Procurement

We look at government procurement and how it can be improved.

The government spends around £300bn a year – a third of all public expenditure – on buying in goods and services from outside government. Our research, events and commentary analyse what the money is spent on, who wins contracts, and whether taxpayers are getting good value for money.

We assess where outsourcing works and where it doesn’t, the reasons for this and the impact of government reforms to improve procurement practice. We make recommendations on how to improve the commercial skills of civil servants, the quality of contracting data, and accountability for outsourcing decisions.

The role of procurement in delivering mission-led government

How public procurement could support delivery of mission-led government, and the key barriers to this.

Read the report

17 SEP 2024 Report

Improving accountability in government procurement

21 JUL 2023 'How to' guide

How to approach insourcing and outsourcing

26 JUN 2020 Report

Managing consultants

What can be done to improve government procurement?

This special Inside Briefing tells you everything you need to know about the scale of public procurement, where billions of pounds are spent, why failures happen, how accountability in procurement currently works (or doesn’t) and how it could be improved.

Listen to the podcast