The True Cost of Procuring at Speed – Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Procurement Crisis

A joint webinar hosted by the Open Contracting Partnership and ACCA

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought public procurement to the foreground of public scrutiny as governments around the world were forced to procure at speed and often without many of the necessary safeguards. Procuring at speed and under immense pressure can result in large-scale public purchasing that lacks transparency, competitiveness and cost-efficiency. As we are closing the books on 2020, have countries kept the receipts? The webinar will shed a renewed light on the cornerstones of transparent, open, and well-audited public procurement.

Linked to a recently launched report by ACCA on New Models of Public Procurement, the event will examine the lessons from the global procurement problems and provide actionable next steps and best practices to design more transparent, fairer, and more efficient public procurement systems. The event will explore how public procurement is more than simply about achieving the lowest-cost goods and services and how it can also be used as a tool in achieving critical social and environmental goals, linked to the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the urgency and pressure to procure quickly – short-term gains have shown to cost more in the long-run. Public procurement should be used as a tool for achieving wider public sector objectives even in the most difficult of times.

Speakers

Moderator: Gavin Hayman, Open Contracting Partnership
ACCA: Alex Metcalfe (Head of Public Sector) and Rachel Bleetman (Public Sector Research and Policy Manager)
UK National Audit Office: Charles Nancarrow, Director, Regulation and Financial Analysis.
Public Procurement Office of Lithuania: Laura Kuoraite, Advisor to Methodical Assistance Division
INTOSAI Development Initiative: Archana Shirsat, Deputy Director General
World Bank: Vinay Sharma, Global Director, Governance Global Practice