Working with Suppliers to Deliver Public Sector Projects and Services (3 days)

Introduction

This three day interactive workshop is designed to give you the practical skills to carry out the necessary tasks through the stages of a typical procurement cycle. The study will begin at identifying the need to spend some money and work through to managing a contract with a supplier, and will cover everything between. Instruction is based on United Kingdom good practice including HM Treasury’s Green book for producing business cases. You will consider EU procurement principles (including transparency and value for money); learn how to produce a good specification for service delivery; consider how to evaluate suppliers, the market place and tenders, and understand how to extract benefits from the contract with the supplier. The workshop allows you the opportunity to try out techniques in a safe environment so that you can adapt and use them for the specific circumstances in your own organisation.

At the end of this workshop you will:

• have been exposed to a realistic scenario used to illustrate all aspects of good procurement and contract management;
• know what is required to produce a business case to justify an investment or expenditure on a private sector supplier which is in line with the UK 5 case mode;
• be equipped to manage supplier relationships, supplier performance and know how to manage a contract for continuous improvement;
• understand that the type and extent of activities in each of these areas will vary depending on the size of the expenditure, how risky and complex it is, and its importance to the organisation;
• have been exposed to typical failures in each of these areas and know how to help your colleagues avoid these situations.

Please note that this course is part of a more comprehensive public financial management programme which lasts 9 days. Click the links for more details.

• The Public Sector Bootcamp (9 days)
• The Fundamentals of Public Sector Finance (2 days)
• Planning & Budgeting in the Public Sector (1 day)
• Implementing Effective Controls in the Public Sector (2 days)
• Communicating Financial Information Effectively in the Public Sector (1 day)

Learning Objectives

• To know how to provide a robust justification for spending money on a private sector supplier
• To be able to give yourself the best chance of delivering the benefits identified in a procurement process while delivering the service to time, budget and quality standards
• To understand that in many instances, working in partnership with suppliers (rather than against them), is good for you, the service user, the tax payer and the supplier
• To protect you from legal challenges and many other risks when dealing with the private sector

Who Should Attend

The course is aimed at middle ranking finance professionals or service heads in the public sector or those with responsibility for public procurements or those in charge of public sector budgets. You are likely to:

• Have some contribution to or responsibility for ensuring services are well run
• Have a desire to be able to demonstrate that the private sector can help you deliver your organisation’s aims and objectives at an appropriate cost
• Have some contribution to or responsibility for completing, reviewing or providing expert input into a public sector business case

Topics

• Day 1 – Good procurement
  • Typical procurement cycle and benefits of good procurement
  • EU principles
  • Effective writing of different types of specification
  • Understanding the market place and the supply base
  • Effective evaluation of tenders
  • What to do immediately before you sign the contract
• Day 2 – Business cases
  • Business cases – why, what, when and how
  • The UK HM Treasury 5 case model (strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management cases)
  • Economic case – VFM and options appraisal
  • Financial case – affordability
  • What goes wrong in business cases
• Day 3 – Effective contract management
  • Basics of contract management
  • Contract governance and administration
  • Managing supplier performance
  • Managing supplier relationships
  • Managing risks in contracts

Teaching Method

• Group instruction, discussion and illustrative examples
• Practical workshop exercises using realistic scenarios, case studies, examples of best practice and the models you can use back in the workplace
• All participants will receive a comprehensive binder containing copies of the presentation slides, handouts and other course materials

Instructors

Venue

CPE/CPD Accreditation

The course is aimed at middle ranking finance professionals in the public sector or those in charge of public services or budgets. It is also useful for people in internal audit or for those with responsibility for implementing internal controls and managing corporate risks. You are likely to:

• Have some contribution to or responsibility for risk management procedures
• Be assessed on how well an organisation has performed against its objectives
• Have a desire to be able to demonstrate that your service area is well run and that it protects its assets / resources
• Be interested in avoiding damage to an organisation’s reputation
• Want to optimise your revenue

Prerequisites

Attendees should have a background in finance, a basic understanding of public sector financial concepts, or have attended the IASeminars “Basics of Public Sector Finance” module.