Like other UK Government Departments, Scottish Government Social Research commissions most of its research from external contractors. Since 2006 there have been a number changes which have directly impacted on how we procure these projects. These have included changes in procurement legislation at both Scottish and European level, and the introduction of a new e-procurement system.
As Chief Researcher I am aware of the impact such changes have had on social researchers within the Scottish Government. We dedicate a significant amount of staff time to ensuring that projects are procured fairly and transparently. To support this we have invested in staff training, and have developed detailed internal guidance. However apart from anecdotal evidence very little was known about what impact such changes have had on our contractors.
This document provides a summary of the findings of a survey which was carried out in the summer of the 2007 to explore contractors' views on these new procurement procedures, and I would like to thank all those who participated. I am pleased that overall respondents were generally positive about these changes, and the new e-procurement system was viewed favourably by many. However, the survey did highlight some areas for improvement, particularly in how we communicate information about projects, and the transparency of our procurement decisions. Drawing upon these findings, in recent months we have introduced a new process for advertising projects and seeking expressions of interests. Further changes are also planned for coming months which include the enhancement of the Social Research website to include further information on the procurement process. We also plan to carry out similar surveys to this on a regular basis to monitor views on practices.
DIANA WILKINSON
CHIEF RESEARCHER
February 2008
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