Selecting suitable e-procurement decision models for the maldivian public sector by evaluating mcda methods

Public sector procurement is governed by laws and regulations enforcing a rigid structure with multiple criteria for assessing and selecting suppliers. This paper analyses legal and operational requirements of public sector e-procurement of the Maldives education sector. The research was based on a desktop review of traditional academic sources as well as gray literature to identify legal and fiscal constraints and regulations, followed by a field research to identify operational requirements. Subsequently, an evaluation study, which applied the findings of the desktop study and the field research, was conducted to select an appropriate Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method for that specific context. After a thorough analysis of MCDA methods, two methods emerged as applicable for the Maldivian context and capable of meeting both operational and legal constraints. The paper provides an extensive discussion on the selection of suitable MCDA methods for Maldivian public sector procurement requirements.