Celebrating GO Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2014/15

Last night it was my pleasure to be at the GO Awards dinner; a great event. I had tried to take and tweet a pic of each of the winners but unfortunately the battery of my Blackberry died and I'd left my recharger in the room - sorry.

Although I had been one of the judges, we had worked in two groups, so the some of the Awards were surprises to me. In fact many of the Awards were surprises to me. Not because I hadn't actively participated in the judging but because there were so many good entries my memory had been clouded - many of the runners-up could have won in a different year. Yes, the quality of public procurement, assuming the entry submissions were telling the truth, was very high. Many of the entries exemplified excellence in procurement, not just public procurement, excellence in procurement, regardless of the sector.

Crossrail in partnership with LUL (for two of the entries), absolutely cleaned up, and to crown it all, their Procurement Director, Martin Rowark, won the Outstanding Contribution Award. As I implied, it is interesting that the categories were judged by two different groups of judges and they came through so strongly. I would encourage them to publish their case studies on their own website.

Nevertheless, I sincerely hope the good folk at BiP come up with some pragmatic way of sharing all the case study entries - it would be really sad if they just remained on judges memory sticks. I don't know how they will do it, but to me a series of YouTube type things followed up with Q&As using social media would be really useful. Indeed, is there any reason why those shortlisted couldn't post their own YouTube stories on their own websites? Anyway, I don't think it is my place to share the IP here.

What the GO Awards tell us about the state of UK public procurement

I've spent the last few days reading and discussing entries for this year’s National GO Excellence in Public Procurement Awards. This is a significant task given the increasing number of submissions the Awards receive each time. I've been judging for three years and I always find it very educational. 

The entries, looked at collectively, tell an interesting story of trends, what practitioners consider to be current exemplary practice (if that wasn't their view why would they enter?) and leading edge practice which would stand on its own two feet regardless of the sector.

I can see that eAuctions are delivering great results, I can see that engagement with users throughout the procurement cycle has moved from an aspiration to a practice and I can see that category management is being adopted. I can see that social benefit clauses have moved from a 'how could we?' to a reality. I can see that Procurement Teams have a seat at the table in solving public services delivery problems. I can see that good public procurement is no longer limited to the public sector but some great work is also taking place in the social landlords’ world and third sector. I can see that collaboration is becoming more ambitious, effective and participation is wider. I can see that procurement projects are becoming more audacious and delivering real benefits. I can see that sustainable procurement hasn't been sacrificed on the altar of 'savings'. The GO Awards provide an excellent showcase for the best so that others can learn, replicate and adapt.

Having said that, I can also see that there are areas where public procurement still has room to improve and could lead the way where the private sector has only dipped its toe in the water, for example, harnessing digital within procurement strategy. There is time to work hard on some new things and gain a first next year.

Now I'm looking forward to the GO Awards being presented in Birmingham on the evening of 19 March (seewww.goawards.co.uk for details) when the good work will be shared and celebrated. I won't have to obey a oath of silence but can sing out my praise for the best.

Time to celebrate excellence in procurement

I'm as guilty as the next person of highlighting the omnishambles we frequently see in public procurement. That unfortunately feeds the lie which says incompetence reigns. But last night's GO Awards was the antidote - there we celebrated excellence. We also celebrated impact, innovation and the ability to implement effective change. Yes, example after example after example of excellence in procurement regardless of which sector you come from.

We celebrated the work of the NHS Blood and Transplant collaboration who conceived and put in place a collaboration across Europe between disperate organisations. Standardising specifications, standardising blood collection, sharing inventory, reducing bureaucracy, sharing resources, and, yes, saving dosh. From a personal point of view it was great to see my old classmate Eugene Cooke up there on the platform - I'm sure our MSc lecturer would have been proud of seeing the theory being stretched and applied.

But you don't have to be big to be great as Fabrick Housing demonstrated. if the team were any smaller they couldn't even fit the traditional definition of team. Yet, from a standing start they had reduced the supplier base by 8%, reduced the number of non-contract suppliers to 39% (that was an improvement of 25%), reduced the number of invoices by 21% while increasing the average invoice value by 33% and the average spend per supplier by 65%.To me this was exemplary - a vision, a passion, a plan and delivery.

