On 9 July the first virtual meeting took place for the new Special Interest Group on Procurement (SIG-Procurement).
Following a round of introductions, the first discussions included creating an inventory of current challenges within procurement. Key topics highlighted included the issue of geopolitics within public procurement, and the struggle of recruiting procurement staff. The need was identified to find a solution to aid NRENs in learning more about university students and workers requirements. Discussions involved how to structure communications differently, and more effectively, in order to understand about the specific needs from the market and the community.
Talks then focused on building up a joint inventory of key suppliers for the community, and sharing best practices on supplier management, change management, and aligning with vendors. New rules and regulations for procurement were discussed in depth such as the new UK Procurement Act.
Coming to a close, participants took the time to share what they would like the next steps to be for SIG-Procurement. The meeting enabled all participants to share notes and their individual experiences with various systems and tooling which are used on a daily basis. A key objective for future meetings included focusing on collaboration opportunities, such as software procurement, or even procurement between NRENs and GÉANT.
If you would like to keep up to date with the new SIG-Procurement group and find out about future events, subscribe to the mailing list: https://lists.geant.org/sympa/subscribe/sig-procurement?previous_action=info
About SIG-Procurement
This activity focuses on knowledge exchange and collaboration across procurement organisations within the R&E community on commonly identified topic areas and developments. SIG-Procurement gathers community experts, facilitates a coordinated approach to improve R&E procurement and to share explore challenges and opportunities. Participants share their experiences, best practices and explore shared opportunities: https://community.geant.org/sig-procurement/
