Aligning Procurement Capabilities and Value – What is Truly Required?
Apr 27, 2017
Broadly speaking, this report from CIPS Australasia and The Hackett Group provides a detailed perspective on aligning procurement capabilities with desired outcomes. More specifically, the report provides detailed perspectives on the differences between the elements of procurement value,...
Procurement of Professional Services – Three Reasons Why the Public Sector Uses Consultants
Apr 3, 2017
We threatened recently to run a series on buying professional services in the context of public sector organisations and buyers. That came about in part through a report that identified spend by central government in the UK on consultants was rising again after some years of decline.
Let’s make a...
The Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Job Description: An Overview
Mar 30, 2017
While every job description is different, when it comes to a senior leadership role, such as that of a Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), there are many similarities. Regardless of the organization size, sector or target market of the organization, there are certain basic requirements for a CPO. For...
Why Should We Care About The Public Procurement Workforce?
Feb 27, 2017
Nearly any expert you talk to in government procurement will tell you that the workforce needs more support and better training. But why? What makes the public procurement workforce so important to the work of government? In this excerpt from our study on public procurement skills, we look at why...
How Is the Public Procurement Workforce Performing?
Feb 27, 2017
As part of our study of public procurement workforce skills, Public Spend Forum interviewed 31 procurement leaders and asked them to rate the public procurement workforce’s proficiency in 12 core skills, based on their experiences and interactions. They were also asked to explain their rating and...
Small-Business Definitions Put Hurt on Midsize Contractors
Jan 24, 2017
This article was originally published in Washington Technology on June 28, 2010, and written by Matthew Weigelt.
For a long time, Kim Nguyen has felt a growing pressure in the federal information technology marketplace, and there’s been no let-up.
Pragmatics Inc., where Nguyen is vice president...
Do Mid-Tier Companies Need a Helping Hand?
Jan 24, 2017
This story by Matthew Weigelt originally ran in Washington Technology, on September 8, 2011.
A new industry group is attempting to warn growing small businesses of the cliff they’re approaching as they graduate from federal contract set-aside programs.
Mid-Tier Advocacy (MTA) is a new group of...
Podcast: Jennifer Pahlka Talks Innovation, Agile, and California
Jan 5, 2017
For years California’s Child Welfare System—the electronic records system that helped keep track of cases for neglected, abused and vulnerable kids—was woefully out of date. And when California decided to go out to bid for a new one, the request for proposal was typically “monolithic,”...
Reverse Auctions: Guidelines for Federal Contractors
Dec 23, 2016
Acquisition professionals and contract officers are besieged by a variety of different sourcing solutions designed to help them reduce their purchased cost of materials and services. For example, the FedBid reverse auction tool was widely recommended as a competitive tool available to contract...
Twelve Key Competencies for the Public Procurement Workforce – Quick Reference Guide
Dec 19, 2016
Developed in coordination with the Volcker Alliance, our draft model of the key competencies that are required for the public procurement workforce identifies 12 key competencies critical to every public procurement organization.
This quick reference guide lays out and describes all twelve....
Dr. Steve Kelman from Harvard Joins Public Spend Forum Board
Dec 2, 2016
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Public Spend Forum (PSF), a global community and knowledge network for public procurement and the public sector market, announced today that Dr. Steve Kelman has joined its Board of Advisors.
Dr. Kelman, a leading expert on public procurement...
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...
Case Studies
The public sector is undergoing massive changes with greater fiscal spending, tax changes, constrained budgets and much more scrutiny and regulation. Public procurement and finance …
Download a preview of Public Spend Forum’s inaugural Public Procurement Technology report today! Join us for the first ever Public Procurement Technology Symposium, to …