Scottish Government Procurement

DECEMBER 20, 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, we take a look back at what has been achieved over the last year in Public Procurement in Scotland. We asked members of the Public Procurement Group (PPG) to summarise their sector’s 2023 achievements. You can watch the video below, or read the transcript at the bottom of the page.

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Scottish Government Procurement

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

To celebrate Scot Climate Week 2023 , in this blog we want to remind you of the eLearning available to help you to embed climate action in your procurement activity. We know that procurement professionals have an appreciation of how public procurement activity can support net-zero aims for their organisation and Scotland as a whole.

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Tracker Intelligence

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

Government expenditure through public procurement is essential since it ensures that there are contracts available to be bid in a fair, open, and competitive manner. Having a solid understanding of public procurement principles enables procurement professionals and suppliers to confidently navigate public sector procurement.

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Tracker Intelligence

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Public procurement encourages collaboration between government and private enterprises, in turn allowing public authorities to achieve sustainable and circular practices. This blog looks to address the role and importance of driving long-term sustainability and supporting the development of a circular economy.

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Tracker Intelligence

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Public procurement these days is not just about acquiring goods and public services at low costs. Social value is a transformative approach shaping how public contracts are awarded and executed. What Is Social Value In Public Procurement? Why Does Social Value Matter In Public Procurement?

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Open Contracting Partnership

MARCH 5, 2024

Public procurement should be all about people. We want to enable one billion people to live in more equitable, prosperous and sustainable communities by 2030 by improving US$2 trillion in public procurement spending. Our world runs on public contracts. It’s a means to an end, not an end in itself.

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Tracker Intelligence

DECEMBER 16, 2024

Competition in public procurement is not limited to financial competition; it is a key source of innovation and guarantees the fair allocation of public contracts. If not resolved quickly, these issues could lead to higher costs, less innovation and missed opportunities to improve public services.

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University of Bristol

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Photo credit: Flickr While carrying out research on the impact of digital technologies for public procurement governance, I have realised that the deployment of artificial intelligence to promote sustainability through public procurement holds some promise. And it should then put that evidence base to good use.

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Scottish Government Procurement

AUGUST 22, 2024

This one-day event attracts public sector buyers, heads of department and contract managers responsible for managing the national public procurement expenditure of £16 billion a year. Don’t forget to plan your trip using the pre-event planner and register to attend today.

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Scottish Government Procurement

DECEMBER 13, 2023

New best practice sustainability tests are now available on the Sustainable Procurement Tools website. The new products join the six best practice completed sustainability tests added to the website in 2022. They will help buyers undertaking the sustainability test for similar commodities, or for those new to the tools.

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Inter-American Development Bank

MARCH 9, 2023

Public procurement accounts for around 13-20% of global GDP , so it has the potential to be an important tool for governments to promote gender equality. Women-led businesses are currently underrepresented in public procurement awards. It can also have benefits for governments.

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Scottish Government Procurement

DECEMBER 20, 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, we take a look back at what has been achieved over the last year in Public Procurement in Scotland. We asked members of the Public Procurement Group (PPG) to summarise their sector’s 2023 achievements. You can watch the video below, or read the transcript at the bottom of the page.

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Public Procurement Procurement Sustainability Logistics 40

Scottish Government Procurement

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

As part of Scot Climate Week 2023 , we hear from some members of the Public Procurement Group (PPG) on how their organisations are embedding climate action in their procurement activities. We will continue to promote the use of sustainability tools and Climate Literacy training uptake across the sector.

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Supply Chain Public Procurement Procurement Sustainability 70

Tracker Intelligence

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

Pre-negotiated terms are provided that reduce the complexity for contracting authorities in procurement whilst allowing suppliers to capture opportunities more efficiently. These agreements take on even greater importance under the Procurement Act 2023, with greater emphasis on transparency, competition and sustainability.

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Open Contracting Partnership

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

This model policy is a joint initiative of OPC and the Global Smart Cities Alliance (GSCA) – a forum uniting thousands of stakeholders from cities worldwide committed to adopting responsible technologies to drive progress towards sustainable development. Another issue is the lack of insight into the process leading up to public procurement.

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How to Crack a Nut

APRIL 4, 2023

Some of DRCF’s findings in the AI procurement report are astonishing, and should attract significant attention. The report is not specifically about public procurement of AI, but its content is relevant to assessing the conditions surrounding the acquisition of AI by the public sector. This is extremely worrying.

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Open Contracting Partnership

DECEMBER 22, 2023

They leveraged Paraguay’s high quality, publicly accessible open contracting data to measure the existing participation of these smaller businesses and to understand their challenges in working with government buyers. Firstly, they gathered the three key public procurement actors in the same team and aligned on the same vision.

