Links I Liked [Public Procurement]

1. A new PPP interview is up, this time with Piotr Bogdanowicz from Warsaw University. As with the previous episode we discussed at length the issues surrounding cross-border interest in contracts not covered by the Directives. Previous episodes can be found here and also on iTunes.

2. The Welsh NHS is still using Windows XP. It is not as if they did not have time to upgrade the systems...Does the Welsh NHS have a licensing agreement with Microsoft for new security patches? Central Government decided not to renew its in April.

3. Is smart ticketing innovative procurement? In this day and age I do not think so, although some are still hiding failure behind the idea that it is.

4. The cloud is coming to local councils. There is plenty of scope for digitalisation of services inside local councils, although I am not so sure if local mandarins will appreciate the loss of power, control and budget associated with the move.

5. Are procurement "best practices" just..."practice"? I have long held that view and that proper applied research needs to be done to separate the wheat from the chaff. But that requires knowledge, costs time and money and it is so much easy just to parrot a few ideas with the "best practice" label slapped on them.