Two weeks ago Public Spend Forum (PSF), in conjunction with Dcode and Shatter Fund, held the public sector Technology Procurement Symposium in Los Angeles supported by procurement software leaders Ivalua and SAP Ariba. They were joined by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and former Presidential Candidate Martin O’Malley, and a host of government, academia and technology leaders, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to discuss how governments can use technology to improve purchasing, raise the barriers against tech adoption and learn about what will be disrupting the market, all in a bid to improve public sector procurement for citizens and all stakeholders. Representatives from cities, states, higher education, federal agencies, and the private sector attended in person, while anyone unable to attend or just not local enough could join in via an online link.
And we are delighted to announce that for the rest of us who could neither attend nor listen in, the slides and a recording of each presentation has now been made available online. Here are some highlights to whet your appetite:
The Symposium began with a look at how we can remove the barriers to entry for small and diverse tech firms. Moderating, Raj Sharma, PSF CEO, explains how current process-heavy rules are preventing smaller, innovative, start-up firms from competing in the public space, which, he says, is a dis-service to us all. There are some great companies out there, which frankly could take their business to so many other outlets, how do we get them to come to us? A savvy and influential team of panellists discuss this and offer some first-class insight into how the government can address the failings in a very candid and useful discussion, you can see and listen to that here.
Then, Martin O’Malley, Former Presidential Candidate and Former Maryland Governor, talked about how we can be smarter in government procurement, picking out some home truths that all public sector officials can relate to, and giving his own thoughts on leadership, risk, and transparency. He offers some advice on how to de-risk, do your job even better and deliver better results for society, emphasising that sharing of information, success and failures, is key to learning and development. You can view that here.
We also heard from Michael Owh, Chief Procurement Officer at the City of Los Angeles. He talked about Next Generation Procurement in Los Angeles - giving a real-life overview of what spending public money looks and feels like for city procurement now, how we do it well, or not, and what the consequences can be. He talked about governance, due-diligence, and why it all matters, or maybe not! From his own experiences he shares how we can re-think what really matters, including where digitising can or cannot make a difference. Whole life-cycle procurement from every perspective is his focus: how we make the process work for us, the vendors and the citizens. Another enlightening presentation which is very much worth viewing here.
Then a dazzling panel in terms of subject matter expertise focused on Hacking the Government Technology Procurement Process - this really means 'understanding' how it works, getting inside and improving from within. The team give views on all manner of government procurement business from contracting, to building public sector products, to in-house vs outsourcing tech, to attracting customers and more. This is another insightful discussion which you can see and hear here.
The day also featured a series of case studies from government bodies and vendors, focusing on procurement innovation, how the government uses SaaS, encouraging and working with start-ups, and generally how to navigate the public procurement maze. We'll be taking a closer look at those in our next post.
But all video presentations are available to watch now, thanks to live streaming sponsored by Coupa, and the presentations are available to download by visiting the Public Spend Forum website here. And don't forget there is a PSF Procurement Technology Market Intelligence Report, also free to download, which gives insight into:
Why procurement technology is important
The types of procurement technology that exist and how they can help buyers
The segmentation of the supplier landscape and
The procurement technology vendors that are likely to meet your needs.
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