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Template Corporate Procurement Plan 2005-2007

The following document includes SAMPLE TEXT for inclusion in a Corporate Procurement Plan if considered appropriate

NoteProcurement is concerned with obtaining the best goods and services, supplies and construction to meet the demands of service users with a commitment to achieve value for money. A procurement plan is an effective tool to identify and review current procurement profile and practices, to determine future needs and to link procurement to an organisation’s strategic objectives. Procurement plans link an agency’s procurement strategy and savings targets with theseobjectives. Procurement plans also provide an opportunity to communicate to staff the direction of procurement reform within your agency and contribute to its development. Procurement planning therefore is an integral part of business planning and a number of areas in your organisation should contribute to it including purchasing, finance personnel (incl. human resources) and information technology.

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Who Should Read This?

Those responsible for the development and implementation of Public Sector Corporate Procurement Plans as set out in the National Public Procurement Policy Framework.

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CORPORATE PROCUREMENT MISSION STATEMENT

SAMPLE TEXT: “Ensure that the Organisation’s procurement function operates in accordance with best practice as outlined in the National PublicProcurement Policy Framework and supports effective value for money purchasing while ensuring probity and accountability”

Note:Organisations may consider that it would be appropriate to include a vision and a mission statement in their corporate procurement plan. The following or versions thereof may be appropriate

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INTRODUCTION

SAMPLE TEXT: “Required under the National Public Procurement Policy Framework, this procurement plan has been agreed by the Management Advisory Committee (MAC, or equivalent). It will seek to meet the obligations of the Policy Framework and in doing so reinforce the Organisation’s and management’scommitment to effective and efficient resource allocation and service provision as prescribed by the Public Service Management Act, 1997 and the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993. The Plan will be subject to periodic review.”

“In order to prepare this plan it was necessary to: • Analyse the goods and services purchased by the Organisation• Analyse the way in which the purchasing/procurement function

currently operates

This information was collated from corporate and business units’ plans, financial systems reports, published Estimates figures and interviews with relevant personnel.”

Note:Individuals tasked with writing this plan should ideally have completed the capacity building training provided by the NPPPU. As part of that training you will have undertaken a detailed analysis of your organisation’s expenditure and procurement function. This plan should be based on the key findings of that analysis, drawing from it priority objectives for the period ahead. The level of detail from the analysis provided in this plan is a matter for individual organisations.

Some Organisations may want to include all relevant information, others may want to restrict the level of information in order to focus on the content of the plan. Individuals tasked with writing the plan should have created an ordered and clear set of background analytical documents which inform the development of the plan and which management can use to examine the basis for the proposed actions in the plan.

Note:Consider whether it should be stated:

a) which individual is assigned responsibility for the implementation of the plan, preferably a senior manager

b) that regular interim reports on progress should be made, e.g. on a quarterly basis

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SECTION ONE

PROCUREMENT OVERVIEW

SAMPLE TEXT:“The Organisation has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of procurement with a view to identifying opportunities for improvement in the context of the procurement management reform programme being sponsored by the National Public Procurement Policy Unit.

This review found that……

SAMPLE TEXT:

The analysis shows that the Organisation’s total procurement expenditure in the last financial year was €xm. This expenditure was spread across (for example) 55 categories of goods and services. The top five expenditure items were building works €x (% of total expenditure), ICT development €x (% of total expenditure), IT hardware (% of total expenditure), and IT software (% of total expenditure).”

INSERT TABLE OF EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES IN ORDER OF VALUE

Note:Introduce broad findings of procurement analysis carried out as part of the capacity building initiative delivered by the NPPPU, including:

• The overall status of different procurement in your organisationi.e. critical to business output (involving defence force equipment for Dept. Defence, patrol cars for An Garda, ICT infrastructure for Revenue and Dept. Social and Family Affairs), important to business output (involving consultancy for policy organisations and accommodation acquisition and maintenance for organisations), low importance to business output (involving office equipment and supplies and general utilities for organisations) or a mixture of these.

