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Leveling the playing field
Leveling the playing field
14 August 2018
Tags:
Digital sourcing and ICT procurement (/taxonomy/term/25)
The DTA recently brought together a team of experts from across the public service to research
how we can increase fairness by improving digital sourcing.
We talked to both government buyers and industry sellers and we have turned what we
learned into a series of draft recommendations. Now we’d like to hear what you think.
Why increasing fairness is important
Increased fairness means better access to opportunities for more companies, regardless of
their size or previous experience with government. Increased fairness also results in more
effective competition and better value for money in digital sourcing for government.
During the research, we heard 4 key areas of concern:
Ease of access — some sellers believed that those who already hold contracts with
government may benefit from insights others suppliers would not.
Prescriptive requirements — government requirements are often overly prescriptive
which could stifle the breadth of ideas and solutions being presented.
Better feedback — government agencies did not always provide sufficient feedback for
businesses to help improve their offering the next time they pitch to government.
Streamlined procurement — sellers indicated the cost of doing business with
government, lengthy procurement processes, complex contracts and panel arrangements
being not clearly understood as burdens. This was the case particularly for smaller sellers.
What is the DTA doing to address these concerns?
We have taken on board the outcomes of this research and believe there are ways the
government can improve its processes. The DTA want to help make these changes so that
sellers of all sizes can compete for contracts on a more level playing field.
By increasing fairness, government can play a key role in growing Australian digital businesses.
At the same time it can help deliver high-quality outcomes that are good value for money.
We have drafted 5 recommendations for government agencies to consider adopting:
Explore ways to improve the imbalance between sellers who already have access and new
players in being able to showcase what they have to offer.
Provide guidance on better government requirements and documentation methods. This
includes identifying more ways for the government to develop outcomes-focused
requirements.
Refresh and improve training for sourcing staff. This would include a clear focus on how
to provide better feedback to sellers during evaluation and assessment processes,
including escalation processes.
Make panel on-boarding and management processes and tools easier. This would reduce
barriers that make it hard for sellers to participate.
Improve transparency in opportunities available across government and make it easier
for sellers to navigate them.
Give us your feedback
We’d like to know about your experiences buying or selling products and services to
government and how the proposed recommendations might impact or support your work.
We’d especially like to hear from you if you are a small business or new to the government
market.
Read more about
our research (/node/340) and the recommendations and send us your
feedback (https://engage.digital.gov.au/) by 4 September 2018.
Your answers will build on our existing research and help shape the
final digital sourcing fair
criteria guidance.
For media enquiries email us at xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx (mailto:xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx)
For other enquiries email us at
xxxx@xxx.xxx.xx (mailto:xxxx@xxx.xxx.xx)
© Commonwealth of Australia. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and
where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license.
