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How can Government Procurement
better support Open ......LCA MiniConf
19 February 2009Laurence Millar
Government must shift….
From Retail…
… to Wholesale
Why should we free our data? People have funded the collection of the
data, and want/are entitled to access it Public access improves quality Marginal cost of distribution is minimal Agencies do not have the resources or the
innovative skills to respond to the variety of needs/uses of the data
Increases economic and public value
How do we set it free?
Located at http://www.e.govt.nz/policy/information-data/nzgoalframework.htmland http://www.e.govt.nz/policy/information-data/framework.html
Intellectual Property Rights – current guidelines
CROP and edit
Government Policy on Open Source NZ Government Agencies are
encouraged to assess open source software alternatives (where these exist) alongside commercial software, and should choose based on cost, functionality, interoperability, and security.
http://www.e.govt.nz/policy/open-source
UK policy on Open Source Feb 2009 take further positive action to
ensure that Open Source products are fully and fairly considered throughout government IT
ensure that we specify our requirements and publish our data in terms of Open Standards
seek the same degree of flexibility in our commercial relationships with proprietary software suppliers as are inherent in the open source world.
UK Cabinet Office
Sep 2009 “Government Open Source Policy
Lacks Teeth” "The UK has one of the best-
written policies out there — the problem is policing it,“
“Large procurements simply ignore it, and this is not being picked up”
News report: Eweek Europe
Discussion What should be done to improve government
procurement?... But first, a brief summary of the current state
(from http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/StandardSummary____181.aspx)
Government procurement principles best value for money over whole of life; open and effective competition; full and fair opportunity for domestic suppliers; improving business capabilities, including e-
commerce capability; recognition of New Zealand's international trade
obligations and interests; and requiring sustainably produced goods and services
wherever possible, having regard to economic, environmental and social impacts over their life cycle.
Business concerns (1) some companies don’t bother bidding for government work as they
perceive that there are already preferred companies who will win the tender;
agencies cost business time and money by going to tender for contracts that they have no intention of awarding, just to get ideas or inform budget bids;
a lack of consistency and/or standardised processes/conditions of contract, adding compliance costs, this can mean that every tender from government has to be checked by lawyers;
the requirement in many government contracts for unlimited public indemnity insurance is unreasonable and prohibitive, as it is not actually possible for businesses to obtain this. Businesses therefore have to run the risk of being potentially bankrupted should the government exercise a claim;
Business concerns (2) poor and inconsistent documentation among agencies, requiring detailed
answers to questions that are not always directly relevant such as sustainability, with little information provided on the actual criteria (and corresponding weighting) that will be used to select the successful supplier;
agencies are generally averse to sharing risk in the development and application of innovative solutions;
concerns that intellectual property/ideas are solicited by agencies and used without permission and/or that confidentiality of innovative offerings is not maintained, eliminating the incentive to be innovative in proposals;
uneven or low procurement capability within agencies, making the cost of liaison and engagement higher than it should be and reducing the ability to have open strategic discussions about options to reduce risk or increase value;
long contract periods (sometimes up to 16 years) for fairly routine goods and services, effectively locking out competition.
Procurement Reform Key Reform aspects- 4 Year programme- Not just about savings- Transform procurement
thinking- Build Procurement as a
strategic activity
Four Themes- Cost savings- Build capability and
capacity of procurers- Enhanced NZ business
participation- Improved:
governance, oversight and; accountability
Centre of Expertise Government Technology Services (DIA)
IT Equipment ($290m over 5 years)
Multi-functional devices (printer, photocopier, scanner, fax) ($92.5m over 5 years)
Other products and services in future – “informed by spend analysis”
So... What messages would we send to the people
leading procurement reform?
AttributionsSlide 2
http://acrylick.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/neon-open-sign-closed-sign.jpg
Slide 3 http://www.flickr.com/photos/gettysgirl/3537413538/Slide 4
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/10/08/QueenVicMarket_wideweb__470x312,0.jpg http://aquirkyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Wholesale.jpg
Slide 7 http://open.org.nz http://data.govt.nz
Slide 8 http://lawinquebec.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/pirate-banned-from-movie-theatres/
Slide 9 http://www.e.govt.nz/resources/news/2008/20080131.html
Slide 10 http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/open_source.png
