ADD2312 Responsible procurement capacity building & training programme

The GLA Group Responsible Procurement (RP) Policy commits the GLA Group to “Making appropriate financial and staff resources available, including a lead Mayoral Advisor / champion, and providing training and mentoring for our staff to continue to successfully implement responsible procurement.”

As a result, the following ambitions feature within the GLA Group RP Implementation Plan:

• From 2018, the Central Responsible Procurement Team (CRPT) will develop and deliver RP training for Functional Body staff;

• By the end of 2019, all key commercial staff in Functional Bodies will receive training in the application of Responsible Procurement and social value practice and principles; and

• By the end of 2019/20 train all commercial employees within the GLA Group in the application of RP practice and principles.

To date, as part of the “BiteSize” training programme within the TfL Commercial Learning Curriculum, the GLA Group CRPT have and continue to engage with a range of Commercial staff across the GLA Group (including City Hall) to raise awareness of key issues and how to consider RP within contracts. However, to embed RP practice and principles into contracts throughout the commercial lifecycle, it is recognised that more specific training is required to ensure that procurers, and category and contract managers, can consider relevant RP themes within procurement exercises resulting in measurable outcomes.

The proposed capacity building and training programme sets out a road map for achieving these ambitions for training key commercial staff in TfL and City Hall, increasing capability in the application of Responsible Procurement practice and principles within relevant contracts. The training materials will also be available to be utilised by the other Functional Bodies.

The GLA Group Responsible Procurement Team is also able to allocate part of its programme budget to training development and provision, complimenting this funding requests by up to £20,000.

Objectives

The purpose of this work is to:

• Understand the current issues and barriers for embedding RP within contracts and understand the challenges faced by Commercial Teams in this area. This includes understanding current level of knowledge and required support going forward.
• Develop a training package to ensure all commercial procurement employees within the GLA/TfL are trained in the application of Responsible Procurement practice and principles.
• Develop further guidance directed to GLA category and contract managers to continue to successfully implement responsible procurement.

Outputs

The main outputs expected to be delivered by the end of 2018/2019 are:

• A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is conducted by a third party to understand the current issues and barriers for embedding RP within contracts and understand the challenges faced by Commercial Procurement Teams in this area.
• Development of a capacity building and training package to meet the requirements of differing levels of commercial procurement input across the organisation (entry, proficient, and expert).
• After successful development of the proposed TNA and training package by the end of 2018/19, implementation of the proposed training will take place in 2019/2020.

Outcomes

Expected outcomes for this request:

• Increase capacity of TfL Commercial Procurement staff to successfully implement responsible procurement within GLA and TfL contracts. The training materials will also be available to be utilised by the other Functional Bodies.
• Improve consistency of approach to responsible procurement and social value in our contracts across the GLA Group.
• Reduce administrative burden and time on GLA category and contract managers in the development of their tenders.

The request outlined in this report does not pose any impact on individuals with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, gender, religion or belief, sexual orientation). We have considered the GLA’s duties in this area, and will ensure that delivery of any report and training is done in a way that proactively supports those groups with protected characteristics.

Better implementation of the RP policy within our contracts will help the GLA group continue pioneering socially, environmentally and economically sustainable procurement to deliver improved quality of life and better value for money. It will also help provide sustained employment opportunities and improve working conditions (e.g. promotion of the Good Work Standard and London Living Wage). It will also continue opening up access to contract opportunities for London’s diverse businesses, and voluntary and community sector organisations, encouraging improved practices with our suppliers and promoting greater environmental sustainability to make London a better place to live and work.

Key risks and issues:

b) links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

1. This programme of work is an essential element for the implementation of the GLA group Responsible Procurement Policy (available at: www.london.gov.uk/rp-policy). In addition, this work will also cover issues that link directly to key Mayoral strategies and policies, such as those committing GLA Group to lead by example in its procurement in areas such as environment, economic development, and equality, diversity and inclusion.
3. This programme of work will be developed/delivered in collaboration with officers from the GLA directorates and departments to ensure that the methodologies and results applied are robust and relevant.

c) impact assessments and consultations.

1. Production of the outputs of this programme of work will be developed with consultation from key GLA teams who cover the issues and areas of focus for the report. In addition, consultees from the GLA Group Responsible Procurement Forum and the City Hall Responsible Procurement Steering Group will also be consulted on the work developed.

Assistant Director’s approval is sought for expenditure up to £25,000 to conduct a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) to understand the current issues and barriers for embedding RP within contracts and understand the challenges faced by Commercial Teams in this area, and to support the development of a capacity building and training package and materials on responsible procurement

The cost of this is to be funded by the 2018-19 sustainable development budget held within the Environment team. All costs with be incurred in 2018-19.

