Procurement in the pandemic and beyond: Reflections and lessons for government commercial
The government\u2019s ability to quickly and effectively procure goods and services was a critical part of the UK\u2019s response to coronavirus. Whether goods like PPE or services such as testing facilities, the government handed out large contracts, often to new suppliers, at greater speed and with less competition than normal.\n\nThe government was faced with difficult choices, and no easy options, raising questions about the decisions made and improvements that could be made in the future.\n\nAt this event, an expert panel discussed:\n\nHow effective were government changes to procurement guidance?\nDid the government strike the right balance between urgency and due process?\nWhat lessons can be learned from the success of the approach to procurement taken by the Vaccine Taskforce?\nHow can the lessons from the pandemic be applied to future crises and the government\u2019s Procurement Bill?\nTo discuss these issues we were joined by:\n\nSarah Ashley, Partner at Baringa\nSteve Bates, Chief Executive Officer of BioIndustry Association and former member of the Vaccine Taskforce\nGareth Rhys Williams, Government Chief Commercial Officer\nThis event was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.\n\n#IfGprocurement\n\nWe would like to thank Baringa for supporting this event.