The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Procurement

Public sector procurement to be debated at Edinburgh MiNetwork event

Author

By The Drum Team, Editorial

March 21, 2011 | 3 min read

The procurement of marketing services by public sector organisations often makes for headlines in The Drum. But what are the problems and misunderstanding that exists and how can they be erradicated so that agencies don't feel that they are getting a raw deal?

Problems with the process of tendering for and buying marketing services have long existed, but in recent months there have been a number of instances were agencies feel that the system of free tendering and pitching is being abused by some public sector bodies.

The most recent case that got agencies hot under the collar saw marketing bosses at St Andrew's University hold a tender and pitch for the provision of print services which saw more than 60 agencies involved, only to give the contract to an in-house department.

Also debating this often controversial area is Ken Dixon, co-founder of Newhaven and the chairman of the Scottish IPA, Emma Walker, CEO of CraftScotland and procurement lawyer with Biggart Baillie Douglas McLachlan. Other panelists are being signed up to take part in what MiNetwork hopes will be the beginning of a more open and transparent system of public sector procurement.

Speaking of the event Richard Draycott, managing director of MiNetwork, said: "As editor of The Drum for some ten years I've written countless stories about where the procurement of marketing services by public sector bodies has gone horribly wrong and has left a sour taste in the mouths of many people. What we aim to do at this event is bring all the problems with the procurement system out into the open and consider better ways in which procurement professionals and marketing agencies can work together. I'm sure this will be a passionate debate, but it is a good opportunity to discuss this with public sector spending cuts being in the spotlight. With these cuts being made it is even more vital that the system for finding the best marketing partners is as smooth as possible and the return on investment is as high as possible."

The event is being held in Edinburgh on 12 April, from 6.30pm onwards. The venue is yet to be confirmed, but tickets can be booked online at www.minetwork.me.

Procurement

More from Procurement

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +