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Three posts on efficiency from leading speakers at last week’s conference

The 4th annual efficiency conference was held on Wednesday 25 March, with more than 20 speakers from across the higher education sector. Here are three blogposts written for Efficiency Exchange by three of the star speakers from the Universities UK event.

Understanding PEL’s role in supporting procurement in the HE sector

In an already crowded HE sector, can another sector body, Procurement England Limited (PEL), really add value? In an interview, Rex Knight, chair of the PEL Board, says yes and explains how.
LUPC logo

LUPC annual conference – 26 March

LUPC's annual conference and exhibition will take place on Thursday 26 March 2015 at Senate House, London. The conference will be FREE for LUPC Members to attend.
NWUPC logo

Latest data highlights transformation in higher education procurement

New research shows improvements in procurement across England's higher education sector over the last five years have resulted in a rise in savings and efficiencies of more than 50%. The findings come in the latest survey of Efficiency Measurement Model (EMM) data carried out by North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC) on behalf of Procurement England Ltd (PEL), a company that brings together the four English purchasing consortia.
Hot air balloons

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.
HEPA procurment e-learning

Raising the status of procurement in higher education

Procurement has the potential to play a major role for universities by maximising investment and supporting the strategic objectives of institutional leaders. Emma Keenan describes how the Higher Education Procurement Academy (HEPA) is helping to raise the status of procurement within universities.
Two people shaking hands in a meeting

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.
University Business logo

Finding the right contract caterer for your university

Many UK universities are deciding that catering is an outside job and are teaming up with external providers. This article in University Business looks at the experiences of universities and contract caterers in forming partnerships and working together.

Procurement ‘health checks’ inspire high performance universities

Universities seeking ever higher standards in their procurement are benefiting from a comprehensive measuring tool. Susan Wright, head of the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium, explains how the Procurement Maturity Assessment programme has inspired real changes in English HEIs.
Nick Petford

The procurement challenge: three years on

The Diamond review of 2011 clearly flagged procurement as an area with potential for achieving efficiencies and value for money. In advance of the publication of the second efficiency review in February, Nick Petford looks back at what the sector has achieved.