programmes

Smarter spending through new procurement thinking

Connected Places Catapult has launched the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre (IPEC) to upskill public sector buyers in innovation friendly procurement approaches and to generate greater regional research and development activity and private sector investment.

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March 3, 2023

Britain’s public sector spends £300 billion a year buying goods, services and works from the private sector, of which £60 billion is procured by the UK’s local government alone.

This represents a huge market and a significant lever which public authorities can use to create and shape markets.

However, despite all this potential to drive strategic outcomes, public procurement is largely under-exploited as a mechanism for sparking and scaling innovation.

The UK Government’s Innovation Strategy notes “a low appetite for risk and experimentation” in public procurement, due to “the overall culture, expertise and incentive structure of the public sector”.

As a result, UK public procurement is still largely characterised by procedures which over-specify on requirements (leaving little room for innovation) and selection based largely on price. Faced with a whole box of tools, procurement professionals invariably reach for the same procedure each time.

An infographic detailing UK public sector procurement: £300 billion spent annually on third-party suppliers, £63 billion by local government, 23% of UK tenders receive one bid, and only 5% of CBI members agree that procurement incentives innovation.

Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre (IPEC)

Our new centre draws on practical experience, knowledge and network that Connected Places Catapult has established in the field of innovation-friendly procurement over several years.

Through IPEC we will inspire and empower public authorities to adopt new procurement behaviours through practical support and create robust evidence which makes the case for change and collective action.

Visit the microsite for more information and to join the IPEC community: ipec.org.uk

Based on our leadership in this space, we have agreed to chair a World Economic Forum global taskforce on innovation procurement later this year. More details will follow in March.

Connected Places Catapult and the University of Birmingham have also agreed to renew a partnership aimed at empowering public authorities to harness their spending power to spark new solutions and support the growth of regional innovation economies.

In recent years the Catapult has published several reports, thought leadership pieces, guidance notes and case studies on the topic of innovation in procurement. Here is a selection:

Reports

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Report

Sparking innovation in the market: The role of expert support hubs

By adopting innovative solutions, the public sector can make services work better for people, and cut costs.

Report

Sparking innovation through the market: A review of pioneering practice

Public procurement in the UK is failing to reach its potential as a driver of innovation and growth.

Guidance

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News

SME Tender Support Guide

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News

Suppliers' Six Steps to Support Greater Public Sector Innovation

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Article

Innovation Partnerships: An effective but under-used tool for buying innovation

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Project

Public Innovation Procurement Resource Kit

Ask a pioneering local leader why they’re not harnessing the innovation opportunities of the market to solve their locality’s service challenges and you’ll often get the response; “Procurement policy doesn’t allow it”.

Case Studies

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News

How Belfast is Using Procurement to Unlock Economic Value

With a rapidly changing urban economy, Belfast soon recognised that it was missing out on business rates income due to a lack of access to real-time, accurate data.