About
Willem Janssen serves as an Associate Professor of European and Dutch Public Procurement Law at Utrecht University's Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance, while also holding the position of Endowed Professor of Public Procurement Law at Groningen University. He is affiliated with the Centre for Public Procurement (UUCePP) and the Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe (RENFORCE), where he conducts research on sustainable public procurement practices and legal frameworks.
His research interests focus on Public Procurement Law for Good, examining sustainable and responsible outsourcing and insourcing in public procurement contexts. His work explores how effective regulation can support sustainable development, the influence of EU public procurement law on national public task organization, and the stimulation of societal value through public procurement procedures. Janssen advocates for revamping public procurement law with sustainability as its core value rather than market integration or competition.
Janssen leads the CIRCLASH research project on circularity and public procurement law and co-leads the Fertile Soils project related to land use, sustainability, and law. His research spans multiple disciplines including EU law, sustainability policy, social justice, and circular economy principles. His publications appear in various academic journals including Hart Publishers, Public Procurement Law Review, and Utrecht Law Review.
His most recent scholarly work demonstrates a clear trend toward mandatory sustainability requirements in EU public procurement law, the extraterritorial reach of the European Green Deal, and the paradigm shift from market integration to sustainability as the central value in procurement frameworks. His research increasingly focuses on the practical implementation of sustainable procurement principles in both national and EU contexts.
- Nominated for Societal Impact Award 2019 of Utrecht University for BESTEK podcast project
- Short-listed for 'Best Lecturer of the Year' in 2018 and 2020
As an educator, Janssen coordinates the master program Law and Sustainability in Europe and initiated the master course 'Societally Responsible Public Procurement' in 2017. He also coordinates executive courses for lawyers, public purchasers, and policymakers. In 2020, he co-founded the Utrecht Law Clinic. His advisory work includes chairing the Advisory Committee Proportionality Guide appointed by the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate in 2022.
Janssen is actively involved in multiple research communities including the interdisciplinary Utrecht University Centre for Public Procurement (UUCePP), the Platform 'The Transactional State' within Institutions for Open Societies (IoS), and the Community Towards a Circular Economy and Society within Pathways to Sustainability (Pts). He is also a member of the EU-wide research network 'European Procurement Law Group' and serves as scientific coordinator of Urban-Rural Circularity at the Institute for Circular Society.
