Procurement in government
Procurement requirements and policies aim to ensure that anything that is bought is done so based on value for money, often requiring suppliers to be identified through some form of competition.
Particularly in procurement of information technology and digital service development, traditional approaches to procurement are being replaced with more modern practices that focus on:
- awarding smaller contracts to smaller companies
- developing open source software that can be reused among departments
- contract management by individuals internally that have sufficient expertise to provide effective oversight
However, these approaches to procurement are not yet the norm, and digital transformation projects still have to work within the procurement constraints that exist in that country or institution.
Find out as early as possible how procurement works within your city as this will impact the decisions you make. You need to know:
- What is the process for procuring something? Is there any difference in the process when procuring a single consultant versus procuring an entire solution?
- Are there any limits or restrictions to be aware of?
- Who needs to approve the spend?
- What are the timelines for getting approval and being able to start work?
- What are the reporting expectations? Could you focus on delivery and learning rather than quantitative outcomes?
