2.20 The potential for achieving the savings set out above is predicated on levels of uptake of collaborative strategies in each of the six categories of common spend currently included within the programme and in any future categories of common spend which are incorporated into an extended programme.
2.21 The Government should target levels of uptake of 80 per cent in central government and approximately 50 per cent in the wider public sector. However, this workstrand found that in some categories of common spend, current uptake levels are very low relative to these target levels, although in the case of more mature fleet and energy categories, uptake of the collaborative procurement value for money strategies developed over the past two years has already risen to between 80 and 90 per cent for central government.
2.22 Uptake of value for money collaborative strategies in the wider public sector has proven harder to achieve. In energy (the furthest advanced of the six categories currently underway), despite high uptake levels in central government, uptake levels remain below 50 per cent overall because of low uptake in the wider public sector. Promoting collaborative strategies in those parts of government with high levels of local autonomy is a key challenge in achieving the full potential of benefits available from collaborative procurement.
2.23 This workstrand has found that although target levels of uptake in central government appear to be realistic, a 50 per cent uptake target in the wider public sector remains ambitious under current constraints.
2.24 Government therefore needs to be more radical in driving uptake to collaborative strategies through improving mechanisms whereby all parts of the public sector have access to and can comply with collaborative deals. This workstrand would suggest that the benefits of collaborative procurement can be achieved while maintaining local flexibility in the delivery of frontline services to the public. Recommendation 2.4 below outlines how this should be achieved.
| Recommendation 2.4: Improve awareness and uptake throughout the public sector to collaborative strategies. By March 2011 the level of common spend channelled through collaborative strategies including PBOs and other solutions ratified by Collaborative Category Boards should increase to 80 per cent of all available spend12 in central government departments. In the wider public sector, departments should work with their delivery chains across the public sector to actively promote greater compliance and uptake to collaborative strategies within their sectors and channel 50 per cent of all available spend in the wider public sector through collaborative strategies including PBOs and other solutions ratified by Collaborative Category Boards. To further promote greater uptake of collaborative strategies, central Whitehall departments and organisations across the wider public sector should: • ensure more focused marketing and sharing of management information on the best central deals available, which offer improved value for money for the public sector as a whole; • make better use of existing investments in eProcurement tools, such as Zanzibar,13 to support greater uptake of collaborative category deals; and align an OGC-developed central eProcurement policy with commercial strategies; • ensure regular reporting to Ministers on the value derived from collaborative procurement and ensure value for money and collaboration form key components of skills and capability development of procurement professionals across government; • ensure accounting officers in central government departments hold commercial functions across department families to account for delivering value for money through increased collaboration, and should monitor progress towards achieving this across their departmental family; • ensure accounting officers give commercial directors in central government departments increased powers to coordinate delivery of the collaborative agenda throughout departmental families, including NDPBs and executive agencies; and • ensure public sector organisations can keep any collaborative procurement efficiency savings they deliver in excess of what they need to live within their budgets and incentivise good performance through not penalising departmental success against collaborative procurement targets. |
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12 In this report, "available spend" is categorised as spend not locked into existing procurement contracts.
13 Zanzibar is a web-based purchase to pay (P2P) and electronic marketplace solution, available under a framework agreement to all English, Welsh and Northern Irish public sector organisations.