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Five Minutes to Better Memos

Dec 5, 2016
The procurement profession demands strong writing capabilities. Unfortunately, writing skills aren’t necessarily innate, and it is always easier to write poorly than to write with clear purpose and brevity. The good news is you don’t have to be Shakespeare or even Peter Drucker to write...

Procura+ Awards – A Look at the Innovative Procurement Finalists

Dec 1, 2016
As we have said before, the procurement of innovation and sustainability in goods and services is not just about R&D, but the design and delivery of public services, processes and models. This is what is behind the Procura+ Awards, rewarding, encouraging and then showcasing public procurers that...

Public Sector Procurement Collaboration – Please Complete Our Survey

Dec 1, 2016
A few weeks ago, we told you here about our kick-off meeting for the UK Public Spend Forum Best Practices Exchange. A group of 15 or so senior public procurement leaders got together to talk about the idea of a cross-sectoral group that could drive better practice, understanding and exchange of...

McDonald’s and Public Procurement: Behind the Knee Jerk

Nov 29, 2016
Earlier this month, I attended a conference on procurement covering both the private and the public sector. One morning, I talked over breakfast with two people from the Cardiff Council in Wales, U.K. We had a nice chat about several topics (the main ones being Brexit and the election of Donald...

Reverse Auctions: Turning the Procurement Process Upside Down!

Nov 23, 2016
Anyone who has ever attended an auction understands the excitement starts when the bidding commences.  As the bid amounts increase higher and higher, tension begins to intensify. The last two bidders virtually “duke it out” by increasing their bids by slightly higher amounts, trying to edge...

Why does my boss hate networking?

Nov 22, 2016
It’s true: my boss Raj Sharma hates networking. That statement may raise a few eyebrows, but stick with me for a second, because what he really hates is the term and its implications. To Raj, “networking” implies a numbers game of quid pro quo transactions that looks good on paper. But what...

5 Minutes to Better Brainstorming

Nov 21, 2016
If you haven’t yet, you should check out our brand new Public Spend Forum YouTube channel, where we’re posting a lot of short videos that offer practical tips to help you in your job every day. In one of our latest, retired Air Force acquisition officer and author Dan Ward talks about a really...

Don’t Spend When You Don’t Need to — Is It that Simple?

Nov 18, 2016
In previous articles in this series, we’ve talked about ways buyers can control costs, whether by achieving great competitive pricing or better managing lifecycle costs. But, the truth of the matter is, the best way to keep costs down is of course not to spend money in the first place. So in this...

DHS Pioneers “Reverse Industry Day”

Oct 27, 2016
This slide deck presents an example of a “Reverse Industry Day” (RID) that was held by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The RID is characterized by providing suppliers the opportunity to present to government officials, rather than the traditional approach where government presents to...

Innovative Contracting Case Studies

Oct 25, 2016
“Innovative Contracting Case Studies” is a compilation of exemplary methods for getting more innovation per taxpayer dollar. Curated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, each entry highlights public sector best practices for...

Understanding Total Lifecycle Cost

Oct 24, 2016
If you’ve read our previous paper on the levers of procurement value, (“What Drives Public Procurement Value?,” available to registered members of Public Spend Forum) you know I outlined four areas where you can achieve the many goals of procurement while also fulfilling your mission needs....

Risk Aversion in Public Sector Procurement

Oct 18, 2016
One of the topics that came up at the recent Public Spend Forum Europe Exchange kick-off meeting was attitudes towards risk amongst the public sector procurement community. Our senior group, from across many different parts of the public sector, discussed how risk aversion could hold back...