8.2.2. Views of the Project Delivery Community on Smart Acquisition Progress

Three workshops were conducted at DE&S to discuss a range of topics relating to the effectiveness of the current acquisition system from their perspective and also to solicit ideas on how improvements might be delivered. The workshops involved c.60 members of the DE&S management team, reflecting a breadth of levels within the management tiers of DE&S (IPTs, operating centres and corporate centre), a range of functions (IPT Team leaders, Finance, Business Directors), both ex-DLO and ex-DPA staff, and both civilian and military DE&S personnel. As part of the workshop, participants were asked to rate their views on how much progress had been made on the seven principals articulated above. The results are shown in Figure 8-1. 2009 responses have been compared against a similar survey conducted in 2003 across the then DPA and DLO, along with some respondents from the ECC and industry.

Note: * Risk reduction during assessment phase, trade-offs in PCT, new procurement approaches; ** 15 individual workshops which involved a total of c.60 members of the DE&S management team

Source: Workshops with DE&S management

DPA / DE&S progress against Smart Procurement principles

Note: * Risk reduction during assessment phase, trade-offs in PCT, new procurement approaches; ** 15 individual workshops which involved a total of c.60 members of the DE&S management team

Source: Workshops with DE&S management

Figure 8-1: 2009 DE&S Workshop vs. 2003 Survey Findings

Although the results may not be directly comparable, it is clear that there are significant declines for most of the areas, and there is a general view of only moderate progress against the original objectives.

Over the 10 years since the Smart Acquisition principals were agreed and implementation of changes began, there has been significant progress, but there are concerns that some of the objectives have not been realised or that there has been a degree of "backtracking" on ground that had been won. For the most part, where practice has diverged from the original Smart Acquisition principles, participants in the acquisition system continue to experience difficulties, which suggest there is merit in revisiting these original principles.