that implement them, together with the Guidelines dictated as well as the different procedures issued, including the procedure for registering economic operators in the IT Vendor list.

The institutional function of the CED is to place itself at the service of Entities and support them by promoting process efficiency through the use of the latest information technology.

At the same time, the CED represents the tool to support a more rational organization of the Holy See's economic and financial information and computerize the underlying models and procedures, so as to ensure the simplification of activities and the effectiveness of controls.

With this in mind, the CED provides guidelines encouraging the adoption of common IT solutions and the integration of infrastructures into a single data centre. This directive is geared toward ensuring secure management of data and systems in accordance with industry best practices, to ensure, from a technical point of view, the integrity and accessibility of information, and, from an economic point of view, to optimize investments, thus reducing costs.

In running the datacentre, CED hosts systems, software and databases of the Holy See Entities for which it provides services of Digital Identity and single sign on, application servers, collaboration, databases, hosting or housing of IT systems and centralized backup. In addition, the CED takes care of managing the workstations of the Entities' staff by providing installation and set-up services, hardening, trouble ticketing, installation and updating of pertinent software, centralized monitoring, antiviruses and prevention of security breaches. In the field of security, the CED works in constant synergy with other Vatican Entities, the Governorate of the Vatican City State and Dicastery for Communication, applying the strategies indicated by international best practices in the field.

In computerizing processes, the CED handles the analysis and collection of requirements to identify and implement the most functional solutions for the needs expressed, possibly reusable to address common needs, facilitating interoperability and integration between different systems. Where appropriate, the CED takes care of process modelling and automation through established "Business Process Management" methodologies. If the identified solution requires the acquisition of software from outside, the CED oversees the drafting of technical specifications and provides technical assistance to the Central Purchasing Body in the acquisition process implemented.