Optimising Outcomes from Procurement and Partnering for Covid-19 and Beyond: Lessons from the Crisis
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Stirling
Department Name: Applied Social Science
Abstract
Public procurement is firmly in the spotlight in the Covid-19 crisis. Local authorities (LAs) spend around £100bn (or 47% of their total budget) annually on procurement (IoG,2018). In the Covid-19 crisis, it is crucial that this money delivers the maximum benefit for communities - whether providing for public health (including testing-tracking-tracing responsibilities), for social care (including care home provision), or as one of the key economic levers through which the local economy is to be restarted. Ineffective procurement arrangements present risks for the delivery/continuity of public services in the crisis. Where rapid scaling-up of services is necessary, the limits of some LAs' capacities (and their supply-chains) are often being tested as costs, staff and supply shortages increase. LAs must simultaneously act to protect essential supply-chains where demand has collapsed (e.g. transport, facilities management). Such challenges require smart and agile procurement responses to build strong, effective and efficient relationships and generate positive impacts for local communities.
This study will investigate these urgent issues, and how gains might be achieved in the response to Covid-19. The team will examine emerging opportunities to maximise the impact of, and leverage additional value from LA procurement. With extensive involvement and support from key stakeholders, this project will examine what is working well, less well, why, and with what effects and implications. It asks how, and how effectively, are LAs using procurement to address the challenges posed by Covid-19? What are the successes to be celebrated? Where are the tensions that need to be managed? Where is the system at risk of breaking down? What opportunities are there for improved procurement performance? The project will encourage reflection on the ability of the 'procurement ecosystem' to respond in a crisis; clarifying critical-success-factors and pressure-points and discussing what to do next.
The project will seek to identify potential leverage from an accumulation of 'positive-sum' gains. Reports here identify a long list of such potential gains, resulting from strategic, entrepreneurial and, particularly, relational approaches that strengthen the system and promote resilience. In the absence of these approaches the system may still operate - but at risk of being substantially underpowered. Impact from the study will derive from important project findings regarding effective crisis strategies; effective 'workarounds' to maintain safety, continuity and resilience (including creative commissioning processes, using the flexibility in existing procurement legislation, and combining complementary capabilities amongst supply-chain partners); and effective ways in which trust, openness and collaboration are emerging to drive innovative ways to aggregate and channel resources.
This study will investigate these urgent issues, and how gains might be achieved in the response to Covid-19. The team will examine emerging opportunities to maximise the impact of, and leverage additional value from LA procurement. With extensive involvement and support from key stakeholders, this project will examine what is working well, less well, why, and with what effects and implications. It asks how, and how effectively, are LAs using procurement to address the challenges posed by Covid-19? What are the successes to be celebrated? Where are the tensions that need to be managed? Where is the system at risk of breaking down? What opportunities are there for improved procurement performance? The project will encourage reflection on the ability of the 'procurement ecosystem' to respond in a crisis; clarifying critical-success-factors and pressure-points and discussing what to do next.
The project will seek to identify potential leverage from an accumulation of 'positive-sum' gains. Reports here identify a long list of such potential gains, resulting from strategic, entrepreneurial and, particularly, relational approaches that strengthen the system and promote resilience. In the absence of these approaches the system may still operate - but at risk of being substantially underpowered. Impact from the study will derive from important project findings regarding effective crisis strategies; effective 'workarounds' to maintain safety, continuity and resilience (including creative commissioning processes, using the flexibility in existing procurement legislation, and combining complementary capabilities amongst supply-chain partners); and effective ways in which trust, openness and collaboration are emerging to drive innovative ways to aggregate and channel resources.
