Public Sector Procurement Scotland-Take 2!

Last year we wrote a blog delving into the whys and wheres of Scottish Public Sector procurement, and now we are back with an update!

With the publication of the Scottish Government’s digital strategy in 2017, and the news a few weeks back that Scotland’s public sector is expected to increase its spending on ICT by 5% by 2021 it is clear that digital transformation in Scotland is high on the agenda. There is an opportunity for suppliers to make a real difference to the landscape of public services in the region with mobile, cloud and cyber security predicted as top areas of growth.

Innovative digital projects backed by the Scottish government

Here are just some of the most recent examples of innovative government backed schemes and projects, with one of our clients on the list (Yay!):

• The Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate has begun work on an online identity assurance and authentication system for the country’s public services, similar to that of GOV.UK’s Verify.
• The project to roll out a fibre optic network across the City of Edinburgh. This project was delivered by our fab client Commsworld and it helped Edinburgh win the title of the UK’s largest ‘Gigabit City’. Organisations such as schools, universities, community centres libraries and other council-run sites in Edinburgh, and across Scotland, can now benefit from the new Pure Fibre network.
• Earlier in the year NHS Scotland went live with a data sharing system ‘SPIRE’. This system enables GP’s to send encrypted and anonymised patient information to researchers to “better understand the health and social care needs of the population”.
• CivTech, a programme launched by the Scottish gov to match digital tech start-ups and SMEs with public sector organisations, is looking to create digital solutions for a range of ‘civic challenges’.
• Renfrewshire council has been using IoT technology in social housing in an effort to deal with maintenance issues. By using IoT the council have been able to capture real time data which helps the council to identify anomalies in housing, such as damp, and take action to protect tenants and its property assets.

A new avenue for public sector procurement in Scotland: Digital Services DPS

Part of Scotland’s plan to beef up its digital footprint was the creation of the Digital Services DPS, the first framework of its kind for Scotland. The Digital Services Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a new opportunity to provide Digital Services and Cyber Security services to the Scottish Government. The DPS went Live in October 2017 and will run for a year, with the option to extend for another 12 months. However, the contract notice remains open throughout, so suppliers can apply to join at any time.

The DPS is split into 3 Lots that reflect the tech areas of high priority:

• Lot 1: Digital Projects
• Lot 2: Digital Resources
• Lot 3: Cyber Security Services

Services within these Lots include Digital Transformation Projects, Project/Programme/Product Managers, Digital and/or Cyber Security Specialists, Agile Coaches, User Research and/or User Researchers and many more…

The entire process is electronic and there is no maximum number of suppliers in each Lot.

If the stats from previous years are anything to go by – the Scottish public sector IT market was worth £811m in 2016/17 and has grown on average in each year by 1.3% –  we are certainly excited.

With no opportunities published to date, this framework is bound to grow and develop over this coming year. Let’s see what impact it makes on Scotland’s digital landscape…