The collaborative space for procurement and commercial professionals in Wales
- Cyd
- Delivery
- Service Design
The Welsh Government carried out a Discovery to better understand the need to establish a ‘procurement centre of excellence’ (PCOE) for the Welsh Public Sector.
Following ministerial support to move the Discovery into Alpha, Perago worked in partnership with Curshaw to undertake this next phase of delivery which focused on reimagining the procurement profession and its role in policy delivery to create better outcomes for current and future generations.
Challenge:
- The Welsh Public Sector needed to improve procurement practices for better outcomes.
- Overcome the initial scepticism about the need for a centralised support system (PCOE) and if it could meet the needs of the community.
- A collaborative and agile approach was taken, involving user panels and regular communication with stakeholders.
- Services were co-designed with the commercial and procurement communities across Wales.
- An iterative development process was used, with each stage building on the last and feedback incorporated.
- Transparency was key, with outcomes, benefits, and challenges shared openly.
- Inclusivity was emphasised, with resources accessible to anyone interested.
- Creation of a name, brand, and logo for Cyd.
- Launch of the Cyd website (phases 1 and 2).
- Launch of the Cydrannu knowledge sharing series.
- Increased engagement from procurement and commercial professionals across Wales.
- A user-centred set of services was created.
- A foundation was built for future improvement in procurement practices.
- Key stakeholders are engaged and supportive.
- The Cyd website and knowledge sharing series (“Cydrannu”) were launched.
- Increased collaboration within Wales and beyond (e.g., international learning events).
- Increased engagement from the procurement and commercial community (e.g., user group activity, WLGA decision).
- Recognition for collaborative procurement through the 2023 Wales GoAwards.
- A blog platform was established for sharing knowledge and best practices.
“As a profession, procurement is facing a period of significant change as we work towards the implementation of new legislation coming during the Autumn of this year. Cyd exists to make our work easier. The user-centred approach driven by the team at Perago, coupled with their ability to corral an innovative team across organisations and expertise, means we now have a service in Cyd that is evolving and flexing to the needs of the community. The service is testament to Perago’s understanding of the public sector in Wales, and their ability to engage partners in change.”
David Nicholson
Head of Commercial Procurement ICT at Welsh Government and project sponsor for Cyd