Working to make government more effective

Working to make government more effective

Refuse worker collects rubbish along Bournemouth seafront

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.

Procurement and outsourcing

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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
A nurse tests drivers for Coronavirus at special cordoned off drive-in testing facility at NHS Lothian Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.

Insourcing

Recent events

Outsourcing and privatisation

What is the difference between outsourcing and privatisation?

Read our explainer
A worker gather supplies at the NHS' National Procurement Warehouse at Canderside, Larkhall

Recent comments

Our procurement team