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May 3, 2012 By Steve Towns
Nearly 60 percent of respondents to a new Government Technology survey call the public procurement process a significant barrier to innovation. Many said government procurement rules make it tough to adapt to changing requirements and adopt cutting-edge technologies while others pointed to difficulties in making financial commitments beyond one fiscal year or engaging in cross-jurisdictional shared services.
The results are based on responses from 51 members of the GovTech Exchange, an online community of senior-level IT professionals from state and local government.
Some respondents said they’re trying to improve the procurement process. For instance, 48 percent said they’re either implementing or considering greater use of pilot projects to try new ideas. But the most popular type of procurement reform was greater standardization of IT hardware and software — cited by almost 70 percent of survey respondents — which may have little direct impact on innovation.
And even though a majority of respondents said procurement rules hinder innovation, many also appear satisfied with their purchasing processes. Indeed, 57 percent rated their jurisdiction’s process as “effective.” Whereas, 35 percent called their processes either “not very effective” or “not effective at all.”
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http://www.govtech.com/budget-finance/Is-Procurement-Killing-Innovation.html
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So, 37% of respondents don’t think procurement is killing innovation. I’d love to know what process/systems they are using. It would be great to see a follow-up poll for those who originally responded obtaining information on what works.
I'd be willing to bet that it's only institutionalized IT managers who would say that. Those who think they do not need to have a 5 year plan for modernization and that the software they have used for 10 years is still viable today as it was then.
No doubt in my mind this is generally true since government procurement is not designed to stimulate innovation, but rather control and process are the main concerns of the procurement authorities.
Controlled processes are often necessary and important to reduce risk and manage potential inappropriate influence. Certainly budget issues are a challenge...which also tends to mitigate against risk/innovation. However, agile and good processes can be created to keep innovation processes moving. Takes experience and skill to be able to carry off that important function.