Organisations
- University of Stirling (Lead Research Organisation)
- London Councils (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (Collaboration)
- Chartered Institute of Public Finance (CIPFA) (Collaboration)
- Improvement Service (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- YPO (Project Partner)
- Solace (Project Partner)
- Emergency Planning College (Project Partner)
- The Chartered Inst of Public Fin & Accou (Project Partner)
- Zurich Municipal (Project Partner)
- The MJ Group (Project Partner)
- Unison (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- County Councils Network (Project Partner)
- Tees Valley Combined Authority (Project Partner)
- Orbis (Partnership) (Project Partner)
Publications
Simmons, R.
(2022)
It is Time for a 'New Conversation' in Local Government about Procurement
in Municipal Journal
Simmons, R.
(2021)
Procurement in the time of Pandemic
in Municipal Journal
| Description | This project has met all its key objectives. Through a range of conceptual and empirical approaches it has produced data to answer its key research questions. Through extensive and inclusive engagement with key stakeholders, it has also developed constituencies through which to continue the conversations started by the research and promote change. The study set out to examine how, and how effectively, local authorities were deploying their commissioning and procurement functions to address the challenges posed by Covid-19. Overall, it shows that procurement has been an important tool to respond during the crisis: for example, in fighting the virus; protecting vulnerable groups; providing services directly in the community; and supporting local businesses. Key successes include an ability to flex and pivot to maintain quality at speed (although there have been difficulties in avoiding additional cost and risk). The study also asked whether local authorities can adopt more innovative, strategic, entrepreneurial and relational approaches to strengthen local resilience. Where procurement has worked best during the crisis, it has been enabled by (i) internal council relationships (including cross-functional co-ordination and sharing of information) and external relationships (working with other public bodies/increased joint procurement); (ii) greater strategic attention on procurement, including strategy that is 'sufficiently flexible to adapt' and 'sufficiently creative to support innovation'; (iii) entrepreneurial activity to maintain supply chain resilience in partnership with suppliers, and (iv) trusted data, presented in ways that are easy to understand. However, these enablers do not apply equally across local government. Relational factors have been particularly beneficial during the crisis, but there is a need build on what has been achieved to avoid slipping back. There is also particular scope to improve the level of strategic attention on procurement and to address key entrepreneurial issues such as lack of market intelligence and contract monitoring. Meanwhile, data capacity has been shown to be underdeveloped in many local authorities. Overall, these issues reflect a sense that the full potential of procurement is not being realised. In most authorities there remains scope for improvement and learning the above lessons from Covid-19. The study also asked where the system might be at risk, and where tensions need to be managed. While formal and informal relationships have combined to enable the system to respond, there is evidence of institutional fragmentation and/or lack of co-ordination in different parts of the UK. Resource and capacity issues and a need for greater data-analytic capacity remain prevalent. There is also a desire to move from 'traditional', bureaucratic, cost-led approaches to procurement to more outcomes-based perspectives. The future resilience of the system is therefore promoted where 'procurement as governance' (in optimising outcomes for communities) combines effectively with the 'governance of procurement' (in optimising outcomes from procurement). Opportunities exist here to strengthen the 'lever' of procurement through more effective systems leadership/place-shaping ('demand-side optimization') and the development of healthy procurement ecosystems ('supply-side optimization') to promote greater productivity and innovation and identify key sources of 'value leakage' in the 'commissioning-procurement-contract management' cycle. The findings have been shared with key stakeholder groups including central and national government, National Audit Office, Local Government Association, our many project partners and other relevant stakeholders, with whom further conversations are in progress, both individually and collectively, to explore how to take the findings forward in various policy, professional and practice settings. With UK councils' procurement spend totalling c.£80bn annually (c.30-40% of individual authorities' annual budget), even marginal gains of 1-2% would be highly significant. The findings have also been shared with other academic groups working on public procurement at Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Nottingham Universities, and opportunities for further academic collaborations are being actively explored. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings have been shared with key stakeholder groups including central and national government, National Audit Office, Local Government Association, our many project partners and other relevant stakeholders, with whom further conversations are in progress, both individually and collectively, to explore how to take the findings forward in policy, professional and practice settings. The findings have also been shared with other academic groups working on public procurement at Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Nottingham Universities, and opportunities for further academic collaborations are actively being explored. