The procurement processes of Dutch municipalities play a crucial role in achieving social goals,ensuring transparency, and complying with laws and regulations. In particular, the contract management and purchase-to-pay (P2P) components determine the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal procurement. In 2020, Snijders developed the CEP maturity model to support municipalities in assessing and improving their procurement maturity. Since then, however, various trends, such as digitization, sustainability, and changing organizational dynamics, have not been adequately incorporated into the model, making it less applicable and up-to-date. Moreover, recent knowledge about the maturity level of municipalities in 2025 is lacking.
This study had a dual purpose. First, the existing CEP model was evaluated and improved based on feedback from ten domain experts collected through a survey and two focus group sessions. Among other things, the revision led to the addition of an initial level and more nuance between successive maturity levels. The revised model was then applied in a nationwide survey of 88 municipalities aimed at measuring current and desired maturity levels. The results show that the current average maturity level is low (M = 1.94 on a scale of 1 to 5), with many municipalities, especially in the operational area, being at the fundamental or organized level. At the same time, ambition is high. On average, municipalities aim to achieve a level of 3.63 within five years, particularly toward the standardized level. The second goal of the study was to identify internal factors that influence progress on the maturity scale. The availability of substantive knowledge proved to be the most important explanatory factor. Municipalities with sufficient knowledge scored significantly higher on procurement maturity. Notable was the opposite effect of the factor time, which showed a significant negative influence. Other factors examined, such as budget, organization size, and organizational culture, showed no significant correlation with maturity level.
The improved CEP model provides municipalities with a practical and accessible tool to determine their current maturity level, define their desired situation, and formulate targeted improvement steps. It supports self-assessment as well as strategic steering and benchmarking against other municipalities. Based on the results, realistic but ambitious growth targets can be set. By periodically using the model as a measurement tool, municipalities can monitor their progress and implement structural improvement measures. This approach contributes to a stronger positioning of procurement within the organization and further professionalization. Based on the findings, municipalities are advised to invest primarily in knowledge development, such as through training, knowledge sharing, and the recruitment of substantive expertise, to work towards a higher level of procurement maturity.