third sector commissioning & procurement
DESCRIPTION
Third sector commissioning and English local government procurement. Forthcoming in Public Money and ManagementTRANSCRIPT
19th Annual IPSERA Conference, Finland, May 2010
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Third sector commissioning &
English local government procurement
J. Gordon Murray PhD
19th Annual IPSERA Conference, Finland, May 2010
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CommissioningBenefits
& Barriers
ThirdSector
Policy commitmentsto overcome
barriers
Researchmethod
Findings,conclusions
& implications
Scope of paper
19th Annual IPSERA Conference, Finland, May 2010
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Strategic needs assessment
Decide priorities and outcomes
Plan and design services
Optional appraisal
Sourcing
Delivery
Monitor and review
The commissioning
cycle
The commissioning cycle
19th Annual IPSERA Conference, Finland, May 2010
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Strategic needs assessment
Decide priorities and outcomes
Plan and design services
Optional appraisalSourcing
Delivery
Monitor and review
The commissioning
cycle
The commissioning and purchasing cycles, and procurement
Determine the need
Supplier selection
Contracting
Ordering
Expediting
Follow-up/evaluation
The purchasing
cycle
procurement
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THIRD SECTOR
Voluntary &Community
Organisations
Charities
Mutuals Cooperatives
Social Enterprises
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Specialist knowledge, expertise
& skills
Ability to spot emerging trends
Involving people in service delivery
Independence
Reach hard-to-reach
Freedom from intuitional pressures
……..
Benefits of Third Sector
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Common barriers
Short-term funding Excessive risk
placed on providers Unrealistic prices Excessive burdens of
monitoring and evaluation
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Commitments to overcome barriers
The Compact Small Business
Friendly Concordat Eight principles of good
commissioning
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The Compact
FCR legitimate
Proportionate
information requests
Advance payments when appropriate
Longer-term funding
Proportionate monitoringSufficient termination notice
19th Annual IPSERA Conference, Finland, May 2010
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Small Business Friendly Concordat
Sound options
Appraisal
Simple
tender processes
Pay on time (30 days)Ensure
sub-contractors pay
within 30 days
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Eight principles of good commissioning
Engage with third sector in understanding needs
User outcomes at heart
Consult providers to set priority outcomes
Map providers
Invest in market development
Fair & transparent contracting
Long-term contracts & risk sharing
Seek feedback in review
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A tapestry of commitments
FCR legitimate
Proportionate
information requests
Advance payments when appropriate
Longer-term funding
Proportionate monitoringSufficient termination notice
Sound options
appraisal
Simple
tender processes
Pay on time (30 days)Ensure
sub-contractors pay
within 30 days
Engage with third sector in understanding needs
User outcomes at heart
Consult providers to set priority outcomes
Map providers
Invest in market development
Fair & transparent contracting
Long-term contracts & risk sharing
Seek feedback in review
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Research questions
1. Do procurement managers view procurement & commissioning as different?
2. What is the level of awareness of the third sector commissioning policy commitments?
3. Are the policy commitments embedded in procurement policy, strategy, procedures and performance management?
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Research approach
ExploratoryWeb-based(but 4 hour
window)
12% response Lead
practitioners‘single & upper tier’
3,000 potential
respondents
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53%
47%
Yes
No
Are procurement and commissioning just different names for the same thing?
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Are procurement & commissioning the same thing?
Commissioning is fundamentally about specifying the services/outcomes desired. Procurement is fundamentally about ensuring that those services/outcomes are delivered…
They are the same if procurement is defined as the process from identification of need through to disposal of asset or decommissioning of service. Commissioning focuses on the identification of need.
Commissioning & purchasing are both aspects of procurement. They are the same process – each has its own processes within the overall procurement framework…
It’s not helpful to have different phrases for what essentially are the same process, yes, in reality there are differences but not significant enough to warrant a ‘my approach is better than yours’ attitude.
My qualification is 'purchase and supply' it's the government that seem to need to waste time and money faffing with different names.
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English council procurement leads engagement
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Compact Code 2 0 16 2 6 3 1
Concordat (L gov't only) 1 1 15 5 6 4 2
8 Principles 0 3 15 3 1 2 1
Unaware of them
Aware of them but
not in detail
Working awareness
of it
Embedded in
procuremen
Embedded in
procuremen
Embeded in procedures
Embedded in
performance
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Conclusions
1. Procurement is a policy tool in third sector commissioning2. Practitioners acknowledge room for improvement in all aspects
of commissioning cycle3. Misunderstandings on difference between procurement and
commissioning4. % Compact Code Breaches on Funding & Procurement rising5. Most lead practitioners claim to have a working awareness of
the policy commitments6. Lack of embedding in Compact Code, Small Business Friendly
Concordat and 8 Principles in policy, strategy, procedures, and performance management
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Implications
Practitioners Need to have a sound grasp of differences between commissioning
and procurement as presented by UK Government policy Awareness of policy commitments is necessary but not sufficient Need to embed in procurement policy, strategy, procedures and
performance management Research
Test the findings of this exploratory research Comparative impact assessment of the improvement in public
services as a result of embedding policy Consider the effectiveness of eNewsletters as a research tool Establish the effectiveness of cascading policy to practice in general Is procurement ‘the weakest link’ in third sector commissioning?
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Third sector commissioning &
English local government procurement
Published in ‘Public Money & Management’
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