Links I Liked [Public Procurement]

1. Belgian Govt. approves procurement of software to track down terrorists. Gosh I would love to see the tender specifications for this one. Was it an output/outcomes based spec? Or did Belgium just accidentally acquired Twitter?

2. Albert kickstarts a big thinking discussion about what procurement should look like. I have a couple of ideas on this as well. As I said last year at the Global Revolution conference in Nottingham, our current system was designed on (and for) an analog world. It has aged as well as BladeRunner's imagination of 2015.

3. House of Commons Library publishes its view on Brexit implications for public procurement.

4. UK Government has a 6 point plan to open up the market for suppliers of all sizes. I for one, welcome any measure which lowers transaction costs for all participants in public procurement. I am worried however about 'continuing engagement.' In any case, the Guidance document is here and the public consultation open for the next three months.

5. Michael Bowsher mentioned earlier this week at the Catolica Summer School, the recent case of EnergySolutions vs Nuclear Decommission Authority, where the contracting authority took conscious steps to render its decision-making process non-auditable. It is a very long judgment, but a great read.