The Government Digital Service (GDS) has launched a Digital Buying Guide to support best practice in procurement overseas.
It has run the initiative as part of the Global Digital Marketplace Programme, aimed at helping other countries make their digital procurement more open and effective, in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The work has been sponsored by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union, and its United for Smart Sustainable Cities initiative.
Warren Smith (pictured), director of the programme, said: “The Digital Buying Guide is for anyone who buys for the public sector in their country - whether that’s for local, regional or national government organisations.
“We’ve started by focusing on digital and technology products and services, and information is intended to be internationally relevant and not specific to any particular regulatory environment.”
He added that the team is currently testing the emergency procurement content and developing additional case studies.
It also has a roadmap for developing new features that will include templates for ICT contracts, standards for assuring investment plans and service delivery, indicators for assessing maturity and actions for incremental improvement, and community elements.
The guide, which has evolved from the ICT Commissioning Playbook alpha and is now in its public beta form, contains practical steps and case studies and is initially available in English, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. It has been externally audited for accessibility.
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
