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Transforming Government Procurement

By OGCbuying.solutions

Acting OGC Chief Executive Peter Fanning has summed up the scope and scale of change underway in the public sector procurement community as he reviewed “the first 100 days” of intense activity in the wake of January's Transforming Government Procurement report.

Photograph showing the houses of parliament

After welcoming customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders to the PS07 conference and exhibition, held at Earls Court on June 12 and 13, Mr Fanning reported on the extensive activity in recent months that has followed the publishing of the Government's vision for public sector procurement.

And he paid tribute to the energy and commitment to collaboration shown by departments.

“I had wondered whether there would be a ‘get your tanks off my lawn’ response. Instead its been a case of ‘about time too’ – I feel there is a real consensus that we are on the right road.

“It's a very challenging agenda, ranging across procurement and the Government estate. We have seen through the efficiency programme what the centre can do to drive change and will be building on this.

“The transformation we need will be achieved by:

  • setting the right procurement standards and ensuring they are met
  • developing a cadre of skilled procurement professionals across Government and
  • capitalising on the Government's collective buying power to achieve value for money.

“We are gathering increasingly rigorous data and we now have the powers, backed by Treasury, to intervene and challenge.

“And we have not been afraid to use these powers. I have been talking to my Permanent Secretary colleagues about their role in implementing Transforming Government Procurement, and driving up standards and procurement capability across central Government.

“And I have written to them making it clear how they can play their part, to ensure what they achieve in procurement is best for Government as a whole - rather than what may be best against more parochial requirements.

Setting and Enforcing Standards

“OGC has been setting and monitoring the standards that Departments need to meet in order to deliver world-class procurement – and we are already beginning to make a difference.

“We have completed the first in a continuing cycle of Procurement Capability Reviews, to assess the capability and capacity for procurement within departments.

“After an initial pilot with DfES a significant programme of change has been outlined and this process will continue to the end of the year with DCLG, DWP and other major spending departments.

“OGC has had great success with Gateway Reviews which will continue to be major support tool across Government projects, designed to support Senior Responsible Officers (SRO) and projects.

“But we also need to hold SROs to account for delivery. Transforming Government Procurement builds on Gateway process with a new Major Projects Review Group (MPRG). The MPRG will set conditions for achieving greater success in the most critically important programmes.

“We've also done a lot with estates transformation. The civil estate is worth £30 billion and costs £6 billion per year to run. We have 9,000 different holdings covering 37 million square feet – enough to hold 650 Sydney Opera Houses and we know that most carbon emissions come from buildings so there is a major impact on the environment.

“We worked with HM Treasury to launch High Performing Property in the spring – a five-year, high-level strategy and implementation plan for improving the management and use of Government office estate, to be overseen by OGC.

“We have convened the Property Champions Board – a cross-Whitehall body comprised of senior property managers in Departments, who will be responsible for delivering annual savings of between £1-1.5 billion by 2013.

“The strategy will be cascaded to Property Asset Management Boards in each Department to deliver local solutions.

“And we will shortly be publishing the latest Model Contract for IT contracts, providing a standard approach to many of the Government's engagements of the Information, Communication and Telecommunications sector.

Professional Skills

“Most of you here will be procurement practitioners, who I imagine will have a keen interest in how the Government Procurement Service supports you and strengthens the regard in which your profession is held and hence its powers to act effectively.

“The GPS is being reinvigorated, with a new framework agreed to strengthen the support it gives to the existing profession, and new means to help attract new talent.

“In April OGC launched a new Government Procurement Graduate Recruitment Scheme that has attracted over 200 qualified applicants for a pilot scheme starting this Autumn. This is an initial step towards developing new routes for entry whereby we can attract talented people into Government procurement, and can develop the high-calibre professionals of the future.

“As the result of an extensive survey, the GPS Reform team has begun to construct the first clear view of training, development and learning initiatives across government.

“I'm also very pleased to see a strengthening of relationships with CIPS. I am chairing the new CIPS Public Sector Faculty, as way of strengthening links between the profession within Government, and the wider procurement community as a whole.”

Stronger Collaboration

“Bringing together Whitehall Departments in collaborative procurement deals saves money and delivers a better product. Work in this field is being extended to achieve the £4 billion potential estimated, and all procurement professionals will have a part to play in achieving this.

“Working with different lead departments and with OGC's executive agency, OGC buying.solutions, we have signed five collaborative deals since January alone, each involving between 15 and 80 different Government organisations, to a combined value of £1.3 billion over the next four years with savings estimated at £50 million.

“Every department across Whitehall is engaged. Different departments will take the lead on different categories of spend, and a forward programme is being developed by the cross-departmental Strategic Stakeholder Forum.”

Step-change

“Each step that we take is firmly embedding the Transforming Government Procurement agenda in day-to-day operations of procurement professionals across Government.

“We are driving change with the backing of Treasury and we have new powers, based on hard evidence and data, to deliver real substance.

“Through rigorous gathering of robust and granular data on procurement performance, we can give Departments solid advice on how they are matching up to standards, how their performance compares against other Departments, and what they need to do differently.’

Mr Fanning concluded by offering a warm welcome to the new Chief Executive of OGC, Mr Nigel Smith, who takes up the post in September.

“I very much welcome this, and I'm very proud to be able to say that he will be taking over an OGC that is lean, fit and in great shape to take forward the Transforming Government Procurement agenda.”

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