Procurement is, 'the whole process of acquisition from third parties and covers goods and services. This process spans the whole life cycle from initial concept and definition of business needs through to the end of the useful life of an asset or the end of a services contract' - Peter Gershon.
Overview assessment
The Procurement questions in the 'Framework Questions' document look to identify areas for improvement within the procurement process and management, covering business requirements, supplier performance measurement, and use of shared services.
Detailed assessment
The NAO has developed a procurement toolkit to support a detailed assessment in this area. Please contact
Dan Varey (020 7798 5474;
dan.varey@nao.gsi.gov.uk) for further information and to discuss how these materials could be applied to your organisation.
For NAO reports on PPP/PFI projects please visit our PPP/PFI recommendations service.
Other sources include
The NAO has produced a number of reports on, and guides to, procurement, which include good practice advice and case examples. These span the range from generic (Improving Procurement) to commodity-specific (Smarter Food Procurement and Improving the efficiency of postal services procurement) and sector-specific (Procurement in the Culture, Media, and Sport Sector, Value for Grant Comparator used at the Housing Corporation). Each report includes a set of recommendations and reusable lessons learned. The Office of Government Commerce has also produced a number of guides to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government procurement, available through their procurement website.
'The NAO's Consultancy Toolkit provides a framework for reviewing the extent to which an organisation is achieving value for money from its use of consultants
Links to external sites are provided for further information. Please note that the NAO is not responsible for the content of external sites referenced.
