The promises programme – becoming a ‘no hidden extras’ university
Coventry University has sought to become a “no hidden extras” university by providing core textbooks to undergraduates. Michael Duffy explains how the university’s procurement team rose to the challenge of giving students more for their investment.
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.
Strategic sourcing in UK universities: becoming ‘intelligent customers’
Universities are beginning to discover the benefits of new business models in their dealings with suppliers, say researchers at the University of the West of England. They argue that institutions should become ‘intelligent customers’, which will involve investment in new skills, changes in culture and raising the profile of procurement and supply professionals.
Introduction to HE procurement: the first of five new e-learning courses from HEPA
The Higher Education Procurement Academy (HEPA) will launch 5 new procurement e-learning courses on 30 July. They offer a cost effective way to develop the skills of a central procurement team and staff who are not part of the central team, but who have procurement in their role. Each course is delivered in an interactive way, with a combination of slides, audio, video, interactive quizzes and links to valuable resources.
SUPC takes steps to protect supply chain workers
SUPC has joined with the world-wide monitoring organisation Electronics Watch which assists public sector buyers to meet their responsibility to protect the labour rights of workers in their global electronics supply chains more effectively, and less expensively, than any single public sector buyer could accomplish on its own.
Queen Mary University of London: why taking responsibility is good for business
An institution with its origins in Victorian philanthropy values the contributions of all its workers and makes a positive impact on its local community.
Hefce survey reveals bigger procurement savings
English universities’ procurement efficiencies have saved tens of millions of pounds in a year, according to a survey by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce).
New chief for SUPC as it explores collaboration options
Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) has appointed Simon Hill to the role of interim head in advance of a review that will examine how SUPC and London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) can work more closely together. Hill, who has experience of change management in the private and not for profit sectors, starts in September at SUPC, which has agreed a collaboration project brief with LUPC outlining background and objectives for the review.
Procurement as an institutional priority
Universities were encouraged by the Diamond report to see procurement as an institutional priority. But how can this be achieved in principle and what have universities done on the ground? Laura Watson, deputy director of procurement at Durham University, talks with John Lakin of Procurement UK about what has been achieved at her university.
G-Cloud: universities can use new online marketplace
G-Cloud is a UK Government initiative to encourage the adoption of Cloud Services across the whole of the Public Sector as well as the higher education sector. It aims to simplify how the Public Sector buys and delivers services by creating a marketplace of pay-as-you-go commodity services that can be easily scaled up or down, based on the changing needs of an organisation and its users.
