31 May 2002
Value-for-money evaluation in complex procurements shows the level of concern in government that many staff making multimillion pound procurement decisions are choosing the cheapest option rather than the best.
Ministers want all future requests for invitations to tender 'for complex procurement' to refer to and confirm compliance with the new guidelines.
'Achieving a successful outcome to a complex procurement demands leadership commitment from senior management from the very start of the process,' said Peter Gershon, chief executive of the Office of Government Commerce, the Treasury-based agency that published the proposals.
Aimed at senior management and accounting officers across government – except the Ministry of Defence – the guidance puts down markers that all departments should follow.
These include: establishing the department's investment priorities, and the supplier's capabilities, and constant re-assessment of business assumptions throughout the procurement process.
The government also wants to see more 'openness' in the procedure.
The guidelines were announced at a PPP conference in central London on May 28. Speaking at the conference, Gershon said there was an increasing fear that some companies might be better at competing for PPP contracts than they are at running them.
But he added that the process of procurement was becoming more streamlined. 'We are getting the tools, now let's successfully deliver the job,' he said.
PFmay2002
