About GPS
The Government Procurement Service - Our Commitment to You
The Government Procurement Service (GPS) represents and supports procurement professionals and organisations across government. In response to the growing challenge to those in the GPS, it continues to develop proactive support and a range of career options for those operating as procurement professionals and those working towards gaining professional status.
A GPS procurement professional is defined as an individual who spends the majority of their working time:
- In a role that adds value to the quality and cost effectiveness of the procurement/acquisition of goods, services, assets and works;
- Impacting upon commercial relationships during one or more stages of the procurement cycle, i.e. from product or service conception through to the eventual disposal of the asset or termination of the contract;
- This explicitly includes the extraction of the value of these goods and services over the lifetime of any contractual arrangement and the development of contracts that secure value for money and comply with legal and policy requirement.
The GPS provides a framework to enable procurement professionals and organisations develop the capability needed to deliver better public services and secure greater savings from public procurement. The GPS has established a comprehensive package of support to the government procurement profession and government organisations seeking to enhance their procurement capability.
During 2007 - 2009 the GPS introduced:
- Special interest groups (SIGs) to take topical initiatives forward on a cross- government basis;
- Skills frameworks for government procurement professionals at both practitioner and at leadership levels;
- Greater coherence in career paths;
- New flexible routes into government procurement, through the Government Procurement Graduate Scheme and a placement option for the Civil Service Fast Stream;
- A strategy for ‘Building the Procurement Profession in Government’ including the introduction of mandatory Continuous Professional Development (CPD), career discussions, performance metrics and reduction of interims;
- Launched an online community for the exchange of ideas and best practice between procurement professionals in central Government.
In 2010, GPS will be working to:
- Continue to help departments implement the ‘Building the Procurement Profession in Government’ strategy;
- Develop a strategy to improve commercial skills for complex projects;
- Establish a career management programme;
- Build an active and engaged cross government procurement community, with access to events, and networking opportunities;
- The introduction of a job brokering programme to facilitate cross department moves.
The Professional Procurement Community
The professional procurement community in government consists of procurement professionals, who are practitioners and senior managers who work in one or more areas of the function (Procurement, Contract Management, Category Management and Procurement Policy) within the procurement job family. Membership to the community has been extended to Agencies and NDPB’s.
There are currently over 1100 members of the GPS who, along with organisations, are able to access numerous benefits.
Benefits to the Individual:
- Being part of a recognised profession in government and having a voice in building both individual and organisation professional capability;
- Early notification of events, workshops and seminars - such as the Regional Energy Roadshows, a discounted GPS member rate for Collaborative Procurement 09, Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement Workshops and Training for GPS members. A forward plan of events and networking sessions are currently being developed;
- Access to learning and development opportunities that will meet continuous professional development needs - now mandatory for all procurement professionals;
- GPS Online - an exclusive interactive facility that provides links to procurement job vacancies, a library of key documents and discussion forums;
- GPS Digest - the GPS regular e-newsletter keeping members up-to-date on latest developments in public procurement;
- The GPS works closely with the Charted Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) for the benefit of GPS members;
Benefits to the Organisation:
- GPS Council - this senior body leads the discussion and development of organisational procurement capability;
- Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) which drive developments in public procurement;
- GPS membership allows analysis for future capacity demand, succession planning and possible job brokering;
- The GPS provides a mechanism and channel to share good practice and messages to a wide or targeted audience;
- The GPS provides a cohesive cross-government perspective for the procurement profession and function.
Next Steps
GPS membership forms are available from the Service Desk.
What will the GPS do with membership data?
Data collected by the GPS will be used for the purpose of producing statistics on the profile of the government procurement profession. Data will be used by GPS in its work to support the profession and deliver the benefits detailed above. Data will also be shared with the host department on a regular basis to ensure that GPS records are kept as up to date and accurate as possible. Data may be used to provide members with information on other parts of OGC, of which the GPS is part.
GPS will not share data with third parties for the purpose of commercial activities.
More about GPS:
