KEY:

P = tangible Procurement issue

C = having wider Corporate/cultural connotations

S = having potential Strategic impact

KEY	Ref	Recommendation	Action required	Lead Officer(s) responsible	Resources required	Target Date
		LEADERSHIP
P S	1.1	Directors’ Group to act as champions of Procurement	Directors to receive regular and frequent reports on the progress of procurement, in particular the implementation of this action plan and the Council’s Procurement Strategy	Compliance & Risk Manager		Apr 04
S	1.2	An elected member should be nominated as a procurement champion	Nominate an elected member as procurement champion	Leader of the Council and Chairman of Resources Select Committee		May 04
P S	1.3	Review the roles of the Executive and Scrutiny Committees with regard to strategic procurement	Examine the existing and potential roles of both sets of members. Include an examination of the successful use of members in major procurements (such as that of the Social Services Task Group)	Head of Legal Services & Democratic Services and Head of Select Committee & Best Value Support	Member & Senior Officer training course (4P’s) £1300 (March 04)	March 04 to June 04
P	1.4	Map the Council’s portfolio of procurement expenditure, develop appropriate strategies and determine an appropriate procurement approach for each major procurement	Identify all Council procurement, use a risk/value matrix (in conjunction with a suitable risk assessment tool) to decide on an appropriate strategy and approach for each major procurement	Procurement Manager		Sept 04
C S	1.5	Introduce a ‘gateway’ approach for major procurements	Develop and introduce a gateway system to control the progress of procurements. Apply different scales of the process depending on the level of risk and the strategic importance of the procurement concerned. Ensure widespread use of the gateway process	Compliance & Risk Manager	There are some Government organizations which provide this free of charge. There will be ongoing resource implications , however , for those officers who take part in non-strategic gateway reviews	May 04
C	1.6	Embed procurement considerations within service planning	Identify as part of Service Planning, forthcoming procurement events in order that an appropriate sourcing strategy and approach can be adopted. Ensure that Service Plans deliver information about forthcoming procurements – build into service planning guidance	All Heads of Service Head of Policy & Communications	Develop in this year’s service planning process	August 04 March 04
		POLICY & STRATEGY
P C	2.1	The existing Service Review toolkit should be reviewed to reflect ODPM guidance on: - workforce issues - options appraisal - inclusion of procurement know-how	Review the Service Review Toolkit, including how the procurement issues will feature in all Best Value and similar strategic reviews	Best Value Manager with Procurement Manager		Jun 04
P C	2.2	The existing Contract Standing Orders and Guidance to tendering and letting of contracts should be reviewed. Consider adopting the model rules and guidance available from the IDeA when available	Contract Standing Orders and tendering guidance to be reviewed . Approval by Directors, Executive, followed by widespread distribution and awareness programme	Compliance & Risk Manager, Procurement Manager	Re-write of CSOs Approval of CSOs Produce Tendering Guidance Distribute guidance	April 04 June 04 Aug 04 Sept 04
P	2.3	Review the Council’s Procurement Strategy. Re-launch the strategy and ensure that there is widespread awareness of the strategy and its implications	Review the Strategy in the light of the National Procurement Strategy. Modify where appropriate and seek approval from Directors and Executive	Procurement Manager	Rewrite Approval Distribute/ re-launch	Jun 04 Jul 04 Sept 04
C	2.4	Ensure that wherever possible, the management of major procurements follows the Council’s adopted project management methodology, including the gateway approach	Ensure that the Council’s major procurement processes are consistent with as far as possible , the principles and practices of good project management and the Council’s own project management methodology	Compliance & Risk Manager	Planned Prince 2 training should cover .	April 04 and ongoing
P C	2.5	Ensure that appropriate resource and focus is given to the Council’s existing e procurement project and outline the requirements of a Procurement Management Information System. Consider procurement cards as a priority. Ensure that the replacement of existing financial systems is taken account of when developing an e procurement approach Ensure that the whole process is subject to robust performance management.	Develop and implement an e - procurement strategy - build a business case (a) - work with suppliers to promote adoption (b) - implement the best solution (c) - consider further use of procurement cards (d) - ensure that the e-procurement solution parallels with the replacement of core financial systems (e) - in the longer term, produce a comprehensive Procurement Management Information System. (f)	Project Manager, e procurement project	Unknown at this stage – dependant upon the business case produced -see (a)	Aug 04 (a) Aug 04 onwards (b) Mar 06 (c)) Oct 04 (d) Aug 04 onwards (e) Mar 06 (f)
