Social Value, Not Just Cost, To Be Enforced When Making Public Procurement Decisions
Jun 28, 2018
The UK Gov announced this week the emphasis that will be placed on social value in public contracts. Government departments will be obliged to examine “social value” and not just cost when making procurement decisions. The move will extend the requirements of the 2013 Social Value Act, to...
CBI Report on Public/Private Collaboration to Reduce Market Complexity and Drive Value
Jun 28, 2018
The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) has just released a report into public sector procurement, its contribution to growth, prosperity, welfare and the economy, and considers the contribution that private businesses are making, and would like to make, towards that. Founded on the results of...
GovShop: Simple Market Research for Government Contractors and Procurement Professionals
Jun 26, 2018
At Public Spend Forum, we know the government marketplace is difficult for everyone to navigate. Government buyers have to jump through many hurdles and hoops to conduct market research and find the best contractors. At the same time, contractors and suppliers find working with government difficult...
Embracing Emerging Technology Starts With Workforce, Culture Change
Jun 22, 2018
FedScoop invited top tech officials from civilian and defense agencies to participate in an open roundtable discussion on the challenges and opportunities surrounding emerging technologies in the federal government. While emerging technologies are often discussed in terms of changing the workforce,...
Agile at DOD: Going Beyond Sticky Notes and Standing Meetings
Jun 19, 2018
“In DOD now, everybody says they’re doing agile. But when they say they are doing agile, they mean you stand instead of sitting down at meetings, and that you use sticky notes to track tasks. If you do those things, you’re an agile god. They are still doing lengthy requirements development,...
UK – New Public Sector Data Ethics Framework
Jun 14, 2018
A new Data Ethics Framework has been launched in the UK to make sure the Government sets the highest global standards for how public servants should use data appropriately. The scheme is the only effort by a national government to discuss the considerations public servants should make when using...
UK Government’s New Suite of Travel and Venue Solutions Launched
Jun 14, 2018
The UK Government’s central buying organisation, Crown Commercial Services (CCS), has launched a new suite of travel and venue solutions for the public sector. Public Sector Travel and Venue Solutions (PSTVS) will enable the booking of rail and air travel, accommodation and event services,...
Modernizing Government Technology through Micropurchasing Authorities and Modular Techniques, Featuring Inputs from Chris Cairns, Keith Deavan, and Mark Junda
Jun 7, 2018
Try It Before You Buy It
Micro and modular techniques are a derivation of the “try before you buy” approach that has eluded public sector IT, with its history of megaton requirements documents and scale-tipping contracts. According to Keith Deavan, a usability expert and President of Media...
Speeding Up Government Buying – Some Different Approaches
Jun 5, 2018
Buying with public money is difficult; it requires many things, not least scruples, skill, integrity (if done well) – the list goes on. But one thing is certain, the outcome must be about Value and Transparency. That brings us to a very useful article in Government Technology (and thanks to Hal...
Ireland’s Police Force Reducing Reliance on Contractors
May 31, 2018
The Garda (An Garda Síochána – the Republic of Ireland’s police force) is training more of its own ICT staff instead of outsourcing to contractors. It is a move following an internal audit of procurement practices in relation to information and communications technology contracts worth...
Rotterdam To Further Embed Responsible Procurement
May 25, 2018
Rotterdam is embedding a Socially Responsible Procurement Action Plan to further responsible procurement. The plan describes how the city will put its agreements into action starting with the effective and efficient use of the purchasing function for social policy objectives, such as employment and...
Innovation Procurement – European Commission Publishes New Guidance
May 25, 2018
The EU’s new guidance document on innovation procurement “presents in a concise manner the fundamental aspects of innovation procurement: why it is important, who is interested in it and how it can be carried out. It covers: what the innovation procurement concept means, the policy framework...
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Policies and Regulations
It’s no surprise President Trump has been systematically dismantling President Obama’s executive orders, since taking office. Obama himself knew it was a possibility: Frustrated by …
Past performance is an important step in being successful as a federal government contractor. Once firms get into the mid-tier range, they normally have amassed …
A few months back, we published several articles about the very interesting – and somewhat shocking – court case around the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning …
Perspectives and Insights
I have been interested in the question of getting successful commercial companies, especially tech companies, to sell to the government from the time I was …
The Contractor Accountability and Transparency Act of 2017 (S. 651), introduced by Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., is yet another example of a …
Think you know all about public sector owned professional buying organisations (PBOs) and what they do? Here are ten interesting facts that might just surprise …