Of course one of the things which makes public procurement different is that it makes a difference to people's lives. I don't think anyone in the room wouldn't have been moved by the two young people who joined the acceptance speech of the Children's Commissioning Care Consortium Cymru. Two people who's lives had been changed through excellence in procurement - that's some testimony for procurement.

But there was something else worth celebrating last night - public procurement professionals can enjoy themselves. They were helped by the comedian Rod Woodward. I particularly liked his story about the concerns in his Welsh Village when the film 'Babe' was released - I'll not spoil the joke for you when you hear it on the tele but the gist of it was 'naming and shaming'.

Naming and shaming was not what the GO Awards were about - they were about naming and proclaiming excellence in public procurement. That's something worth celebrating.

Jeremy Hunt's recommendations for procurement improvement

On the 26 March the Heath Secretary outlined his response to the Francis Report; the investigation into healthcare failings at Mid Staffs. I have been watching some of the NHS discussions and, in parallel, following the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) Inquiry into Public Procurement. As I listened to the discussions on the Francis Report I had a vision of Bernard Jenkin (Chair of PASC) having had coffee with the Health Secretary and each accidentally leaving with the others papers. Just to clarify, I wondered what would have happened had suggested improvements for the health service been transferred across as recommendations for public procurement improvement.

First a caveat, I am not in any way trying to undermine or trivialise the significance of the horrors experienced by patients and their families at Mid Staffs, but merely exploring transferability of the proposed NHS improvements to public procurement. PASC will need to come up with something significant in the light of the conflicting evidence their Inquiry uncovered and decades of inertia, while CIPS has long argued that the procurement profession should be viewed as an equal of other professions. Now I pose the question: "Is what's good for the goose, good for the gander?".

Let's consider the Health Secretary's rationale for a response as an example of what I mean:

"Actions that must ensure [public procurement] is what every [procurement] professional and [citizen] wants - a service that is true to [government] values, that puts [citizens] first, and treats [it's users and the market] with dignity, respect and [professionalism]." 

Hopefully the above provides a feel for this blog, so let's see what you think?

It is recognised there is a need for culture change in the NHS. It is also inconceivable that PASC will not agree there is a need for culture change in the light of the evidence they considered. While the NHS needs to ensure a culture of 'patients first' is embedded, public procurement, I would suggest, needs to get on top of implementing policy, reducing costs, managing risk, working more strategically and collectively across silos, and with perhaps a little more honesty and humility.

I applaud the government for recognising mistakes happen in healthcare and there is a need to learn from those mistakes while fostering a culture of managed risk. Is it not true that public sector has too high a level of risk aversion embedded within its culture. Public procurement needs to also accept that mistakes happen and yet proactively encourage more innovation through prototype procurements. I think the current NHS system of explaining risks to patients prior to an operation is good but I have very, very rarely seen anything remotely similar applied in public procurement - why is that acceptable?

Oyez, oyez, all ye who have something to say on public procurement

I'm sure you have something to say about public procurement. Have you ever thought of expressing your opinion in the form of a debate piece or like to share a new development (some of GO Awards entries would be ideal), or completed some relevant research which you'd like to share? 

Public Money and Management is an international, academic and professional journal covering public sector finance, policy and management. A special themed issue on Public Procurement is planned for January 2015 - yes, I know that's a long way away, but that's how long these things take. But the good news is that you also have plenty of advance notice to consider either completing some research or putting down some thoughts.

If you would be interested in potentially having a paper published in the Public Procurement themed issue, we'd be interested in hearing from you.  

Below is a copy of the formal call for papers, so give it some thought:

Call for papers: PMM theme on public procurement

Guest editors: Gordon Murray and Andrew Erridge

Public procurement is centre stage in public service delivery yet dogged by controversy: corruption allegations from Indian helicopters to Hawaiian university construction contracts; aircraft carriers which are not fit for purpose; wrongly awarded rail franchises; and trailblazing initiatives, such as the private finance initiative, which have questionable benefits. Public sector procurement is not easy because it is complex and high profile.