• High level financial overview of current procurement function:o Total Expenditureo Organisation– centralised (estimated

%), decentralised to end users (estimated %), mixture of two

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SAMPLE TEXT:“As part of the analysis, all expenditure categories were assessed in terms of their relative value and the risk associated with their purchase. The following picture emerged:”

Difficult to secure supply/low relative expenditure:Total Spend for 2005: €

• ICT consultancy

Difficult to secure supply/high relative expenditure:Total Spend for 2005: €

• Building works• ICT development • IT software• Legal Advice

Easy to secure supply/low relative expenditure:Total Spend for 2005: €

• Photocopying paper • Furniture & fittings • Computer supplies • Postage• Cleaning• Publications• Office Supplies• Faxes • Security • Travel• Record Management• Courier Services • Insurance • Newspapers

Easy to secure supply/high relative expenditure:Total Spend for 2005: €

• IT hardware• Building repairs and maintenance • Training • Telecoms • Fuel • Photocopying equipment/supplies • Uniforms and Clothing

SAMPLE TEXT:“The Organisation’s procurement spend is predominately on goods and services commonly used across business units. Such goods fall into the green and blue quadrants and represent a total expenditure of € (% of total).The remainder of procurement expenditure is on goods and services specific to particular business units, including building works € (accommodation unit, % of total), ICT consultancy etc……”

SAMPLE TEXT:

“This Corporate Procurement Plan is the formal outcome of the aforementioned procurement review process, and the procurement principles, high level goals and key objectives introduced in the sections to follow reflect the findings of the review…..”

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SECTION TWO

PROCUREMENT PRINCIPLES AND HIGH LEVEL GOALS

SAMPLE TEXT:

“IntroductionThe Organisation is committed to meeting its obligations under the National Public Procurement Policy Framework, which is the national policy underpinning public procurement reform. This involves ensuring that the procurement function formally supports the Organisation’s key business activities and is focused on delivering value for money outcomes through analysis-based purchasing strategies that are consistent with EU and national procurement law. This will require an undertaking to improve procurement structures and expertise in the Organisation on an on-going basis, ensuringthat purchasing practices are professional and procurement staff have the necessary capabilities to operate in line with best practice.”

Note:Consider the degree to which the procurement function should be consistent with or directly linked to general organisational policy as set out in the Statement of Strategy or similar strategic documentswithin the organisation.

In some organisations procurement will be essential in realising aspects of the Statement of Strategy, since the procurement of appropriate goods and services in a cost effective manner is often the difference between effective and ineffective service delivery. In other organisations, procurement will not have such a direct impact on business output.

In certain cases, aspects of procurement may also be linked to wider Government objectives as set out in the Programme for Government or in the Partnership Agreements. Individual organisations need to determine whether there are any aspects of these policies which are relevant to their procurement activity and indicate in their corporate procurement plan how they intend to contribute to them through procurement practice.

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Common Principles

1. Carry out procurement in a manner consistent with EU and national procurement law.

2. Comply with procurement reform policy objectives set out in the National Public Procurement Policy Framework.

Social, Environmental and Other Principals

SAMPLE TEXT:

Reflecting the Organisation’s broader policy remit the procurement function of the Organisation will seek to:

1. Ensure that procurement activity supports regional development, subject to legal requirements

2. Support the participation of the SME sector in Government contracts, subject to legal requirements (perhaps suitable to a Organisations such as Enterprise, Trade and Employment);

Note:There are some common principles that must be included in the corporate plan. In addition, individual organisations may want to include procurement principles in their plan that seek to achievesocial, environmental and/or other goals consistent with their organisation’s strategic aims. Examples of these are included.

Public sector bodies are often concerned with more than the cost of a good or service since they are required to fulfil broader policy objectives. Given their role and function they may want to encourage particular social, environmental or others outcomes (e.g. encouraging the growth of SMEs). These can be policy objectives which could be included in a procurement plan. However any such plans to encourage social, environmental or other considerations must comply with existing EU and national rules, including requirements to encourage competition and operate procurement with probity and accountability. For example the European Commission has produced a guide called “Buying Green – a handbook on environmental procurement rules and regulations” which gives guidance on the interaction between the procurement rules and environmental policies. This may not be relevant to all organisations.

It is important that where these objectives are introduced that they are fair, transparent and consistently applied across all organisational tenders. This should also be made clear to suppliers so that they can be treated consistently.

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3. Ensure that procurement supports waste recycling policy or introduction of recycled paper in all the Organisation’s activities ”

SAMPLE TEXT:“High Level Goals:Practical implementation of these Policies will be through the following six high level procurement goals:

Goal OneDevelop a planning framework that seeks to deliver a coherent and consistent approach to procurement across the Organisation and support the introduction of best procurement practice initiatives.