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | The findings from this study are informing the effectiveness of public services and policy. Extensive engagement with a large number of project partners and other bodies has raised the issue of optimising outcomes from procurement up the agenda of local government. In discussion of the findings with various audiences, there has been enthusiasm to use the findings to promote changes in policy and practice. There has been particularly positive feedback from the Commercial Team at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with whom the project has engaged in an ongoing dialogue around policy insights and forward planning. This has led in the past year to various inputs in prioritising the Commercial Team's priorities, standard setting and training provision, often in conjunction with representatives from the Cabinet Office. There has also been positive feedback from the Local Government Association through its professional team and National Advisory Group on procurement. The LGA's National Procurement Champion warmly welcomed the research findings whilst speaking at the project's final conference, using them to deliver a six-point challenge to the local authority sector for future improvement in the outcomes from procurement for communities. The Chief Executive of CIPFA also spoke warmly about the research at the project's final event, noting that we need to move the pursuit of outcomes-driven procurement out of the 'too-difficult' column in order to drive further improvement. CIPFA adopted procurement as a key campaign issue in 2022 and the project PI was a key speaker at their annual conference. CIPFA remains positive about the strength of this research a further contribution to future thinking on these issues will be made by the PI at their 2023 conference. There has been a suggestion from senior staff that changes in the CIPFA guidance (mandatory for local authorities) might even be possible if there is agreement within the sector to do so in the light of this research. The study has also informed the production of a National Audit Office Good Practice Guide on 'Managing the Commercial Lifecycle'. The NAO also spoke very positively at the project's final event and dialogue with the project remains open. In addition, there has been discussion with partners such as Solace and the Improvement Service around incorporating the findings into training materials and resources for relevant groups, from local politicians to local authority chief executives and chief finance officers, to procurement and commercial teams in local government. The project team has remained active in pursuing the procurement agenda through engagement with ongoing discussions regarding the devolution deal in the North East, and work on social value, particularly the pursuit of environmental goals through public procurement systems. Dialogue has continued with key partners and collaborators in the research, and there have been numerous positive responses to the project's invitation to engage in a series of 'new conversations' about local authority procurement - for example, in optimising systems, value, data and resilience. Progress is being made towards new funding to extend the project's reach and impact even further through new activity in the coming months with regard to the above conversations and training offers. Across the local government sector, the engagement and enthusiasm of other key organisations is matched by that of representative organisations from the private and third sectors. The project will seek as far as possible to provide a resource, as well as a conduit and a catalyst, for these inclusive conversations to continue. In addition, the team has produced several academic contributions related to these issues and Covid-19 within the latest volume of the influential 'Social Determinants of Health' series published by Policy Press, and two further academic articles are close to submission, which seek to provide new thinking on issues of commodification and commercialisation in relation to these issues, as well as the entirely novel academic concept of 'systemcraft' in relation to local authority procurement. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Advice to Commercial Standards Team in Cabinet Office |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Application of the Framework in local government provides a potentially important support structure for local authority procurement. |
| Description | Advice to Commercial Team at Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Findings from the research were used to inform future planning. It is not possible to share evidence from e-mail exchanges. |
| Description | Advice to Commercial Team at Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Prioritisation of training activities, leading to improved training offer for professional practitioners. |
| Description | Citation in National Audit Office Good Practice Guide: Managing the Commercial Lifecycle |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Title | Semi-structured interviews |
| Description | 104 semi-structured interviews with with a wide range of stakeholders - from local authorities, wider locality, VCSE, private sector, shared services, procurement specialists, representative organisations, regional and central government. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Adds to findings from this mixed methods study. |
| Title | Survey of local authority managers |
| Description | Bespoke survey with 205 local authority managers in relevant roles, conducted April-June 2021 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Adds to findings from this mixed methods study. |
| Title | Survey of local authority suppliers |
| Description | Survey with 602 local authority suppliers, conducted July-August 2021. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Adds to findings from this mixed methods study. |
| Title | Survey of local authority suppliers (2) |
| Description | Survey of 211 local government suppliers, conducted Nov 2021-Jan 2022 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Adds to findings from this mixed methods study. |
| Title | e-Delphi Study |
| Description | 4-stage E-Delphi study with a panel of 33 academic and practitioner experts to consider the most important issues or practices in local government procurement during COVID-19. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Adds to findings from this mixed methods study. |
| Description | Partnership With London Councils |
| Organisation | London Councils |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Presentations to leadership team members to share findings and invite further engagement |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to research participants. Engagement with and discussion of findings. |
| Impact | London Councils represents London's 32 boroughs and the City of London. It acts as a catalyst for effective sharing among boroughs - be that ideas, good practice, people, resources, or policies and new approaches. Sharing the findings from the research and further interaction will form part of the ongoing impact work intended from the project. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Partnership with Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) |
| Organisation | Chartered Institute of Public Finance (CIPFA) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Expertise, intellectual input, communications with members of the Chartered Institute |
| Collaborator Contribution | Communications with members, press coverage in house journal, support with survey distribution, appointment of advisory group members |
