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The research was commissioned by Andrew Davies, Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery,  through the Business Procurement Task Force, which he chairs. The research was delivered jointly by the University of Glamorgan and Tenderwise (Bangor University and Trinity University College Carmarthen).  

The research focussed around the initial contact that firms have with public sector buyers: the pre-qualification processes and the use of "approved lists".  The key finding is that a large proportion of the information sought from suppliers is common to all procurements, and yet the information is sought time and again, in slightly different formats.  

The headline recommendations are that these processes should be standardised, and that a database should be established to hold common core data on all suppliers, to be used by buyers as part of each pre-qualification exercise.  

Andrew Davies said:

“I warmly welcome this report on 'Barriers to Procurement Opportunity' from the University of Glamorgan and Tenderwise.  The findings will make an important contribution to tackling these problems, many of which are already being addressed by the work of my Value Wales department. I will be considering each recommendation and will respond in due course.  

“These recommendations apply to the whole of the public sector in Wales. Our role in the Assembly Government is to help drive the changes, but it will be essential to work closely with our local government and other partners on an action plan to take the work forward.”

Related Links

Barriers to Procurement Opportunity Research