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This is our weekly European public procurement news roundup, reporting on how more than a trillion Euros of taxpayer money is being spent. 

Procurement Week 2017: The Pantheon of Procurement

The Crystal London, Royal Victoria Dock, London, E16 1GB is the place to be next week – 21st-23rd March, if you want a serious injection of views, opinion and analysis on major strategic global issues from leading experts, professionals, and strategic thinkers. Topics such as: How to best manage a procurement exercise that runs into crisis; Interactive procure or supply technologies for the worlds of work, transport or home, and the impact these solutions have on the world around us and the citizens who utilise them; How we might rewrite the Procurement Playbook, now that human rights, and sustainability are occupying the procurement space, are all to be scrutinised. Also promises to be a great opportunity to network with a diverse audience of regulators, innovators, lawyers, procurement professionals, suppliers, NGOs, procurement policy makers and academics. You can register here – hope to see you there.

Public Procurement Innovation Guidance Published – Northern Ireland

The Central Procurement Directorate, Belfast, announces the launch of its Procurement Guidance Note 2/17 – Innovation in Public Procurement, to “set out when and how public procurement can be used to encourage the development of innovative solutions to deliver better outcomes and meet the needs of the public sector while operating within the framework that governs public sector procurement.” The document is available to download here.

Millions of Pounds being Lost on Asbestos Removal in Schools

Lots of misunderstanding going on around ‘dodgy’ asbestos surveys that are costing UK schools potentially millions of pounds. The government, when buying up sites for free schools, often have out-of-date asbestos surveys, which later lead to millions coming out of the public purse to put things right. School Week reports that “pressure on the Education Funding Agency (EFA) to find free school sites has caused it to rely on surveys of ‘varying quality’ which often fail to identify all the asbestos in a building …” And that the removal costs “could run as high as £5 million in the worst cases.” Plus the costs of making the schools reserviceable post removal. In one case capital costs recorded by the Department for Education (DfE) show £2.14 million given to the trust that set up the school, in six months in 2013 alone.

Healthcare Leadership Masterclass – Removes ‘Conflicts of Interest’ Offers to Sponsors Advertised in Error

An offer for sponsors of the Healthcare Leadership Masterclass 2017 has been removed from the HSE website. It offered among other things “guaranteed facetime” with its own buyers in return for sponsorship. This is a key annual event for senior managers and leaders in the Irish health system and the wider business community. While it has been removed having been put up in error, it “… raises serious questions about potential conflicts of interest in the whole process of public procurement,” according to the Irish Independent. There’s more detail on the whole story on the website.

Turkey Defense Plans for Local Manufacture Support

A Strategic Plan for 2017-2021 has been prepared by Turkey’s defense procurement agency; it concludes that “… for full operational independence it is essential to develop local platforms and subsystems.” In a new plan, the government promises to “increase support for research and development work, now standing at an annual $900 million, and encourage technology transfer and subsidized intermediary goods to help boost exports. Government departments will be encouraged to buy local systems when they can choose.” More on DefenseNews. It gives an outline of the critical dates for the next five years.

Joint Initiative between British Embassy and National Office of Contracting and Procurement of the State of Honduras

International experts shared the latest advances in international practices to improve the management of public procurement in Honduras, explains Gov.UK. The International Governance and Risk Institute (GovRisk) undertook a series of training sessions to explore possible improvements to public procurement processes in Honduras, in order to increase their efficiency and transparency. This is the first stage of a joint initiative between the British Embassy, GovRisk, and the National Office of Contracting and Procurement of the State of Honduras (ONCAE) to help boost efforst to adopt international best practices in public procurement.

Guidance for Public Procurers on Market Engagement Published

Procurement of Innovation Platform reports that a State of the Art report on market engagement has been published to help public procurers engage better with suppliers in procurement projects where input from the market can improve procurement outcomes. It contains practical advice and guidance, using examples of successful processes and actions to demonstrate how market engagement works, including the risks, resources required and first steps for public authorities. The report is available here on the SPP Regions website.

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