| Impact | The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) is a UK-based international accountancy membership and standard-setting body. It works to ensure public money is raised and spent with the highest degree of openness. CIPFA has provided excellent support for the distribution of surveys to local government officers and included an article in the house journal, 'Public Finance'. The CEO spoke at the project's final event. The leadership team and other officers have engaged with the findings from the research, provided a platform for sharing the findings in online events, and invited further interaction to address the issues it has raised. This will form part of the ongoing impact work intended from the project. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Partnership with Improvement Service |
| Organisation | Improvement Service |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Presentations to leadership team to share findings and invite further engagement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to research participants. Engagement with and discussion of findings. Commitment to further engagement. |
| Impact | The Improvement Service (IS) is the lead organisation for local government improvement in Scotland. It delivers improvement support to help councils to provide effective community leadership, strong local governance and deliver high quality, efficient local services. The leadership team has engaged with the findings from the research and invited further interaction to address the issues it has raised. This will form part of the ongoing impact work intended from the project. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Partnership with Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) |
| Organisation | Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Expertise, intellectual input, communications with members |
| Collaborator Contribution | Communications with members, support with survey distribution, facilitating access to interviews |
| Impact | Solace is the leading members' network for local government and public sector professionals throughout the UK. The leadership team has engaged with the findings from the research and invited further interaction to address the issues it has raised. This will form part of the ongoing impact work intended from the project. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Article in London Councils Key Issues Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | News item communicating the purpose and value of the research to a wide audience through online newsletter, raising visibility and awareness and leading to interest in research participation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://your.londoncouncils.gov.uk/t/192K-796JU-6AA5BD10A147D4788LB861F3922ECE2A72067A/cr.aspx |
| Description | Conference Presentation to Public Procurement Global Revolution Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Conference paper presented to mixed audience of academics, policymakers and practitioners regarding social value, followed by Q&A, which has resulted in further discussions and opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Conference presentation at Social Outcomes Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Conference presentation to mixed audience of academics, policymakers and practitioners, with Q&A, which led to further support for action on social value topics from participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Discussion with DLUHC and Cabinet Office |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with policymakers from DLUHC and Cabinet Office regarding overlaps between the research and development of the Commercial Continuous Improvement Framework (CCIAF) with regard to local government procurement, which led to agreement to continued dialogue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | News article in Municipal Journal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | News article on p.2 of popular trade journal, distributed in hard copy and online, informing practitioners, policymakers and politicians about the research. This has led to a number of responses from interested parties in participating in the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=471c... |
| Description | News article in Public Finance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | News article in popular professional journal, available online. Communicated aims and of value of the research and raised visibility of the project with a key audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2021/02/study-launched-assess-council-covid-19-procurement |
| Description | Online Project Final Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online final event for project chaired by managing editor, Municipal Journal. Presentation of findings from Project Director. Discussants - Local Government Association National Procurement Champion; Chief Executive CIPFA, Commercial Hub Audit Manager National Audit Office. All welcomed the research and the opportunity for further discussion of the findings and their implications. Followed by active and supportive general Q&A session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Online Webinar/Roundtable on Data |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online high-level roundtable with invited audience to present and discuss preliminary findings from the project, which sparked questions and discussion from a high-level audience. Has led to cementing and developing relationships with participants, many of whom remain engaged with the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Online Webinar/Roundtable on Future Resilience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online high-level roundtable with invited audience to present and discuss preliminary findings from the project, which sparked questions and discussion from a high-level audience. Has led to cementing and developing relationships with participants, many of whom remain engaged with the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Online Webinar/Roundtable on System Leadership |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online high-level roundtable with invited audience to present and discuss preliminary findings from the project, which sparked questions and discussion from a high-level audience. Has led to cementing and developing relationships with participants, many of whom remain engaged with the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Online Webinar/Roundtable on Value Creation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online high-level roundtable with invited audience to present and discuss preliminary findings from the project, which sparked questions and discussion from a high-level audience. Has led to cementing and developing relationships with participants, many of whom remain engaged with the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Optimising data workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online workshop to present project findings and implications on the theme of 'optimising data' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Optimising outcomes workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online workshop to present project findings and implications on the theme of 'optimising outcomes' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Optimising systems workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online workshop to present project findings and implications on the theme of 'optimising systems' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Optimising value workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Online workshop to present project findings and implications on the theme of 'optimising value' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Policy Briefing - Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article in policy briefing to senior local government officers, available online. Communicated aims and of value of the research and raised visibility of the project with a key audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation at CIPFA Procurement Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Plenary presentation applying project findings to CIPFA Procurement Conference themes, with detailed Q&A from participants and agreement to continue to address key issues together. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Association for Public Service Excellence Commercialisation Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members of APSE's Commercialisation Network attended an online event where the preliminary research findings were presented, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to research participation from some of the group and an invitation to return to speak again in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to CEO CIPFA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | CEO CIPFA attended an online presentation regarding the preliminary research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to their participation in the project final event in support of the research and its findings. Further engagement has been arranged in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to CIPFA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with senior staff at CIPFA to discuss further application of the project findings, which led to new ideas and a commitment to further work, including participation at the next CIPFA Conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to CIPFA Procurement Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members of CIPFA's procurement network and other procurement specialists attended for an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to research participation from some of the group and an invitation to return to speak again, which has been arranged for March 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to CIPFA Strategic Assets Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members of CIPFA's strategic Assets Network attended a series of online events where the preliminary research findings were presented, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to research participation from some of the group and an invitation to return to speak again in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Central Buying Consortium Management Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members of the CBC Management Group attended an online presentation regarding the preliminary research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to research participation from some of the group and an invitation to return to speak again in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Chief Procurement Officers' Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Detailed presentation of research findings, followed by extensive Q&A, and invitation to become Academic Chair of the Forum. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to County Council Network Policy and Strategy Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Members of the CCN Policy and Strategy Group attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to an invitation to work further with the group in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Members of the Commercial Team at DLUHC attended an online presentation regarding the preliminary research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This has led to further invitations for joint working in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Full Association Meeting of Association for Public Service Excellence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Members of the Association for Public Service Excellence attended for an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to research participation from some of the group and an invitation to maintain dialogue with the Association in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Go Lab Social Outcomes Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Participants at the Social Outcomes Conference attended an online presentation discussing some key themes emerging from the research, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to an invitation to return to speak again at the Conference in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Government Outcome Lab Evidence Seminar with DCMS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Staff from DCMS attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to further engagement from some of the group and an invitation to return to speak again in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Improvement Service |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Senior representatives from the Improvement Service attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to an invitation to contribute to activities with local authority Chief Executives in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Local Government Association National Advisory Group on Procurement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members of the LGA National Advisory Group attended for an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to positive feedback and an invitation to return to speak again in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Local Government Association National Procurement Champion |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Local Government Association National Procurement Champion attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to their participation in the project final event in support of the research and its findings. Further engagement has been arranged in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to London Heads of Procurement Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Heads of procurement from London's 32 councils attended for an online presentation regarding the preliminary research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to research participation from some of the group and an invitation to return to speak again in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Managing Editor Municipal