2018-19 Annual Report (HTML)

More jobs

The Board continues to collaborate with the Office of the Industry Advocate to ensure all policy requirements of the South Australian Industry Participation Policy (SAIPP) relevant to the scope of the Act are incorporated into the Board’s policy framework.

Broadly, The SAIPP is designed to deliver economic benefit by promoting:

• employment for residents of South Australia;
• investment and capital expenditure that builds capacity in the South Australian economy;
• use of businesses and supply chains that employ South Australian residents and invest in the State.

The Board’s policies reflect the SAIPP, requiring all procurements to consider the opportunities for small, start-up and Aboriginal businesses operating in South Australia to provide a quote or tender in the procurement. Public authorities are also required to implement Economic Contribution Tests and Industry Participation Plans across Government procurements above various thresholds.

Lower costs

The Board supports a consistent approach to government procurement from the Not-for-Profit (NFP) sector that sets clear requirements and lowers administrative costs. This year, the Board worked with the Department of Treasury and Finance to finalise a standard NFP funded services agreement.

The standard NFP funded services agreement adds to the Board’s simplified contracting suite, aimed at lowering the costs of contracting to both Government and its suppliers.

The Board’s policy framework is directed towards achieving procurement outcomes that deliver the best value in the expenditure of public money while ensuring the optimal use of government resources.

Better services

The Board supports and develops public authority procurement capacity and capability through targeted training and other capability development activities.

The effective implementation of procurement policies, procedures and operational practices by public authorities improves services and reduces unnecessary administrative costs, procurement and contracting risks to Government.

This supports:

• the achievement of value for money;

• ethical and fair treatment of suppliers;

• probity, accountability and transparency

Support and develop public authority procurement capacity and capability through targeted training and other capability development activities.

In 2018-19, the Board ran an extensive capability development program, which included the following activities:

• 5 procurement graduates completed a structured 12-month program Strategic Contracts, Department of Treasury and Finance, including team rotations, executive on the couch sessions, site visits and leadership resources.

• 2 procurement forums were held, both were fully subscribed with 100 attendees at each session.

• An open day was held, which provided the opportunity for agency staff to network and hear from the Board’s capability development contract panel providers about training, qualification and professional membership opportunities. The Board’s capability team provided an overview of funds and initiatives, and SA Health provided a customer perspective of the benefits realised from engaging in the various capability development initiatives offered by the Board.

• A suite of 11 online training courses was launched. The following online courses were available:

• Introduction to Procurement - SA Government specific

• Introduction to Contract Management

• Managing Supplier Relationships

• Developing and Writing Specifications

• Evaluating Tenders and Quotes

• Disposing of Assets

• Managing Procurement Risks

• Business Acumen and Commercial Skills

• Negotiation Skills

• Category Management

• Engaging and Influencing Stakeholders

• 49 face-to-face training courses were held, with a total of 599 staff attending training. Training was delivered by Comprara Pty Ltd, CIPS Australasia, Major Training Services (MTS) and Transformed Pty Ltd. The 2019 Targeted Procurement Training Program consists of 23 different courses ranging from Procurement Fundamentals (Introduction to Procurement), Contract Management, Negotiation and Debrief Suppliers and Other Stakeholders.

• Students commenced the first online Diploma of Procurement & Contracting. The Diploma is self-paced and remains in progress.

• The Board launched a procurement qualification support fund, providing financial support to staff who have successfully completed a procurement or contract management qualification. The fund was designed to recognise and reimburse staff who have undertaken a procurement qualification at their own full or partial expense.

• A Procurement qualification academic excellence initiative commenced and will run for 5 years. The two inaugural winners received funds for further professional development.

• 3 staff won a conference place, travel & accommodation to attend the 2019 CIPS conference in Melbourne and 3 staff won a conference place, professional membership, travel & accommodation to attend the 2019 IACCM conference in Sydney, paid for by the State Procurement Board.

• A CIPS Corporate Award Program was established. This 12-month learning program has a blended group of seven public and six private sector representatives, building a centre of procurement excellence within Strategic Procurement, Government Services, Department of Treasury and Finance.

Confirm and monitor an accreditation program to ensure that public authorities have the capability to appropriately exercise their delegation

The accreditation process is an independent assessment of each public authority’s procurement strategies, processes and systems to ensure it effectively manages its procurement operations.

Accreditation provides public authority Chief Executives with the authority to undertake procurements up to a specified dollar value without reference to the Board, with transactions greater than the accredited level to be considered by the Board for approval. This promotes good governance and managerial effectiveness at the local level and provides greater accountability to CEs. Through accrediting CE’s, the Board can better focus on strategic matters, recognising that public authorities are best placed to manage their risk and deliver value for money. 

The 2018-22 Accreditation Program has commenced. The program has initially focused on the six largest public

authorities (Tier 1), accredited to a value threshold of $15 million. These Tier 1 public authorities account for approximately 80 percent of the goods and services spend across government. The program reviews these public authorities across 28 better practice procurement principles in the areas of:

• Leadership and Strategy

• Organisation and People

• Governance and Performance Management

• Processes and Systems

• Relationships – Internal and External.

In 2018-2019, the Board has completed the accreditation reviews for the Department of Education and the Department for Human Services. The accreditation reviews were undertaken by an independent reviewer. The reviewer assessed how the public authority fulfilled each of the designated five, high level procurement categories. Public authorities were required to prepare a development plan to address issues requiring improvement or rectification.

If significant issues are identified during the accreditation reviews in areas such as governance, risk or any of the procurement principles, the Board can implement strategies to reduce risk to government, such as reducing the procurement authority of public authorities or implementing strategies to increase oversight of procurement operations.

Confirm and improve public authority procurement compliance and practice against Board policies and procedures through an assurance process

The 2018-22 Assurance Program has commenced. The program requires onsite evaluation of the compliance of public authorities with the mandated requirements of Board policies, principles, guidelines, standards or directions. 

The Assurance Program reviews all public authorities with a procurement authority. The Assurance Program enables the Board to meet its legislative obligations by ensuring that public authorities comply with the mandated requirements of Board procurement policies, principles, guidelines, standards or directions.

The new Assurance Program also includes an assessment of Tier 2 public authority procurement operations to ensure that fundamental organisational requirements are in place for an effective procurement operation. In 2018-19, the Board completed four Tier 3 public authorities reviews and one Tier 2 public authority. The assurance review for the Tier 2 public authority was undertaken by an external reviewer.