Frameworks: Trust in local government to deliver

We recognise that you, our public sector colleagues, will face many challenges as we seek to restart the economy and get Britain back onto its feet.

Frameworks can play an integral role in overcoming these challenges. But what is in a framework? There is so much choice available and so many claims to compare. How can you be confident that you have selected a provider that will work towards your objectives, not theirs?

The National Association of Construction Frameworks (NACF) – a best practice organisation of local government procurement professionals – can help you to ask the right questions.

Squaring the circle

When looking at the issue of place in a post-pandemic world, we face a seemingly impossible dichotomy; and one that will sit high on the agenda of Leaders and Chief Executives across the UK.

We must seek to stimulate local economic recovery and inward investment through strong partnerships, good decision making and effective planning.

These lay the foundations in accelerating well executed construction, regeneration and place shaping projects that are underpinned by infrastructure that performs.

Quite rightly, there is a renewed expectation from government that we deliver more than quality assets and infrastructure, on time and on budget; we must also engage the most innovative new delivery and site management techniques that will achieve success in a safe, sustainable and socially responsible way.

These objectives must clearly be accomplished with taxpayer value as a central consideration, but equally, will be intensely challenging in a future that predicts vastly increased financial pressures. Further, how can this be achieved when private businesses will also be looking for creative ways to replace lost growth.

With these opposing forces in mind, how can we deliver stronger, more efficient and consistent results, in more imaginative ways than we have in the past?

The answer lies in establishing partnerships that are built upon trust.

Trust can only be realised through honesty, mutual understanding, shared goals, constant dialogue and importantly, a common definition of value.

The foundations of partnership

As representatives of local government, finding trust and value in the partnerships that we forge has never been more important.

At one time or another, we have all experienced circumstances where we felt that best value may not have been secured through a contract. In these situations, trust and transparency will have been noticeably absent.

Trust is developed through the alignment of values and principles. It comes from mutual appreciation and establishing a shared vision.

When it comes to framework procurement, you are therefore presented with a choice.

The National Association of Construction Frameworks

The NACF membership are public sector, in heart, mind and in practice.

Each member organisation is local government owned. They have a lived experience of working within local government and the wider public sector. They are a part of your community, they understand your population, the needs of service users, the geography, the politics and the SMEs that form the bedrock of your local economy.

Working together, they have a deep empathy with the challenges you face in translating project outcomes into value for money. And they will be able to explain it in a language that that can be understood by all of your stakeholders.

They are not commercial suppliers, they are your strategic partners.

They have worked together for more than a decade, with a combined track record of enabling over £20bn of improvements to the public estate.

It is that convergence of iterative development, fused with decades of public procurement experience and a continued proximity to local government and all public bodies across the UK, which come together to establish construction, consultancy and infrastructure frameworks that can deliver scalable, consistent and tangible value.

As a united team of public procurement professionals, they have developed relationships, procurement strategies, management processes, as well as social value and performance management regimes that sit at the forefront of best practice in the sector, which continue to be a source of inspiration for key government departments.

NACF members are entirely dedicated to achieving your objectives and are solely motivated by project outcomes, not profit outturn.

A trusted partnership

The NACF team work together, contributing towards the Industrial Strategy and the Grenfell Industry Response Group, as well as supporting the further development of PAS91 (Construction Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) and the National Procurement Strategy.

As a collective they exchange knowledge, share best practice, lessons learned, innovation and resources between themselves and local government networks

This collaboration extends further afield, with the NACF members having forged close alliances with organisations like the Local Government Association, Constructing Excellence, the Construction Leadership Council and Construction Line.

This is a collaboration that is entirely motivated by improving public procurement at its roots and elevating your procurement experience at every turn.

That is to say, they work as one and are committed to working towards a common goal.

Your community is our community

For our membership, local economic development and community engagement are as important as successful delivery. In fact, they are central to successful delivery.

In short, a publicly operated framework team will be as motivated by local economic impact as you are.

Together, they work tirelessly to ensure that SMEs and microbusinesses are consistently engaged and paid on time. They are committed to addressing the skills shortage through consistently delivered training, apprenticeships and work experience.

These key performance indicators are engrained into delivery and are a key success criteria, they are not just a box that needs ticking.

Every component of a publicly operated framework is intentionally designed from the outset, to help you meet, and evidence your objectives.

By the public sector, for the public sector

There are many frameworks that are available to public bodies. In fact, there has been a proliferation over recent years, with many new entrants joining the framework marketplace.

That expanded choice does however, require Procurement Officers to look beyond the veneer of a framework. If you do, you may be surprised at what you might discover.

Recognising the genuine article

If the framework option you are considering is not a Contracting Authority, it will be a private venture that has entered into a commercially motivated relationship with a Contracting Authority.

These organisations exist primarily for individual enrichment, over impact for the community or value for the taxpayer.

Therefore, to make the right decisions you must ask the right questions.

A critical first step in considering a framework partner is to interrogate the status and origins of that framework. A framework operated by the public sector, for the public sector, will be actively managed by a Contracting Authority.

Explore their status
Read the framework agreement
The name of the Contracting Authority should match the name of the organisation you are talking with
Evaluate the credentials of the team
Consider the length of time they have been in operation and which local authorities they are directly connected with

That is to say, a public sector framework will be operated by a public sector organisation.

You will be working with a collective of local government officers and like-minded individuals that are inherently connected within one or more local authority owners. Their teams have a shared understanding of the pressures you face and fully appreciate the nuanced political conversations that are required.

They are sympathetic to, and fully conversant with the regulatory and contractual standards that you must maintain.

They are public procurement professionals who are not in it for themselves; they do what they do, for you and the common good. Their interactions, operations, and processes are all designed with your experience as the central consideration.

They are highly qualified and experienced teams that can come equipped with a deep understanding of your world.

Importantly, a true public procurement partner has walked in your shoes, they have sat in your chair and have resolved the challenges you face, many times over.

Explore their status. Read the framework agreement. The name of the Contracting Authority should match the name of the organisation you are talking with. Evaluate the credentials of the team. Consider the length of time they have been in operation and which local authorities they are directly connected with.

Scrutinise any marketing claims that seem too good to be true. They usually are.

If you are in any doubt, our members would be delighted to help you understand whether you are being supported by a framework operator that shares your vision for your estate.

They will give you an honest appraisal of your project and they will not attempt to incentivise their selection.

They will, by their very nature, help you to make the right decisions that point to your destination and they will work hard to get you there.

In the future that follows the rapidly executed, truly inspiring but financially compromising responses that local authorities have made to the COVID-19 pandemic, one fact remains abundantly clear.

As public sector professionals, we must find new ways to make every penny count.