Innovative public procurement

Hansel’s new unit, focusing on procurement development services, supports customer organisations’ ability to reform and helps them improve the management, efficiency, and impact of procurement activities. Analysis of the current state is followed by the planning and implementation of chosen measures, all in close collaboration with the customer. Corporate responsibility is also taken into consideration in the development unit’s projects.

Understanding the strategic nature of procurement and the importance of its systematic management is a requirement of innovative procurement. Hansel’s development services help improve customers’ understanding. Commitment, sufficient resources, and the will to have things under control are prerequisites for the development of procurement. Hansel’s development managers help customers adopt and implement best procurement practices.

An experimentation incubator for ideas

An experimentation incubator was organised for ministries and central government agencies in conjunction with the Työ 2.0, Experimental Finland, Suomidigi and D9 projects, with the purpose of promoting experimental development, lowering the threshold for starting experiments, and, naturally, starting experiments.

Hansel participated in the incubator as the Finnish Financial Stability Authority’s partner. The Financial Stability Authority is a new agency founded after the financial crisis, which is in charge of bank resolution and the deposit guarantee scheme. The experiment was used to determine how various agencies could make better use of consolidated corporations and outsource functions such as financial and HR administration, procurement, and communications. The Government Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR Palkeet and Government ICT Centre Valtori were also involved in the experiment.

Experiences received from the experimentation incubator were positive. The Financial Stability Authority, in the role of a customer, identified new services, some of which it could employ immediately. Consolidated operators, in turn, received unbiased suggestions for new services that they could offer to agencies. Solutions were also sought for how smaller agencies could receive information about services offered by consolidated operators more easily.

In meetings between various operators, many different perspectives were found on the development of services and common tools. The experiment showed that the reliability and profitability of public administration can be improved considerably by outsourcing services. While the actual experimentation incubator project has come to an end, cooperation between Hansel and the Financial Stability Authority will continue in spring 2018.