BUFDG 2014 Annual Conference, 6-8 April, University of Leicester
Booking is now open for the 2014 BUFDG Annual Conference, kindly hosted at the University of Leicester on the 6th-8th April. We have created a fantastic programme of interesting plenary sessions and engaging workshop choices for FDs this year, to help you tailor your conference experience to your needs.
10 tips for managing outsourced contracts
Outsourcing is an increasingly popular way for universities to keep costs down and to focus their activities on their core business, but there are risks involved. London Universities Purchasing Consortium's Andy Davies gives his top 10 tips for managing big-ticket outsourced contracts.
Sharing procurement services at Roehampton and Surrey
Have you ever thought about setting up a simple shared service with another local institution but been put off by the entry requirements?
Why blockchain could be the future in knowledge procurement
More applications are emerging for blockchain - a formerly obscure technology that underpins the digital currency Bitcoin. Nick Petford, chair of the Procurement UK forum and vice chancellor of the University of Northampton, is excited about its potential for procurement.
The benefits of collaboration in procurement
Collaboration in procurement is nothing new, but is becoming ever more important as universities seek to double their capital spending, Rex Knight writes.
Engaging In Radical Work: Students As Partners In Academic Publishing
Students as partners is the radical antithesis of the consumerist mind-set in higher education. Yet students have traditionally been absent from one key arena of academia: publishing. Ruth Healey, from University of Chester with co-authors Mick Healey, from University of Gloucestershire and Anthony Cliffe from Liverpool John Moores University, discuss The International Journal for Students as Partners which seeks to address this absence through pairing academic and student co-editors for all its sections.
Smarter procurement in universities
Procurement UK was established to provide high-level leadership and strategic coordination for procurement across the whole United Kingdom. This infographic, commissioned by Procurement UK with the support of the Efficiency Exchange, celebrates some key achievements of the UK Higher Education Procurement community in recent years.
Future challenges for procurement in higher education
In a competitive world, the UK’s universities are rising to the challenge of maintaining their position as world leaders. And so should their procurement teams says procurement expert Peter Smith.
Nick Petford: seismic shifts at Northampton
The University of Northampton is undergoing many changes ahead of the move to the Waterside campus in 2018. Vice chancellor, Professor Nick Petford, tells Efficiency Exchange about his role in the change and draws some surprising parallels between his academic specialism of volcanology and the higher education environment.
Encouraging more sophisticated procurement through PMAs
Procurement Maturity Assessments (PMAs) provide a comprehensive “health check” for institutions' procurement services. SUPC’s Susan Wright explains how over the past five years PMAs have shown how procurement within universities is becoming increasingly sophisticated.