A public procurement themed issue of PMM is scheduled for January 2015 (Public Money & Management, Vol. 35, No. 1). The issue will provide an opportunity for debate pieces (1000 words), main papers (no more than 5500 words) and new development articles (up to 3000 words) to contribute to making a positive impact on policy and practice. Submissions must be of benefit to academics and reflective practitioners.

Submissions that relate their findings to practice are particularly welcomed, as PMM is widely consulted by practitioners. Equally, as PMM has international influence, international comparative analysis is encouraged. Articles may cover some of the following suggested topics, but we welcome contributions beyond this list:

• Lessons from decades of public procurement policy initiatives. 
• The effectiveness of public procurement as a political strategy. 
• The appropriate role of politicians in public procurement. 
• The impact of public procurement policy, for example innovation, SMEs, third sector. 
• Combating corruption in procurement.
• Evaluation of organizational structures. 
• Public perceptions of public procurement. 
• The measurement of procurement savings. 
• The effectiveness of public procurement performance management. 
• The impact of digital strategy on public procurement.
• The future of public procurement.

Outline proposals of around 300–400 words for main papers should be submitted by 1 January 2014 to both editors at drgordonmurray@gmail.com and AF.Erridge@ulster.ac.uk, and manuscripts for debate and new development articles should be emailed as Word documents by 1 April 2014. See http:// www.tandfonline.com/rpmm fir information about preparing an article for PMM.

GO Awards: Cynic, Entrant, Sponsor, Judge, Winners, Losers

The closing date for entering the 2013/2014 GO Awards is 8 March. The publication of the closing date reminded me of my own journey from a cynic.

My interest in procurement awards started during the 1990s solely as a result of the Best Value regime. I wanted some sort of external validation to demonstrate that we were good at our job. I was a cynic being opportunistic.

It wasn't easy to tailor our entry to the award criteria, especially since there was a word count restriction but the discipline and effort paid off. We didn't win but we did get invited to the award ceremony and ended up with some sort of commendation. The real value came through the spin-offs. The profile within our organisation soared. The team's internal credibility soared. The espirit de corps soared. The team's confidence and pride it itself soared. Yes, it was a big dividend for the small investment in entering.

Something like a decade later, I was programme managing the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning. I wanted some demonstrable evidence of how the public sector were embedding Third Sector Commissioning. The GO Awards were an obvious part of the strategy - sponsor, encourage entries, get really good case studies into the public domain, and, as icing on the cake, get the MInister to speak and make the awards. Yes, a big dividend for a comparatively trivial investment.

Surprisingly, last year I was invited to judge. I had the luxury of reading all the entries for the categories I was judging. Some great case studies, some not so good, and sadly some who just didn't seem to match the award criteria at all. It was an encouraging insight into the hidden world of procurement successes as opposed to the 'bad press' our community seems to be dogged by.

Public procurement is facing what to me appears unprecedented unfounded criticism at the present and we desperately need to get on top of that criticism with a strong marketing strategy before our reputation is completely eroded - the GO Awards provide a showcasing opportunity we urgently need.

GO Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2012/13 winners

The shortlisted entries for Government Opportunities (GO) Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2012/13 will be publicly announced on 8 February.  But I have decided to break silence and pre-empt the official announcement of winners. Why? Because some things are worth saying, for example:

• Despite the bad press and some ministerial rhetoric, there are exemplary professionals in public procurement;
• There is exemplary practice in public procurement too; exemplary practice which other sectors could benefit from if they want to learn about innovation, cost reduction, stakeholder engagement and sustainability;
• Size doesn't matter - exemplary practice isn't constrained by the monetary value of the contract or the size of the team;
• Professional qualification isn't a constraint, there is some really good practice being delivered by those who are not MCIPS.

If only every public sector procurer made a commitment to match the best, in some way, then we'd all be winners.  Nevertheless, the winners are:

National GO Awards

I'm delighted to have been invited to be a judge for this year's National GO Awards.

I've been involved with the awards in a variety of guises over the years.   When working on the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning the awards really helped collect and celebrate the success of innovative approaches to procurement which I don't think would have otherwise been brought to light.  Prior to that I recall two of my teams being shortlisted and hoping for the winners podium - I'm sorry to say we were never first but getting that far was an enoromus help in selling procurement internally. 

Now I look forward to learning from the entries.  I hope I don't let the practitioner community down!