One of the goals of the federal administration's procurement system is the pursuit of efficiency. However, this concept expands as complex aspects of the creation of public value, seen as the closest expression of citizens' interests, are discussed by the administration. This study looked for categories that express public value in the literature and then analyzed the e-procurement system of the Brazilian federal administration. The following categories were found: efficiency, transparency, accountability and public interest. The research used the concepts of systemic-complex thinking to develop a diagnostic tool that enables one to take into account the inter-relationships among the categories of analysis, already applied in the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management (Ministério do Planejamento, Orçamento e Gestão - MPOG), which manages the e-procurement system of the country's federal administration. The results showed that the efficiency category stands out from the others, but that the other categories can be further developed as well. The use of the diagnostic tool enabled the identification of new possibilities that might help the system to achieve broader goals within the federal government procurement system, including the creation of public value.
public administration; public procurement system; creation of public value; systemic-complex thinking
