The Design phase is another area of a procurement where there is scope for cross-borough collaboration. Collaboration during this phase will involve sharing information about user needs, desired outcomes and 'must-haves', and working with partner boroughs to capture this in a contracting approach and requirements statement. This consultation may lead to a more formal joint procurement after this phase (see: Consider Joint Procurement). Even in absence of a later joint procurement, there is still benefit to openly sharing information and best practice during this phase.
An open and honest conversation between boroughs during the design phase can be extremely useful, both for identifying potential joint procurement opportunities and to provide advice, insight and other perspectives.
Many of the stakeholders that we engaged with during workshops and interviews described how 'sitting down with other boroughs and talking about what they want' from a procurement exercise is a useful way of clarifying what they need, and what they do not. It was also noted that when this was done to review previous procurements, 'what they wanted' did not always translate into 'what they had put into their requirements statement'. This is particularly true because the needs and requirements of London boroughs are often very similar, as is what they want from core front-line and corporate systems.
Procurement Teams / Digital & IT Teams
Depending upon who is responsible for executing the procurement, procurement or IT teams should ensure that collaboration is embedded into the design phase, including clearly outlining the service requirements and planning the procurement approach.
Service Teams
Service teams should work with teams across other boroughs to ensure that the user needs that they have identified, as well as the service and business needs developed, align with those from other boroughs.
There are a number of ways to engage with other boroughs during the design phase. Importantly, reaching out for collaboration can sometimes feel like an additional 'burden', or at best, a 'nice-to-have'. Where possible and relevant, boroughs should look to gain some collaborative input for every procurement during the design and scoping phase. Here are some steps you can take to work with other boroughs: