|
There is no way engineers can look at practice without politics and politics without practice, John Nicholson of WSP told the conference as he set out efforts to influence change in local government procurement.
Rather than be another group complaining to government, he said that change would come as a productive partner to government.
Speaking about interactions with the Department for Communities and Local Government, Mr Nicholson said there was a real interest in how improve procurement and recognition that procurement in the UK takes longer than in other countries.
Looking at that in regards to politics v practice, he said the present government does not want to tell local government what to do. As such, while they want efficiency to be driven, other groups such as the Local Government Association will lead that process.
Working with groups like COSLA and the LGA, a desire is clearly there to learn how they can improve their practices. Mr Nicholson said they are open to examples of best practice and new ways of working and ACE can support the industry.
Concluding, he noted that this meant ACE was not simply a lobbyist calling for change. Instead it was becoming a provider of solutions and decision-makers were increasingly seeking information from themselves.
Asked by Clive Anderson of WYG about how the major upheaval in local government would impact on efforts, John Nicholson said with such big savings to be made in local government, managers will open up to more dramatic partnerships with the private sector.
|