Guide to next-generation public procurement in cities
By ITU News
Governments are capitalizing on new technologies to make public services digital by default. Next-generation public procurement is key to this digital transformation in the design and delivery of public-sector services.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other United Nations organizations are promoting innovative guidelines for efficient public procurement in the digital era.
The new procurement guidelines developed by United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) – an initiative supported by ITU and another 18 UN partners – describe public-sector actions that are proven to support transparent procurement with positive social impact.
Procurement processes attuned to our times can help governments deliver better services more cost effectively and enable companies to manage more contracts in more cities. The resulting digital transformation at the city level would serve people living today, as well as generations to come.
The U4SSC guidelines speak to everyone working in public procurement, whether in local, regional, or national administrations.
The guidelines can help achieve:
- Better services for communities
- Higher integrity levels in purchasing
- Inclusive purchasing to ensure everyone benefits
- Effective purchasing that delivers cost-effective social value
Building trust and confidence
“Procurements are at that nexus between the public sector and how it spends public money and interacts with the private sector,” says Warren Smith, Chairman of the U4SSC Thematic Group on Smart City Procurement. “Procurement reform can contribute very meaningfully to every one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
Smith – now Principal Consultant at Dangersmith SARL and Associate Director at commercial lifecycle consultancy CURSHAW – speaks from experience. He previously served as Deputy Director of the UK Government Digital Service and Director of the Global Digital Marketplace Programme, which supported five emerging economies in establishing more open and effective procurement processes.
“What’s really key in all of this is how you build trust and confidence between governments, companies, and civil society – such as charities or social enterprises – who all have a role to play in that transformation journey,” he notes.
The guidelines take a holistic view of the technology-buying cycle, detailing practical steps for each stage, from planning to informing the market, evaluation and award, and managing the delivery of a product or service.
“Our aim has been to create new guidelines which represent 21st century approaches, and to build trust and confidence that it is possible to do things differently,” adds Smith.
An expanding portfolio of change
“The guidelines build on our experience and expertise from the last decade of the UK government’s digital transformation, and on our work with emerging economies to modernize public procurement, initially with a focus on tackling corruption,” says Smith.
“Our focus was absolutely on meeting the needs of citizens and businesses and being able to embrace new and emerging technologies.”
The suggested actions are based on successes around the world. The guidelines verify this with case studies from China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, and the UK.
“Working together with different countries and cities, we have developed a range of multi-country, cross-sector approaches that we can view as proofs of concepts,” Smith explains.
An annex to the guidelines puts forward set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to gauge the success of actions taken in line with the guide.
The KPIs focus on the procurement and commercial elements of public-sector performance, adding further depth to the U4SSC Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable Cities that are already adopted by over 150 cities worldwide.
“By implementing the guidelines and KPIs, we will expand this portfolio of change,” says Smith.
Header image credit: Unsplash/Mathew Schwartz