Goal TwoIn support of the planning framework, develop the specialist purchasing structures and capabilities necessary to provide the strategic direction, analysis and advice to deliver effective purchasing performance. This includes consideration of how best to group and coordinate internal resources to manage total purchasing expenditure on goods, services and capital works.

Goal ThreeDevelop information management procedures to inform procurement planning and practice at all management levels of the procurement function.

Goal FourEnsure that organisational ICT systems, in particular the financial management system and purchase-to-pay system can support information-based procurement management and streamlined procurement processing.

Goal FiveIntroduce initiatives designed to introduce or enhance demand management, purchasing strategy development, supplier performance management and performance review.

Note:The relevance of these high level goals will vary from organisation to organisation depending on the current development level of the procurement function. The important work will be to determine which aspects of these goals are relevant to your organisation. These goals are set out here in no particular order of importance and it is a matter for your organisation to determine which of these goals are appropriate for your organisation.

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Goal SixTo participate in public sector procurement initiatives as they arise and are deemed appropriate to the Organisation, including e-procurement initiatives and aggregation projects.”

Note:These procurement goals will need to be broken down into detailed objectives with specific actions. In drawing out these goals into actionable objectives, it is important to consider the timeframe within which they are achievable.

Example: Objective – Reduce transaction costs by 25%Action – Introduce Corporate Procurement Card for purchases under value of €500, which are responsible for 35% of total transactions. Timeframe – End 2006

It is also possible that specific goals will need to be set out for resolving procurement issues with particular goods or services – e.g. –it may be necessary to set out and implement a policy dealing with mobile phones – to control use and cost.

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Goal One“Develop a planning framework that seeks to deliver a coherent and consistent approach to procurement across the Organisation and support the introduction of best procurement practice initiatives.”

SAMPLE TEXT:“The strategic importance of procurement to the Organisation has historically been undervalued, with the function for the most part viewed as a low level back office support function. As a consequence, the planning regime for procurement has a significantly less important role than equivalent human resource and IT plans. This shortcoming has been recognised by the Organisation. The Organisation will seek to address this through the realisation of Goal One.

Goal One will be progressed through the following objectives:

1. Ensure procurement reform is supported at a high level in the Organisation• Provide for sign off on corporate procurement plan at senior

management level • Seek to make implementation of plan the responsibility of an

individual within senior management • Provide half yearly reports to the management board of the

Organisation.

Note:In your capacity building work with the NPPPU you will have developed a view on the procurement function in your organisation. At this stage you might briefly summarise the main findings of the procurement review in relation to current procurement planning regime:

• Overview of current planning regime• Strengths and weaknesses• Opportunities for improvement

Individual organisations will have to determine the extent to which they consider organisational change is required. In some organisations there is an adequate structure to support procurement reform – others may need a root and branch review. There is little need to develop extensive structures unless it can be proven that they add value to the process.

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2. Establish a procurement planning group made up of key procuring divisions from within the Organisation to agree the contents of a corporate procurement plan

• Invite IT, HR, and other relevant division representatives to form group

• Establish terms of reference and work programme• Hold monthly or quarterly planning meetings

3. Link the Corporate Procurement Plan to the Organisation Statement of Strategy

• Award procurement a high level strategic objective in the Statement of Strategy or make it a subset of a high level objective

• Award procurement the same stature as HR and IT in the annual business planning cycle

• Include reference to procurement objectives for the relevant area in local business plans”

Note: This is one way of dealing with the development and implementation of the corporate plan. There may be existing processes within your organisation which could work just as easily. It is important to remember:

The plan should be agreed and endorsed by senior management;

The plan should be the responsibility of one senior manager to ensure it is being implemented – otherwise it is likely to fail.

The plan should have the broad agreement of all relevant interested parties – the key purchasers, human resources, finance, IT and accounting. It would also be useful to alert internal audit to the existence of the plan and invite their views.

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Goal Two

“In support of the planning framework, develop the specialist purchasing structures and capabilities where necessary to provide the strategic direction, analysis and advice to deliver effective purchasing performance. This includes consideration of how best to group and coordinate internal resources to manage total purchasing expenditure on goods, services and capital works.”

Note:Summarise the main findings of the procurement review from the capacity building process in relation to current procurement organisation and structures:

• Overview of current procurement organisation and structure• Strengths and weaknesses• Opportunities for improvement

This will indicate whether procurement is centralised or decentralised, the level of responsibility for procurement at management level andwhether some or total reform of the organisation of the procurement function is required. These requirements should inform the goals and objectives adopted.

Different organisations will have different procurement structures and different approaches to resolving internal challenges will be necessary.

Most organisations already have a procurement officer – though the responsibilities of the function vary from organisation to organisationand in some cases the Officer is only notionally involved in procurement. It is important that the procurement officer has a central role in the procurement function. It may be necessary to assign full time responsibilities to that official for all procurement – compliance and strategic for a small organisation. Where there is a larger body, it may be necessary to split the function – have one person involved in planning and strategic work and one person ensuring that compliance with EU and national procurement rules are observed.

Part of the aim of the procurement management reform programme is to improve the skills base of individual organisations. This is intended to be proportional to needs – and skills should be improved and professionalized where it is necessary and where such skills can add value to the organisation’s procurement.

In determining the skills mix, organisations should determine the “skills gap” by carrying out a skills needs analysis and determine appropriate procurement training based on the requirements of the post.

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SAMPLE TEXT:

“The procurement review exercise carried out by the Organisation suggests that there is an opportunity to enhance the role of the procurement officer and also address the current structures whereby a significant proportion ofprocurement activity suited to centralised arrangements is decentralised and ad hoc…… The Organisation will seek to address these issues through the realisation of Goal Two.

Goal Two will be progressed through the following objectives:

1. Establish a central procurement unit (where appropriate) with a remit to manage, control and monitor procurement in the Organisation

• Place the procurement officer at the head of the new unit, where appropriate

• Establish terms or reference, responsibilities and work programmefor procurement officer and unit

• Consider the degree to which the unit should have direct control and/or influence different types of procurement, low value and on major procurement undertakings.

2. Determine the appropriate skills mix for the central procurement unit and other business units involved in procurement projects in the Organisationto ensure that staff have the necessary capabilities and operate in line with best practice

• Define procurement skills required for each post/officer involved in procurement

• Acquire appropriate procurement training based on gap analysis which would indicate the skills required for each post and define a strategy to meet these needs”

Note:The requirement to set up new structures will depend on the size and nature of procurement – the relative scale and whether procurement is simple or complicated. More resources should be devoted to complicated procurement and less to simpler more mundane requirements.

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Goal Three

“Develop information management procedures to inform procurement planning and practice at all management levels of the procurement function.”

SAMPLE TEXT:“The procurement review exercise carried out by the Organisation suggested that there was an opportunity to develop the procedural guides governing procurement, particularly with regard to clarification of expenditure thresholds for staff…...Those involved in procurement are cognisant of the national and EU procurement guidelines but there is nonetheless an opportunity to formalise this knowledge through training and also audit its application to manage risk associated with non-compliance….. The Organisation will seek to address these issues through the realisation of Goal Three.

Goal Three will be progressed through the following objectives:

1. Establish procedural framework for different categories of expenditure

• Draw up procurement procedures reflecting decision on which expenditure is centrally purchased, locally purchased, including which purchases should be supported by market analysis ahead of tendering, which should be purchased using purchase cards etc.

2. Improve internal communication on procurement

• Issue template draft request for tenders on an intranet site as a resource for those tendering

Note:Summarise the main findings of the procurement review in relation to information management in current procurement procedures:

• Overview of current procurement procedures• Strengths and weaknesses• Opportunities for improvement and better information

management

Information management is often the key to effective procurement. Readily available sources of information on tenders, on practices and procedures to be adopted and other requirements allow organisations to tender more easily without “re-inventing the wheel.” They provide for continuity when staff move or are transferred.

It may be necessary to develop appropriate basic compliance procedures if these do not already exist. Information management should go beyond procedures and into the where and how value for money can be achieved by procurement.

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• Maintain copies of all procurement policy and compliance guidance on internal intranet.

3. Publicise commonly acquired goods and services and lists of suppliers• Develop a list of suppliers (possibly in conjunction with another

Organisation) from whom small items of goods or services are acquired

• Publicise this list on an internal intranet in order to avoid duplication of suppliers and limit time spent searching for suppliers of certain small value goods or services

4. Inform Organisation of wider procurement issues in the public sector• Develop contacts with wider procurement community to exchange

information and co-ordinate purchasing• Collect information (e.g. on aggregated arrangements)• Disseminate such information to Organisation and target groups

involved in purchasing”

Note:Organisations should as part of their information management develop broad performance indicators. In some cases this will be price, (e.g. stationary), in others it will be service levels or quality of the goods or services. Value for money is defined in the National Public Procurement Policy Framework.

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Goal Four

“Ensure that Organisational ICT systems, in particular the financial management system and purchase-to-pay system, support information-based procurement management and streamlined procurement processing. “

SAMPLE TEXT:

“Much time and effort have been invested in the design and roll out the new financial management system, which can support automated purchase-to-pay and provide for the gathering, recording and processing of procurement financial in a structured, readily available, transparent and auditable way. To optimise the return on the potential benefits from this, management must understand and specify their systems-generated procurement information needs. The Organisation will seek to address these issues through the realisation of Goal Four.

Goal Four will be progressed through the following objectives:

1. Configure procurement reports required from the financial management system

• set out reporting requirement to support procurement planning and management

• set up working group with finance unit to discuss actions to format system to produce reports

• provide training and education for management and staff to get maximum advantage from new report capability

Note:Summarise the main findings of the procurement review in relation to the support current ICT systems provide for the procurement function:

• Overview of current procurement procedures• Strengths and weaknesses• Opportunities for improvement

It is clear that a well operated and effective financial management system can be of significant assistance in developing an understanding of the procurement function of any organisation. Financial systems differ and it is possible that they have not been set up in such a way as to provide accurate data on the types of goods and services acquired by a organisation.

It would be worth exploring with the Finance unit whether it is possible for the system to generate accurate details on products and services acquired and the extent of the work involved in amending the system.

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2. Evaluate the introduction of a corporate procurement card for low value purchases to reduce transaction costs associated with administration

• Evaluate the benefits of a card• Outline control procedures • Indicate how the introduction of a card can reduce and/or replace

existing transactional costs and procedures• Ensure purchase-to-pay system can be integrated with corporate

card with regard to transfer of expenditure data

3. Reduce transaction costs by consolidating invoicing to monthly or quarterly issuance as appropriate

4. Reduce transaction costs by reducing the size of the supplier base

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Goal Five

“Introduce initiatives designed to introduce or enhance demand management, purchasing strategy development, supplier development processes, supplier performance management and performance review.”

SAMPLE TEXT:“Apart from identified opportunities to improve practice and performance with regard to procurement planning, structures, procedures and ICT systems, the review highlighted a number of other areas that could be addressed in the short term on a project basis. The Organisation will seek to address theseissues through the realisation of Goal Five.

Goal Five will be progressed through the following objectives:

1. Establish a programme of purchasing strategy development• Identify priority expenditure areas suitable for purchasing strategies

in line with best practice solutions provided in the SUPREM analytical framework

• Assess existing procurement approach for good or service• Carry out demand analysis, involving assessment of demand and

possible substitution of the goods or services or reduction in demand

• Carry out supply market analysis• Devise new strategy to reflect demand and supply realities• Formalise process to evaluate strategy outcomes, carry out

evaluation and use results to inform future procurement

Note:In the course of the capacity building procurement review it is likely that a series of additional issues will have emerged, outside of the specific findings with regard to your organisation’s procurement planning, organisation and structure, procedures and practices, and ICT systems. These can be categorised as cross-functional project specific issues such as the need to develop purchasing strategies for identified expenditure areas, introduce demand management techniques, develop supplier performance monitoring and management frameworks, and provide for performance review of the procurement function.

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2. Address first priority expenditure – consultants• Develop a centralised register of all consultants used by the

Organisation• Establish key tests and requirements which must be fulfilled in order

to hire consultants • Establish a regime for monitoring the outputs from consultants

3. Develop demand management techniques at a central level which help manage/reduce costs

4. Introduce and assist a programme of supplier development

• Examine the supplier base and indicate how long suppliers have been used by the Organisation

• Seek the views of existing suppliers on the way in which the procurement process could be improved

• Devise a list of goods and services that will be used by the Organisation and include these in the corporate procurement plan to help inform the market about future opportunities.

• Examine the supplier base with a view to widening it (where there are few suppliers) and narrowing it where there may be too many one-off suppliers.

Note:For this approach to be successful it is necessary to understand the nature of demand in your organisation and then seek to develop a strategy to reduce demand.

