In the Discussion Paper, the Government has solicited opinion on what it can do to assist public institutions to achieve efficient procurement. Again, the United Kingdom provides an excellent model. Although the UK's centralized government system lends itself to more universal procurement practices throughout the country, the local authorities have benefited greatly by the adoption of standardized contracts and comprehensive guidance materials for hospitals, schools and water/wastewater treatment plants.7 Standardization means that individual governments do not have to "reinvent the wheel" when it comes to effective procurement and contract language. The challenge with standardized contracts is to retain a degree of flexibility that allows the government to reflect local market conditions, but well thought out templates will achieve this goal over time. The Council has also published several guidance documents as well as case studies that detail successful procurement practices at the provincial and municipal level.
Some other beneficial procurement practices initiated closer to home were in the City of Ottawa. The City utilized three highly successful tactics in getting some much needed infrastructure projects off the ground:
1) A Strategic Delivery Unit was formed with expertise in P3 procurement.
2) A third party fairness commissioner was appointed to ensure that the procurement process was fair and transparent
3) The Strategic Delivery Unit and municipal departments were given clear direction to fast track the procurement and planning approval process
These practices, combined with a firm commitment from both City Council and staff, resulted in the development of several new recreation projects with minimal impact on property taxes.
Along with giving procurement officers the authority they need to develop P3 projects efficiently, they also need to be given the necessary skills. Training in the field of PPP should be on going within the government in the early years of such activity.
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7 For more information, see the UK's local government procurement agency (4ps) at: www.4ps.co.uk