C	2.6	Build choice into the procurement process so that consumers of public services are increasingly given options about how and from whom they receive services	Build into the Council’s processes, (in Procurement, Best Value, other strategic reviews and into Service Plans), a requirement that when delivery options are being considered, the opportunity to introduce consumer/user choice is considered, ie in terms of what services to buy and who to buy them from	Service Heads, Best Value Manager.	Some costs, to be contained within existing corporate and service budgets.	Apr 05
		PEOPLE
P S	3.1	Review the organisational structure, roles and responsibilities starting with a procurement board to oversee strategic procurements and gateway reviews, comprising of senior Members and Strategic Directors	Establish a Procurement Board (which on occasions will be the Directors’ Group), together with its proposed function, roles and responsibilities. For less strategic procurements, use the Procurement Liaison Group	Compliance & Risk Manager		June 04
P	3.2	Establish a cross-Council Procurement Liaison Group to co-ordinate a corporate approach to procurement.	Establish the liaison group together with terns of reference, roles and responsibilities. Group to include representatives from Health partners and IW Economic Partnership	Compliance & Risk Manager and Procurement Manager		July 04 & ongoing
	3.3	Consider the development of a repository of procurement know- how including the capture of existing knowledge gained in such projects as the Military Road, Partnering and the Social Services Task Group	Use the Procurement Liaison Group as the means by which procurement knowledge and experience is shared across the authority. Develop informal discussions and events to which staff can be invited- and develop a programme of such events Use ‘Procurement News’ and the newly developing Procurement intranet site to publicise the existence of expertise across the Council	Compliance & Risk Manager and Procurement Manager		July 04 April 05 & ongoing June 04 & ongoing
P	3.4	Identify the training needs of staff and members by completing the skills audit. Implement a programme of training and development to meet those needs	Analyse the results of the survey undertaken in 2003. Decide whether that information is sufficient to develop a training and development programme. Develop the programme with the Council’s Learning Centre, having regard also to the IDeA’s competency framework	Procurement Manager	Some existing provision has been made by the Learning Centre, but there will be a need to invest around £20,000 over three years was identified in the last service planning round	May 04 Oct 04
C	3.5	Consider how to promote and “mainstream” the Commission for Race Equality guidance into procurement practice	Use the guidance from the CRE to introduce into procurement practice	Procurement Manager & Policy Officer		Apr 05
C	3.6	Consult staff and build employment considerations into procurement processes and contracts where relevant to the contract including compliance with the Local Government Act 2003 and ODPM circular 03/2003, (relating to TUPE / the two Tier Workforce).	Undertake any further actions required to comply with the 2003 Act and Circular 03/2003, and introduce into procurement practice. Establish as a formal part of the remit of the Joint Consultative Board.	Service Heads, Head of Human Resources and Best Value Manager		Sept 04
		RESOURCES &PARTNERSHIPS
P	4.1	Develop small/medium enterprises’ capacity to gain Council business. Stimulate markets by : - promoting a diverse and competitive market - developing a compact with the voluntary and community sector - signing up to a concordat for small and medium sized enterprises in the community - developing supply chain partnerships - developing suppliers - using buying power to stimulate innovation include social enterprises	Consider a series of initiatives aimed at improving the opportunities for SMEs to gain Council work and to consider the impact of the Council’s procurement strategies, plans and policies with a view to mitigating their negative effects on local SMEs In addition to other initiatives, such as publishing the Council’s Procurement plans on the Council’s web-site, stage a ‘Meet the Buyer’ event for the Council where existing and potential suppliers have an opportunity to meet Council representatives to discuss the Council’s needs. Use such events to understand how suppliers view the Council.	Procurement Manager with IW Economic Partnership	‘Meet the Buyer’ event	Dec 04 Sept 05
P	4.2	Produce a ‘Selling to the Isle of Wight Council’ guide and publish it on the Council’s web-site.	Produce guide and publish	Procurement Manager		Jun 04
P	4.3	Improve the competitiveness of local SMEs by stating evaluation criteria in tender documentation and by providing constructive de-briefing after award.	Ensure that as far as practicable, award criteria are published when invitations to tender are being made, and that after award, bidders are given feedback about the way in which the contract has been awarded	All officers seeking tenders and awarding Council contracts		July 04
P	4.4	Publish an annual procurement plan and contract opportunities on the Council’s web-site	Using the Council’s Procurement Register, present an annual plan (on a two year rolling basis) to the Council’s Executive and Resources Select Committees. Publish the Plan on the Council’s website and update on a quarterly basis	Procurement Manager		Jul 04
P	4.5	Consider the benefits of supplier management, supplier development and relationship/account management	Through the newly created Procurement Liaison Group, explore the opportunities to manage and develop suppliers and the market for the goods and services that the Council requires both now and in the future . Select an appropriate number of such opportunities to use as pilot schemes	Procurement Manager		Start Sept 04 and conclude pilots May 05
P S	4.6	Explore the potential for using partnering and collaborative principles in other areas of the Council, including a variety of partnering models. Consider at the same time how continuous improvement can be built into contracts (both construction and service). Also consider the use of open book, risk sharing, fixed profit margins and the impact on the local economy	Seek the endorsement of the Director’s Group , for the widespread use of partnering and its principles. Engage with Heads of Service to identify areas where partnering might provide significant benefits. Include the impact of partnering on the local economy in any dialogue with the IWEP.	Compliance & Risk Manager		Jan 05 (to allow time to assess early results from School buildings pilot)
P S	4.7	Examine the opportunities for collaborative procurement through partnerships: - follow best practice in ‘Rethinking Service Delivery’ - consider new trading powers for procuring in partnership - streamline the time taken to procure partnerships - manage relationships with suppliers - invite optional, priced proposals from partnerships for community benefits such as employment, training & enterprise	Prepare a report for consideration by Directors on the opportunities and potential benefits of greater collaboration with others to jointly purchase, recognizing the value of existing arrangements and exploring how those might be extended. These to include consideration of joining with others public sector organizations on the Island to achieve better results. Include the impact of procuring in partnership on the local economy in any dialogue with the IWEP.	Procurement Manager		May 05
P	4.8	After engaging with suppliers as a challenge or consultation exercise, determine a response and communicate it to them	Ensure that when consultation has taken place on procurement issues , consultees are provided with feedback in a timely manner, which demonstrates that wherever practicable, the Council listens to others views and acts on them	Procurement Manager, Best Value Manager, Contract Managers, Head of Policy & Communications		June 04 & ongoing
P S	4.9	Examine the use and cost effectiveness of existing consortia arrangements for collaborative procurement. Consider whether there are further opportunities to join with others, including: - commission jointly - potential for creating shared services - making best use of purchasing consortia - allowing and encouraging other Island organizations, partners etc to make use of framework agreements that are available to the Council - the use of emarket places - determine how the Council will interact with the Regional Centres of Excellence for procurement	Measure the use and cost effectiveness of consortia that the Council already uses, as a way of either expanding their use or to test competitiveness against alternatives. Explore what other collaborative and joint purchasing is available to the Council, including where appropriate, joining with others to procure. Consider the use of emarket places. Consider also how the Council can interact to its advantage with the proposed Regional Centres of Excellence	Procurement Manager		Dec 04
		PROCESSES
P	5.1	Critically review systems and develop a proactive approach to ensure compliance with internal and external procurement rules	In conjunction with the review of the Council’s Contract Standing Orders, and tender letting guidance (see 2.2 above), ensure that there is widespread awareness of the procedures, by for example, briefings of service management teams	Compliance & Risk Manager		Nov 04
P	5.2	Use both quality and price criteria to award contracts (ie Most Economically Advantageous). Ensure that criteria are published with invitations to tender. Use whole –life costs in award criteria.	Ensure that MEAT criteria (a balance of both quality and price) become the norm for awarding contracts, and that they are reflected in the Council’s procurement rules. Include this in awareness training (see above 5.1). As far as is practicable, ensure that award criteria are published in advertisements and invitations to tender. Ensure that increasingly, whole-life costs (and not just initial costs) are included in award criteria and used as the basis of price comparisons.	Procurement Manager and Compliance Manager	Already happening. Need to update/ further develop guidance	Apr 04
P	5.3	Develop a corporate Contracts and Procurement Register which holds details of all Council procurement activity which can be used to: - forecast forthcoming procurements - allow the plotting of procurements against a risk/value matrix - facilitate the overview of procurements by elected members - determine where best to focus resources to achieve better outcomes - highlight opportunities for aggregation and other efficiencies - provide information to publicise opportunities to suppliers via the Council’s web-site	Collect information about the Council’s existing procurements and contracts as a way of compiling a database of procurement. Use it to map procurements and apply risk assessment to them and appropriate procurement strategies. Extract information to present to members in the form of the annual procurement plan. Use as a management aid to determine what the priorities of the Procurement Team should be and where there may be particular pressure on tendering resources (use to highlight and address any shortfalls). Use as a way of catching any forthcoming procurements which have not been publicized on the Council’s web-site	Procurement Manager		Mar 04 Jun 04 Sept 04 Dec 04 Dec 04
C	5.4	Further develop and implement an environmental /sustainability policy, giving an early priority to sustainable food. Implement sustainable design and procurement strategies and build sustainability into procurement processes and contracts, where relevant to the contract	Ensure that sustainability is considered in all forms of procurement . Review procurement policies and the Council’s procedures so that they include appropriate reference to the need to consider sustainability and other Corporate Social Responsibility issues. Ensure all best value reviews and other strategic reviews of services include sustainability as an issue.	Procurement Manager, Agenda 21 Officer, Best Value Manager		Dec 04
P	5.5	Process map and critically review the ‘procure to pay’ cycle to identify efficiency gains and unnecessary bureaucracy	As an integral part of the e-procurement project, document and map the processes used by the Council to identify, source, order, receive and pay for the goods and services it needs. Critically examine with a view to identifying scope and opportunities for efficiency and effectiveness gains within the process. Prescribe where necessary, how systems and procedures need to change in order to achieve those gains	E procurement project manager, Procurement Manager, Compliance & Risk Manager		Jun 04
		RESULTS
P S	6.1	Apply performance management to procurement including base-lining, strategic, functional project and operational KPIs	Consistently collect data in order to enable performance indicators to be developed. Determine the appropriate reporting line on performance - both executive and non-executive. Compile figures to match up against nationally agreed Key Performance Indicators. Develop local performance indicators and benchmarks to compare with other authorities in our benchmarking groups. Test current practices against the Procurement Excellence model.	Procurement Manager		Apr 04 Dec 04 April 05 April 05 Sept 04 & ongoing
P S	6.2	Review the Action plan and progress generally with the Council’s Procurement Strategy	Report progress against the Action Plan. Integrate this Action Plan into a revised local Procurement Strategy.	Procurement Manager		Sept 04 Aug 04
P	6.3	Conduct regular internal customer satisfaction surveys	Conduct regular customer surveys which measure satisfaction with: - the performance of contractors and suppliers managed by the Procurement Team - the performance of the Procurement Team	Procurement Manager		Apr 05
P	6.4	Conduct regular supplier surveys to target areas for procurement improvement	Engage with suppliers by way of surveys and Meet the Buyer days as a way of identifying areas for improvement in the way in which the Council procures and the results that it achieves.	Procurement Manager		Apr 05