This session explains in simple terms the main differences between the current procurement rules and what is proposed in the Procurement Bill. It focuses on the areas that will have the most significant impact on buyers and how to effectively transition between current state and future state.

The Competitive Flexible Procedure is one of the more contentious changes proposed within the Procurement Bill. This session breaks down when and how this new procedure can be used and discusses the potential risks and benefits can arise from it.

Innovation is becoming ever more important as buyers wrestle with multiple challenges around delivering value, quality and additional benefits from their procurement activity. This session explores how the proposed Reforms create more opportunity for open market engagement – and how to do it effectively and compliantly.

Social value is at the forefront of the public procurement agenda and will only be amplified by the Reforms. This session focuses on how social value benefits can be fully embedded into procurement activity – from conception to measurement and management – so ensuring that this key objective is met.

What do the Reforms mean for suppliers – and how can buyers ensure that they are also fully engaged with and prepared for the upcoming changes? Do the Reforms make the public sector a more attractive customer? And how do buyers ensure changes aren’t perceived by suppliers as non-compliance? Our panel addresses these questions and more from the audience.

New regimes, new forms, more data sets and an increased focus on a transparency and scrutiny - how do these support the transition to better, more efficient public procurement and increased value for stakeholders? How can practitioners and wider stakeholders navigate the transition effectively and ensure their skills and capacity to deliver the change exist? What implications does this have on the people delivering procurement and the wider corporate stakeholders?

A key objective of the Reforms is to make public procurement more open and transparent. How do buyers manage this as part of their procurement activity and ensure that the intended benefits of openness do not add to administrative burden and additional supplier challenge? What does this mean for data, systems and the technology that supports them?

Our final session provides a recap of all the key insights and learnings from the day and focuses on the next steps that buyers can take on their Procurement Reform journey.