The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is part of the Efficiency and Reform Group of the Cabinet Office, a department of the Government of the United Kingdom.[1] The OGC operates through the Government Procurement Service, an executive agency.
The purpose of the OGC is to support the procurement and acquisition process of public sector organisations in the UK through policy and process guidance and the negotiation of overarching service and provision frameworks. This is intended to improve value for money to the taxpayer, optimising the level of taxpayers equity directed towards the delivery of services. Similar organisations can be found in most western European countries, for instance Hansel Ltd. in Finland and Consip in Italy.
OGC supports initiatives that encourage better supplier relations, sustainable procurement, the benefits of utilising smaller suppliers and the potential of eProcurement. Representing the UK at the European Union (EU) the organisation assists the public sector application of EU procurement rules within the United Kingdom.
Overarching contracts are accessed by the public sector through the Government Procurement Service.
In November 2005 the OGC's Commercial Activities Recompetition (CAR) project was announced. The described the requirement to significantly restructure certain OGC activities, and is currently ongoing.
Contents |
The organisation acts as sponsor for best practice of Project, Programme, Risk and Service Management:
OGC does not in itself provide training but owns the models, certification being controlled by the APM Group Ltd and training being conducted by a range of approved providers. OGC has a series of official websites for its best practice guidance which can be found at Best-Management-Practice.com.
Acquisition programmes and procurement projects in the central civil Government are subject to OGC Gateway reviews. The OGC Gateway process examines a programme or project at critical stages in its lifecycle, to provide assurance that it can progress successfully to the next stage. The process is based on well-proven techniques that lead to more effective delivery of benefits, together with more predictable costs and outcomes. It is designed to be applied to delivery programmes and procurement projects, including those that procure services, property and construction, IT-enabled business change and procurements using framework contracts.
On 24 April 2008 it was reported in the Daily Telegraph that a new logo for OGC had been introduced at the cost of £14,000. The logo caused embarrassment because, when rotated 90° clockwise, it has a sexual connotation.[2]