Every day I have a little delivery in my inbox of the latest tenders. Small tenders and big tenders.

These tenders look much the same as they did two or three years ago.

And yet there has been a major change in the world economic order and the public sector is entering a funding recession. Other than a decrease in volume of tender traffic coming out of the public sector, the tenders look very much the same. Very few of them ask the private sector to think about the future of the public sector. Very few are asking for solutions that will fit the future shape of the public sector. Why?

Let me make that criticism more constructive.

There are five filters I think the public sector needs to use in assessing activity. They are collaboration, commissioning, efficiency, empowerment and scale. If those filters are used then the tender traffic will look considerably different and the private sector will really need to gear up and engage with the public sector challenges. Ask me to think, ask us to think.

I will also make another plea. Before you go out to procurement please look again at using the Buying Solutions frameworks. This will significantly reduce yours and our procurement costs. It is more efficient and in the current climate, efficiency is good. It will also mean you can get going with the work considerably more rapidly and since the actual funding recession in the public sector is biting many projects will be looking to deliver savings. So the earlier the advice can be procured the sooner the savings will be delivered.

But let’s get back to the problems of the future and pick one of the filters: collaboration.

The barriers between public bodies have softened and this presents huge opportunities. The barriers have not melted away, they are still there. We have been looking at this quite hard and have concluded a key element in the success of collaboration is behaviouralism. The technical side of opportunity will take care of itself in many respects. What we do need to focus on is creating a positive environment to foster and build on collaboration.

So, no big bangs. But more encouragement to take an easy path to collaboration, taking forward mutually beneficial proposals. We need to generate a positive network of people who will accelerate programmes of collaboration. Too fluffy? Resources are contracting. We need to move forward.

Simon Johnson is Director of Financial & Strategic Advisory at Capita Symonds

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