Procurement and industry pipeline have never been more at the forefront of industry.

We've seen the arrival of a new government, with growth at the heart of its agenda, and the implementation of the Procurement Act.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is making its way through Parliament to accelerate development. Plus, the much anticipated Spending Review is due to be announced this month along with the 10-year pipeline and infrastructure strategy.

“It’s a time of change – but also a time when it’s vital for government to hear the voice of industry,” said Conor McCarthy, technical director at WSP who has also recently stepped up to chair the Procurement and Pipeline Group at the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE).

“We have a new administration looking to do things in a different way. The Procurement Act has come in and planning reforms could speed up delivery. The government is keen to deliver quickly and make its mark.”

McCarthy, who is delivery, procurement and contract advisory lead and technical director infrastructure advisory at WSP, is eager for more members to attend the group’s regular meetings and play their part.

With the next Procurement and Pipeline Group meeting taking place on 18 June, he wants industry to come together and share voices in greater numbers.

“Once the Spending Review, infrastructure strategy and pipeline are published it will all be about delivery. How do we as a membership group prepare, keep track of and support government in terms of how they achieve that 10-year infrastructure strategy?

“The pipeline will give industry more certainty on where we’re headed. But our members are at the front end, we understand how things work in terms of design and delivery so it’s vital to bring together that insight to inform and advise government.”

McCarthy has set out key priorities for the Procurement and Pipeline Group, which includes transparency of pipeline.

“It’s so important our membership understands the opportunities that are coming so they can start to prepare and be clear about what is required and what changes they need to make.

“Do they need to have certain types of skills that they don't have at the moment? Which sectors are going to be most important and do they need to switch focus - to energy or water for example.

“So, we must work with government to review and stay on top of what that 10-year pipeline means for our industry.”

McCarthy also says supporting the transition from most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) to most advantageous tender (MAT) in the UK Procurement Act 2023 is important as it signifies a shift towards a broader view of value in public procurement.

“Members have previously been involved in development of the value toolkit and in the Flex 390 standard. We support value-based decision making, we think it's a great tool.

“It aligns with the Procurement Act that moves from most economic advantageous tender to most advantageous. So, it's an opportunity to help bring some of that understanding to champion that wider holistic view of value rather than just cost. And to showcase that with clients to try and help where we can.”

The UK's Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February this year.

“It’s been a massive change for us as a nation,” said McCarthy. “It’s been developed to try and simplify procurement, make it more flexible, speed up delivery to procure better and get better outputs and performance from the supply chain.

“But it’s also about giving the supply chain more transparency about the opportunities that are there and how they can get involved.

“There’s a massive amount of change going on and one of the priorities for our group is to collate and feedback experience of the new procurement regulation as a sector.

“Do we think it's working? Are we having any specific pain points that we think should be considered or reviewed.”

Engaging with members is also one of McCarthy’s key priorities.

He says meetings are a crucial way to gather feedback on the rollout of the Procurement Act, presenting consolidated feedback from the consultancy and engineering sector to government, highlighting areas for improvement and clarity and providing a regular forum for members to discuss and test ideas related to procurement and pipeline.

“Membership ranges from SMEs right up to the largest consultancies, that’s a lot of different voices with different perspectives and opinions. So how do we bring that together into a consolidated piece of valuable feedback for government?

“The Procurement and Pipeline Group provides that forum for members to discuss and test ideas. There’s a lot of change in procurement and we're all on this journey together to get familiar with the new way of the world, the new way of working.

“As a membership organisation, we should be trying to share collectively. This is such an important time for our industry and it’s equally important to make that time to come to our meetings to listen, to be heard, to gain understanding of what’s changing and importantly give that feedback to government.

“It’s so important for our members to attend our meetings – and be a part of that process.”

The next meeting of ACE’s Procurement and Pipeline Group takes place on 18 June and will focus on the National Infrastructure Strategy and explore emerging models for private investment. Click here for more details.