Current Issue
The May issue of Government Opportunities (GO) magazine includes
the latest developments in public procurement and useful information for
those involved in the sector.
A recent GO poll revealed a marked difference between buyers and suppliers
when readers were asked whether e-auctions should be encouraged. The majority
of buyers were in favour of the e-procurement tool, with 75 per cent answering ‘yes’.
However, suppliers disagreed – 72.7 per cent voted ‘no’.
So, why is there such a divide and what can be done to change suppliers’ opinions
of e-auctions? GO spoke exclusively to key procurement professionals
to find out how far these poll results reflected their viewpoints.
This edition of GO also comes complete with a Sustainability Supplement.
The GO Maintaining the Future conference held in London in March highlighted
that sustainability is firmly on the procurement agenda, and the supplement builds
on this with articles from many of that event’s speakers. It also contains
the responses to the sustainability survey that was on the GO website;
our thanks to all who took part in it.
The clock is counting down to National Public Procurement Practitioners Day (N3PD)
2008 and the GO Excellence in Public Procurement Awards. As the May
edition of GO went to press, the first round of the judging process
for the GO Awards was under way. Having seen the submissions it is obvious
that a great deal of time and effort has gone into them, and the standard of
entry has increased again. Our thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations
to those who have achieved finalist status. The full list of finalists will be
published in the June issue of GO, but details will be available on
the www.govopps.co.uk and www.goawards.co.uk websites
in early May.
N3PD takes place on 5 June, and Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, and John Cridland, Deputy Director-General of the CBI (also this month’s GO interviewee), are our confirmed keynote speakers. N3PD is one of the best procurement networking events of the year, and if you haven’t already registered to attend then visit the www.n3pd.com website to find out more.
GO May also has a themed section on Commercial Opportunities
for the Third Sector, as well as the usual comprehensive coverage of UK
and international public procurement news and other essential reading.
The May edition will be available from 7 May. Public sector buyers can
register to receive GO free by clicking here. Private sector organisations
can subscribe by clicking here.
Next issue
GO June contains a special section on e-Procurement and the Procurement
Solutions event preview, plus an interview with Phil Orford, Chief Executive
of the Forum of Private Business.