Our tender route will be in line with advice from procurement, and delivery requirements will be outlined in the appropriate procurement documentation, the subsequent bid from the successful delivery partner and the contract that will subsequently be put in place.

In principle, the following areas will be covered within the contract to be put in place:

Training Needs Analysis

It is proposed that a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is conducted by a third party to understand the current issues and barriers for embedding RP within contracts and understand the challenges faced by Commercial Procurement Teams in this area. This includes understanding current level of knowledge and required support going forward. This may include focus groups, structured interviews and questionnaires.
Development of capacity building and training requirements package

It is proposed that a subject matter expert training provider is appointed to develop a bespoke training package based on the feedback from the TNA. It is recommended that the training is targeted at key commercial teams who may require differing levels of knowledge and technical ability to support delivery of RP ambitions within their job roles.

The Central Responsible Procurement Team (CRPT) at TfL will play a key role in the development of appropriate training materials across all options set out below. This is to ensure that the content is ‘bespoke’ and that the learning objectives are met as well as the provision of case study and anecdotal input.

It should be noted the TfL Learning and Development Team are currently procuring training services for a bespoke Contract Management training framework to be developed and delivered to Commercial staff at differing levels: Entry; Proficient; and Expert. The GLA CRPT has proposed that RP is included within this package of works and will provide support to ensure that the training outcomes are aligned to the deliverables of the GLA Group RP Implementation Plan. In addition, the CRPT has also engaged with the TfL lead for the review of the TfL Category Management approach to ensure that proposals set out within this paper are aligned with current business priorities.

Proposed Level of Knowledge

The training package will be set out to meet the requirements of differing levels of commercial input across the organisation. This might include, for example:

Entry level: Propose a review and update (where required) of the RP “BiteSize” training package which aims to raise awareness of key RP policy issues and how commercial and contract management staff should consider relevant themes within procurements. It sets the context for inclusion of RP within ITT and evaluation process as well as key outcomes to be managed through contract management phase. The RP Bitesize will continue to be delivered by the CRPT.

Proficient level: Propose the development of an RP eLearning module/s for key commercial staff which would support a programme of independent learning. This training would build on the information provided as part of the ‘BiteSize’ awareness sessions and test individuals’ knowledge and expertise in RP themes. The module would also signpost individuals to relevant processes and procedures in the GLA Intranet as well as within the Commercial and RP Toolkits. eLearning can be carried out at times suited to individuals’ schedules, and outcomes can be tested to ensure competency levels. A larger number of commercial staff can participate in this form of training and can contact the CRPT directly for further guidance where necessary.

Expert level: It is proposed that in-depth classroom training (1 or 2 day course) is developed and delivered to ‘RP champions’ (key commercial staff) within TfL commercial. These individuals would be representatives from across the commercial teams and seen as a ‘single points of contact’ for RP who are able to pass on their knowledge and expertise to other Commercial professionals through capacity building. After the training, these individuals will be able to consider RP within decision making from the outset i.e. within procurement strategy as well as include relevant ITT questions within the tender process and complete effective evaluation. These ‘RP leaders’ will link in with the CRPT and act as key points of contact for the team to disseminate key information and policy /legislative updates.
Dependencies

The GLA Group RP Implementation Plan also includes the ambition “During 2018-19, the CRPT will support Functional Bodies to review their processes and procedures across the full procurement cycle to ensure that RP opportunities and risks are considered and addressed in all relevant contracts, and develop appropriate guidance and toolkits”. This work will be delivered in parallel to the development and delivery of training. However, it will need to be an essential component of the training to ensure that Commercial staff are provided within the tools in which to deliver RP within their daily operations. The focus groups as part of the TNA may also form a key part of the consultation process as the barriers to incorporating RP may be a lack of knowledge of location of decision making tools, guidance documents and standard templates.
Proposed Timeline aligned to GLA Group RP Implementation Ambitions

- From 2018, the CRPT will develop and deliver RP training for FB staff.

- By the end of 2019, all key commercial staff in Functional Bodies will receive training in the application of Responsible Procurement and social value practice and principles.

- By the end of 2019/20 train all commercial employees within the GLA Group in the application of RP practice and principles.

Monitoring

The GLA Group RP Implementation Plan includes a metric to report on the ‘number of staff trained in responsible procurement’ on a quarterly basis. A key element of the training development and delivery will be the monitoring of attendees to enable accurate reporting and ongoing engagement activities.