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Open Contracting Partnership

AUGUST 30, 2024

Introducing more sustainable procurement policies and processes presents an enormous opportunity for public authorities to not only contribute to reaching carbon emission reduction goals but also to drive sustainable societal and economic development. You can also explore our open-source code on GitHub.

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Tracker Intelligence

AUGUST 30, 2024

The public sector is a massive consumer of energy, water, and various other consumables, and therefore should be able to make a substantial contribution to reducing carbon emissions. UK Targets For Net Zero Year on year, we’ve seen a 27% increase in contract awards that mention keywords associated with sustainability.

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Tracker Intelligence

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

It minimises the hassle in the procurement procedures, thus making sure that the necessary services and products are procured in the shortest time possible. To public sector buyers, frameworks are not just tools; they are time-saving, compliance-enhancing, and value-extracting tools from previously assessed suppliers.

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Open Contracting Partnership

JULY 31, 2023

Challenge : The City of Des Moines in Iowa wanted to leverage procurement to improve equity and sustainability, but knew its current procurement processes and tools were insufficient. Current, closed, and awarded bids can now be found online, increasing transparency throughout the process. Open for business?

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Bonfire

MARCH 29, 2022

At Bonfire, we get to work with hundreds of public procurement professionals every day. On March 15, we brought together procurement professionals from crown corporations across Canada for a virtual roundtable discussion. The end goal is to drive purchase prices down for the buyer. Be part of the community.

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Tendersinfo

JUNE 4, 2021

They are the one that drives the organization’s success by using their analytical skills to help the organization build its market place and move towards sustainable business development. Identify the Pain Areas of the Buyer It is of utmost importance to comprehend the requirements and recognize the torment spaces of the buyer.

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Scottish Government Procurement

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

The Peatland ACTION delivery partners alongside NatureScot are Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority; Cairngorms National Park Authority; Forestry and Land Scotland; and Scottish Water – Sustainable Land Management Team.

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Curbing Corruption in Government Contracting

JANUARY 21, 2020

Enhancing the transparency of government in general and of public procurement processes in particular has been increasingly on the agenda of governments, civil societies and businesses as evidenced by initiatives such as the Open Government Partnership which has seen 70 OGP members making 189 open contracting commitments by March 2019 [1].

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Open Contracting Partnership

JULY 5, 2023

TenderNed has a special team dedicated to analyzing procurement trends and making their data more valuable. On TenderNed’s website, they regularly publish insights into key issues, such as the top 10 innovation-friendly public buyers , most common purchases (using CPV codes) , and the substantial increase in hiring of consultancy firms.

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Scottish Government Procurement

JUNE 24, 2024

Our ambition is to ensure that we deliver maximum efficiency and value for money for all who access our framework agreements, whilst continuing to focus on the delivery of sustainable social value. If you would like to discuss, please contact Bridget Lambert, Head of Collaborative Procurement at bridget.lambert@gov.scot.

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University of Bristol

DECEMBER 5, 2022

Policy irresistibility’ and hype in procurement digitalisation Public procurement is at its core an information-based exercise. These would not only apply to the adoption of digital technologies by public buyers, but to the digitalisation of the entire public sector.

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University of Bristol

AUGUST 23, 2021

One of the relatively recent developments in the post-Brexit review of UK public procurement law is the February 2021 proposal for the replacement of the current rules on the commissioning of healthcare services for the purposes of the English NHS (for background, you can watch here ), with a new provider selection regime (‘the proposal’).

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How to Crack a Nut

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

I was invited to provide an entry on ‘public procurement’ for the forthcoming Elgar Encyclopedia of European Law co-edited by Andrea Biondi and Oana Stefan. things going on in procurement. Public Procurement I. Below is my draft entry with perhaps an eclectic choice of content.

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Open Contracting Partnership

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Challenge: Despite ongoing government reforms, corruption and inefficient spending remains pervasive in Kazakhstan’s public procurement. And two-thirds of public spending is conducted through an opaque quasi-governmental sector. Public procurement is a huge field for the work of NGOs.

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Tracker Intelligence

NOVEMBER 29, 2024

Public procurement plays a significant role in economic and social growth by assuring that governments deliver vital services and infrastructure to their societies. This article will focus on tackling challenges in the public procurement process and suggests practical solutions for these challenges.

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Scottish Government Procurement

MARCH 19, 2025

Where Ill be taking a look back at some of the recent developments and a quick look forward at what’s coming up across the public procurement community. First up, the Minister for Public Finance, Ivan McKee, recently brought together the leadership of public bodies, elected and operational leadership of Local Government.

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University of Bristol

MAY 26, 2023

Given the large number of civil service data and data science unfilled vacancies, public buyers are inadequately staffed to confront and negotiate with much more knowledgeable and well-resourced tech companies—and at risk of being captured or deceived by companies selling snake oil. The answer is a resounding ‘no’.

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