Minister for the Cabinet Office Ben Gummer spoke at techUK in London to announce a two-way commitment, called the Supplier Standard, to build and support collaborative and constructive relationships for tech companies looking to do business with the government.
The Supplier Standard is a guide for businesses, and has six principles which will form the benchmark for IT and tech contracts. They are:
1. User needs first
2. Data is a public asset
3. Services built on open standards and reusable components
4. Simple, clear, fast transactions
5. Ongoing engagement
6. Transparent contracting
The Cabinet Office says it will be launching a campaign to get more businesses bidding for government contracts.
The minister reiterates the government’s ongoing commitment to move away from large-scale, long-term IT contracts towards more agile and transparent interactions focused on joint delivery.
He emphasises that government is open for business and wants to work with the best suppliers of all sizes to build or buy the right things, in the right ways, to deliver world-class services for citizens.
A better bidding process for business with the government
Gummer says, ‘The new supplier standard is just a starting point. We want suppliers, both current and potential, to take note of the key principles and use them to help in the bidding process for government IT and tech projects.’
Julian David, CEO of techUK adds that, in order to achieve the government’s ambition of digitally-enabled public services that meet the needs of 21st century Britain, it’s vital that public and private sectors work closely together.
‘These six principles are a great step forward in delivering the right collaboration between government and industry. They will be the basis for opening procurement to companies large and small, exposing government departments to the best innovation our tech sector has to offer, and delivering value for money to the UK taxpayer.’
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