Public Spend Forum: GovCon Summit and podcast with former White House officials

Public Spend Forum (PSF) is a public sector procurement global community and market intelligence platform dedicated to improving public buying everywhere. GovShop is its free-to-use global government market research tool for finding and connecting with suppliers. Read more from PSF and GovShop founder Raj Sharma here: Working towards a more open and accessible public sector marketplace – for suppliers and buyers.

This week’s latest from PSF:

6th Annual Govcon Summit (Virtual) – April 20-28

During this week-long event you can learn about tactics and strategies that will help you secure government contracts and gain a slice of the $2.8 billion pie. Among six of the United States’ top GovCon experts will be PSF’s own Ben McMartin on hand to help you:

• increase your contract win rate
• grow your teams strategically
• broaden your professional network
• establish a network of quality, high-caliber teaming partners
• Develop the mindset necessary to succeed in complex and shifting environments

More information is here: Master the Game of GovCon

Former White House officials on challenges in federal acquisition

In this episode of the Public Sector Heroes Podcast, PSF founder Raj Sharma speaks with Al Burman, Steve Kelman and Joe Jordan, all three of whom are former Administrators of the White House Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Raj explains his reason for running this podcast:

“I’m personally fatigued by the never-ending dialogue on procurement and acquisition reform in the public sector, and specifically in the federal government. One reason I strongly believe we don’t get anywhere is we’ve never had agreement on what we’re trying achieve from the procurement and acquisition system. What goals should we measure ourselves against? So I posed this question to Al Burman, Steve Kelman and Joe Jordan, all three of which are former Administrators of the White House Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Interestingly, as the responses show, there was one common theme: the need to get “best value” for taxpayers while also responding to a number of other social policy goals.

Listen to the full interview here.

And in other news …

UK Government should set a target for how much British steel will be used in big projects like HS2

Minister for Defence Procurement’s speech at the RUSI Combat Air Power Conference

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) plan to spend $650m on cyber protection

Written Statement: Evolution of Welsh Government Procurement

NatWest announces intention to buy back £1.1bn ($1.5bn, €1.2bn) of its shares from the UK government

Bluesign recognized by German Government for Green Public Procurement

Experts say public sector organizations need new strategies to anticipate expiration of private finance initiative (PFI) contracts

Ireland’s increase in public spending in 2020 second highest in euro area

EC publishes notice to fight collusion and provide guidance on grounds for exclusion

UK bold new Defence and Security Industrial Strategy

From private sector to public service: What ex-US corporate executives need to know

Department for Education will spend £7m expanding its army of cost-cutting consultants

European Green Deal: Commission presents actions to boost organic production

Contact Public Spend Forum

Contact support@publicspendforum.net if you’d like to understand more about public procurement, the effect of the pandemic, where to find suppliers for a specific category, or any other burning issue you have.

PSF would also love to hear from you if you have a success story within your organization you’d like to share. If you’d like to share your opinions or insight on a public-procurement-relevant issue please see the Guest Author Guidelines here.

Schedule a free GovShop demo

You can book a free consultation and demo to learn how to best leverage GovShop! You’ll lear how to build your market research skills and use GovShop to search across 2 million traditional and non-traditional suppliers, quickly generate lists and reports in minority and small businesses, and find contracts that match your needs.

Contact Frank McNally from the Government Success Team