Mobilising the power of procurement is a growing area of interest. The Welsh public sector spends approximately £6 billion annually on goods, services and works, however it is widely believed that there is room for public services to achieve greater added value from this spend through strategic approaches to procurement. This has been a recurrent call from experts across a number of our assignments for Welsh Government Ministers, in terms of the potential to drive efficiency, effectiveness, inclusivity or equality. A shift towards new procurement approaches requires a conscious reordering of the priorities inherent in current procurement arrangements; a very different relationship between public services and third parties; and acceptance of a different type of risk.
The Wales Centre for Public Policy is seeking to spark the interest of senior public service executives, boards and political leaders. We are doing this by providing evidence and expertise to support them in maximising the social, environmental and economic value of procurement across the public sector, to leverage the best possible outcomes for the people of Wales now and in the future.
Our projects are intended to constructively supplement recent work by the Wales Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly for Wales, as well as work underway across the Welsh Government and partners, such as the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner and Cynnal Cymru. We have published papers on public service stewardship and sustainable public procurement; and also work on innovation in procurement and not-for profit provision of services. We provide commentaries on emerging thinking and hold events to bring officials, executives, political leaders and experts together.