Update on Digital Outcomes and Specialists framework

Here’s the scoop from the latest CCS webinar on DOS. Suppliers will be audited for insurance certificates.

On Tuesday CCS held the first of a series of quarterly webinars for DOS suppliers. This webinar was an opportunity for CCS to update suppliers on plans for GDPR compliance and give them a chance to ask questions about the implications of the framework extension.

DOS suppliers will be audited for insurance certificates

The big emphasis during the webinar was also on supplier compliance. CCS announced that they would be auditing supplier insurance certificates. When applying for the framework, suppliers were asked in the supplier declaration whether they had certain insurances in place. CCS will now be contacting suppliers to ask them to send in copies of these certificates. Non-compliant suppliers will be given the opportunity to make themselves compliant or leave the framework.

Digital Outcomes and Specialists Framework extension

CCS again reiterated that they have initiated the up to 12-month extension for the framework and do expect a bit of overlap between the next iteration (or whatever it turns out to be…). The extension didn’t come as a surprise to us when it was announced back in October, and as always, we’re seeing it as an opportunity for both suppliers and buyers. For suppliers, this is the opportune time to look at understanding the framework better and improve your bid-writing. For buyers, this is a great chance to improve how bids are written before they are published. As we found out from the recent research done by Dxw, suppliers often fail to understand what is required from notices on the Digital Marketplace.

Its also an opportunity for CCS to perhaps look at improving the framework. At the recent UKGovCamp, several buyers expressed a dissatisfaction with some of the elements of the framework, such as the very limiting word count.

MISO and GDPR update

CCS have also announced that Q4 will be a MISO amnesty. They noticed that a large number of suppliers haven’t been reporting. Others have been reporting their sales incorrectly.  We were happy to hear that CCS is looking at this issue as an opportunity to gather some feedback on MISO. The MISO department will be contacting some suppliers who haven’t reported their sales, for their views on the process and any suggestions for improvement.

The participants also received a quick update on GDPR. Following on from the Procurement Policy notice that was issued before Christmas, CCS will be sending round to suppliers a form that covers GDPR compliance and issue the new framework agreement in due course.