Optimising Construction in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy changes
Changes to procurement policy in Northern Ireland aim to make the procurement process for public sector construction projects more efficient and transparent. With SCAPE frameworks designed to improve buildability, save time, save money and deliver real community benefit, we’ve explained the changes and explored what it means for your projects below.
How has the Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy changed?
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission Procurement Policy has been updated to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of services for the public sector. The Northern Ireland Procurement Policy places responsibility on the public sector to adhere to legal requirements for public sector construction, consultancy, infrastructure and utilities procurement to deliver efficient projects and programmes of work across Northern Ireland.
Public procurement can and must play a major role in achieving wider policy goals such as environmental protection, innovation, job creation, and the development of social enterprises, micro businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Executive have identified, and placed great emphasis on, the Public Procurement Principles of transparency, accessibility, social value, and efficiency and effectiveness to embed best practice and deliver value for money for Northern Ireland. With best value for money being defined as the most advantageous combination of cost, quality and social value to achieve the required outcomes, the policy changes now give the public sector the opportunity to identify and select the most advantageous procurement route for the delivery of consultancy services, construction, infrastructure and utilities projects.
How do changes in the Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy impact my projects?
The Northern Ireland Assembly have brought about these procurement updates to achieve optimal outcomes for the community and ensure public resources have been used efficiently, and so will only go to benefit and support projects and local communities.
In order to achieve the four principles outlined above, alongside best value for money, public sector bodies will need to be engaged with all aspects of the procurement lifecycle; from the identification of a need to the delivery and exit of the contract.
To ensure engagement, there are several strategic objectives that are mandatory. Some of which will be applicable to all public spend, whilst others will have thresholds or apply at certain stages of the procurement lifecycle.
At SCAPE, all of our frameworks are actively managed to provide assurance on the compliance, KPI delivery, and delivery of social and economic value on your projects, providing clarity and consistency in the delivery of your strategic objectives.
How to improve efficiency in procurement for construction projects in Northern Ireland?
As an accelerated procurement route, SCAPE’s frameworks are compliant and competitively tendered to facilitate effective communication and collaboration.
Facilitating early contractor engagement like this from the outset not only allows for transparency, it also improves buildability, reduces timescales and saves money. We’re proud to have helped the public sector save more than £100m across SCAPE construction and civil engineering projects over the last 5 years through early contractor engagement.
SCAPE frameworks are Gold Standard verified, we can demonstrate through our suite of consultancy, civil engineering, construction and utilities frameworks that our approach to procurement, performance management and framework operation is compliant and aligned with Central Government policy and designed to deliver better, safer, faster and greener project outcomes, as well as enhanced social value.
Why should you use a framework for your construction projects in Northern Ireland?
When procuring the goods and services for your construction, civil engineering and infrastructure and consultancy project, a framework streamlines the process, reduces time and costs, and ensures compliance at all stages.
In addition, they can foster collaboration from the outset of projects through early contractor engagement, creating transparency and accountability to deliver real value for money for the benefit of the public sector and the communities they serve.
SCAPE’s suite of frameworks has a strong track record of delivering projects on time and within budget. They are Gold Standard verified, demonstrating that our approach to procurement, performance management and framework operation is compliant and aligned with Central Government policy as set out in the Construction Playbook.
Our frameworks are built around these core aims, and our project success criteria is assured through a robust, managed, and compliant process. As a public sector owned organisation, we define success in the same way as you. For us, compliance, taxpayer value, sustainable delivery, community benefits, social value and local economic impact are as significant as time, cost, and quality.
Our frameworks aim to deliver:
Maximum value for money from public funds
Effective service delivery
Community wealth building and ensuring local economic benefit from project spend
Facilitating the inclusion of net zero carbon measures as part of each project
KPI targets for SME spend and engagement - set by clients
Social value delivery is an integral part of the procurement strategy.
At SCAPE, we place meaningful social value delivery at the heart of our frameworks and every day practice. Our frameworks create a platform for collaborative discussion and agreement on initiatives at the early stages of each project, which bring the required impact to the areas in which we work. From training and apprentice opportunities through to using local SME's, local labour within a certain radius, litter picking campaigns and donations to local charities - the initiatives are guided by our clients and what they want the project to deliver for their local communities.
Additionally, our policies, KPI's and active performance management ensure that the whole supply chain is paid in full and on time, and modern slavery and human trafficking is prevented across all projects.
Through the creation of supportive environmental, economic and social wellbeing, SCAPE's frameworks are at the forefront of social value delivery and real community benefit.
“Strategic planning and early stakeholder engagement are essential for creating genuine social value. Understanding client priorities and local needs helps design effective initiatives.”
Shauna Young, Head of Responsible Business at McLaughlin & Harvey
How our frameworks demonstrate compliance with the building regulations in Northern Ireland?
We strive to be the leading procurement voice for the public sector and are dedicated to continuously improving our business for our clients.
Incorporating industry best practice into our core values, frameworks, policies and procedures, we can ensure that our frameworks, our team and our delivery partners are not only demonstrating commitment to excellence, but delivery of real value and impact for every project.
With robust governance in place, our suite of civil engineering, construction, consultancy and utilities frameworks is fully compliant with UK, Scottish, and EU procurement regulations. Our memberships and accreditations further enhance our alignment with and compliance to driving best practice and consistency through our framework processes, and contracting and management approaches.
How to get started with SCAPE frameworks in Northern Ireland?
Kick start your project with SCAPE and book a meeting with Garrett Duffy, SCAPE’s business development manager for Northern Ireland.
With more than 25 years’ experience of senior project management across Northern Ireland’s public sector, Garrett works closely with clients to understand their project requirements and ambitions, connecting them with our framework delivery partners; Balfour Beatty with local partner FP McCann, GRAHAM and McLaughlin & Harvey. All of them have local bases and are committed to keeping investment local while delivering maximum value.
Speak to our Northern Ireland team today
Our team of experts are ready to help you deliver effective and efficient construction projects in Northern Ireland. Book a meeting with us to learn more about how we can support you.