Journal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Managing Editor Municipal Journal attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to an agreement to Chair the project final event and to publish further materials from the project in the Journal and online publications in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to National Audit Office Commercial Hub Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Policymakers from the National Audit Office and a wide network of central government departments attended for an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to a deepening of the relationship with the NAO, with whom the project has contributed input to a Good practice guide: 'Managing the commercial lifecycle'. A Manager from the Commercial Hub spoke at the project final event, and the relationship remains open for further discussions in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Orbis Leadership Team |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Senior staff at Orbis attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This has led to an invitation to work further together in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Oxygen Finance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Senior representatives from Oxygen Finance attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to participation at the project final event and an invitation to work further together in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Procurement of Government Outcomes Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Procurement of Government Outcomes Group is an open-membership online group that meets monthly to discuss key issues regarding public procurement. A presentation was made by one of the team (Liddle) on issues of 'capacity' in public procurement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Representative of Connected Places Catapult |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Representative of the Connected Places Catapult attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to invitations to participate in further joint activities in March 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Scottish Local Government Procurement Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Heads of procurement from Scotland's 32 councils and representatives fro Scottish Government attended for an online presentation regarding the preliminary research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to research participation from some of the group and an invitation to return to speak again, which has been arranged for March 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Scottish Local Government Procurement Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of findings to local authority heads of procurement in Scotland, which led to extensive Q&A and invitations to work further with the group and the local authority sector in future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Senior CIPFA Staff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Senior staff from CIPFA attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to an invitation to work further with the organization in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Solace CEO |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | CEO Solace attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to an invitation to discuss next steps in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to South Cambridgeshire Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A presentation to Procurement Services about the insights from the research, which led to detailed discussion about possible improvements to drive through positive performance changes in the authority. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Presentation to YPO |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Representatives from YPO, a large public buying organisation, attended for an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to an invitation to work further with the organisation in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Research Presentation to Zurich Municipal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A senior representatives from Zurich Municipal attended an online presentation regarding the emerging research findings, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. This led to participation at the project final event and an invitation to speak at further events in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research presentation to Commercial Team, Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of findings from the research, followed by intensive and extensive discussion, and invitations to provide follow-up advice on specific aspects of the Team's interests and activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Workshop on Social Value (Belfast) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of research findings to a specialised group of procurement experts, which led to discussion regarding 'Pursuing Environmental Goals through Public Procurement Systems', resulting in commitment to future work on this issue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop on Social Value (Cardiff) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of research findings to a specialised group of procurement experts, which led to discussion regarding 'Pursuing Environmental Goals through Public Procurement Systems', resulting in commitment to future work on this issue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop on Social Value (Edinburgh) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of research findings to a specialised group of procurement experts, which led to discussion regarding 'Pursuing Environmental Goals through Public Procurement Systems', resulting in commitment to future work on this issue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop on Social Value (Newcastle) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of research findings to a specialised group of procurement experts, which led to discussion regarding 'Pursuing Environmental Goals through Public Procurement Systems', resulting in commitment to future work on this issue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop with Chief Procurement Officers' Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop discussion regarding social value in local government procurement, which led to detailed discussion and agreement from the audience to support the development of further work in this area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Workshop with Commercial Team, Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A working group meeting to discuss insights from the research alongside inputs from the Behavioural Team at the Cabinet Office, which led to detailed discussion about useful activities to support local government procurement activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |