Quickfire Guide
Whole life costs
Quality
Meet the end user(s) requirement
Identify any current contracts in existence
Estimate the relative spend on the goods/services in question
Use a sustainability test to maximise the positive impact the procurement process can provide. This is in terms of social, economic and environmental impacts
Where the contract value is estimated to be equal to or greater than £4,000,000, would you impose community benefit requirements as part of the procurement?
Consider Commodity/Service Characteristics (does not apply to Care and Support Services)
Consider how relevant Fair Work practices are to the scope of requirements (including Sub Contract requirements where relevant). Ensure inclusion in accordance with the Statutory Guidance on Addressing Fair Work Practices, including the Living Wage, in Procurement. The Practical tools are included there to help inform your decision e.g. – Fair Work commodity / service strategy – "Checklist“ and “Flowchart“ will help inform your decision
Consider any cyber risks, with reference to the Scottish public sector Guidance Note on Supplier Cyber Security and (if appropriate) using the Cyber Security Procurement Support Tool.
Assess the current state of the market
Identify market key players who could meet the requirements
Assess the current market for opportunities. For example such as the purchase of supplies or services labelled or certified as having specific environmental, social or other characteristics (e.g. fairly traded or equivalent)
Understand current and future needs of the participating market organisation(s). Include this in your approach to market
Identify any early opportunities to explore. Provide options for meeting these requirements
Identify any special conditions relating to the performance of the contract. For example economic, innovation-related, environmental, social or employment-related conditions, that should be included in the contract. These can be included as long as they are linked to the contract subject matter and proportionate
When developing a service strategy, an organisation must decide how the service will be put in place and develop the service specification. An organisation should consider service characteristics and develop a procurement plan which describes:
As a matter of best practice an organisation should have a local commissioning strategy and/or service(s) plan which establishes strategic and individual needs and determines what type of service should be put in place to meet those needs and deliver the intended outcomes. An organisation should ensure that there is clarity about:
An organisation should analyse the benefits and risks to people who use services, and also to service delivery, of advertising the requirement and awarding the contract or framework agreement by competition. For existing services, this will require consideration, through consultation with people who use services and their carers, of the impact that any change in service provision of supplier will have on:
This analysis may suggest that, where an organisation is satisfied with the quality of a service and that best value is being achieved, the existing supplier should continue to deliver the service. If an organisation's contract with the existing supplier includes an extension option that is within scope, the contract may be extended for the specified period. In the absence of an extension option, any decision by an organisation to renew (or "roll forward") its contract with the existing supplier must be compliant with public procurement legislation. Legal advice should always be sought in respect of any procurement decisions.
Alternatively, the analysis may suggest that the requriment should not be advertised at the current time and that a staged approach should instead be adopted. If an organisation decides to adopt a different timetable for advertising the requirement, it should describe this in relevant procurement documents and set out how it intends to move towards competition in the future.
An organisation should assess the risk of legal challenge if it decides not to advertise the requirement and proceeds to award the contract or framework agreement without competition. A legal challenge may have serious implications for procurement activity and future service delivery. For example, for a "light touch" contract with a value of at least £663,540 such a challenge would be pursued as a commercial action.
If your procurement is Digital or ICT in nature, consideration must be given to the Digital Public Services Scotland Programme. This strategy sets out the ambitions and actions at sector, cluster or organisational level.
Further standards and guidelines can be found in the ICT High Level Operating Model and the Digital First Service Standard.
The activities at this stage must be carefully managed and comply with the Principles of Procurement in The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. The processes must be undertaken in a transparent and proportionate way. This will ensure no market distortion, treating bidders equally and without discrimination. The procurement outcome unduly favour or disadvantage a particular bidder. It is the responsibility of the Organisation to make sure these requirements are met.Stakeholder Map.
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