Note:Demand analysis and supply market analysis is new for most public sector organisations. It is important that it is carried out in a planned way so as to provide valuable information to inform procurement planning and actions. In particular it should be focused on high expenditure and/or high risk purchases.

Understanding the markets in which your organisation operates is important for maintaining a competitive market and maintaining pressure on incumbent suppliers to deliver value for money.

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5. Introduce efficiency targets and output measures

• Develop a programme for efficiency targets and outputs in procurement

• Develop monitoring and reporting framework”

Note:Individual organisations should consider how they can within the requirements of procurement law, introduce a supplier development programme and attempt to maintain a diverse and competitive supply market. This would involve communicating requirements to suppliers, setting up a two way information process to exchange information and provide for resolving difficulties with suppliers when and if problems emerge.

Focus should be on encouraging better competition.

Note:Organisations should set efficiency targets for their own corporate procurement plans. While some measures will be suggested here, organisations need to consider efficiency targets which are appropriate – reduction in transaction costs or targeted reductions in costs through a range of strategies – e.g. aggregation, reductions in demand etc.

Setting measurable efficiency targets is important in reinforcing that procurement activity is output based and involves much more than compliance.

In the beginning, organisations should set a few strong measurable targets which can demonstrate changes in efficiency. Once they have bedded down, then they can be enhanced with more sophisticated measures. Such targets can include unit cost reductions or overall expenditure reductions. Determining these will require some level of analysis to ensure that they are reasonable, achievable and significant relative to the “do nothing” option. It is important that the base figures for any savings are robust and identifiable. Reductions in overall cost could come about as a result of reductions in prices arising from effective procurement or reduced demand; it is important to identify the source of the cost reductions.

Targets should be linked to objectives – so that it is possible to monitor achievement of the objectives.

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The following are a number of examples:

- set out target for reduction in spending on e.g. stationary supplies- outline exact spending on stationary supplies over last three years- indicate approach to be taken, e.g. reductions in maverick purchasing- evaluate spend after three months and compare with quarterly spend for

other years and make adjustments as appropriate- examine to see whether spending on stationary had fallen by 3 per cent

for the calendar year

Indicators can take the form of volume reductions in the processing of transactions:

• determine number of invoices issued by the Organisation• determine an approach to reducing number of invoices – e.g.

introduction of monthly billing for all • indicate approach to suppliers and in all future tenders from the

Organisation

Issue Aim

Number of contracts under €50,000 Reduce number of contracts by 1%

Total number of suppliers Reduce number of suppliers by 1 %

Total annual spend Reduce by 3% overall

Indicate savings target Reduce by 3% overall or for certain

goods and services

Average spend by supplier Increase average spend by 10 per

cent

No of annual transactions Reduce volume by 10 per cent

Average transaction value Increase average transaction value

Average transaction cost Outline plan to reduce cost by 10%

Prices of high value goods Monitor prices of high value goods

against CPI

Determine probity/accountability Evaluate number of complaints

Number of aggregated arrangements Indicate whether more or less in 1

year

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Goal Six

“To participate in public sector procurement initiatives as they arise and are deemed appropriate to the Organisation, including e-procurement initiatives and aggregation.”

SAMPLE TEXT:“The procurement review highlighted a number of opportunities for the Organisation to engage in cross-Organisational procurement initiatives with a view to achieving better outcomes than would be possible from acting unilaterally. The Organisation will seek to maximise benefits from such opportunities through the realisation of Goal Six.

Goal Six will be progressed through the following objectives:

1. Participate in cross-Organisational aggregation initiatives with a view to reducing costs through the maximisation of public sector purchasing power

• Participate in aggregated arrangements for paper, furniture and fittings, computer supplies, office equipment, uniforms and clothing, computer supplies, drinking water and confidential waste and ensure full participation and all such products purchased from such arrangements by end 2006. This should be progressed through the collaborative opportunities group.

• Consider the extent of maverick purchasing and determine the reasons for it.

• Issue appropriate instructions on use of these arrangements • In cooperation with OPW/GSA set up appropriate information flow

on Organisational use of existing aggregated arrangements • Share information on aggregation with other Organisations in order

to improve practices and behaviours.

Note:One outcome of the capacity building initiative will be participants’ membership of an inter-organisational collaborative opportunities group. This group will act as a forum for sharing of best practice and for identifying opportunities for aggregated arrangements. Such participation in public sector wide initiatives is in line with the National Public Procurement Policy Framework.