Buying and procurement

If you work for the Scottish Government, you should start your procurement process by contacting your directorate's procurement officer. 

If you work for an agency of the Scottish Government, or another organisation under the Technology Assurance Framework, check who you need to contact.

Before you get in touch

You should make sure you have a Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) in place for your project before you contact a procurement officer.

Your SRO will need to approve any procurement.

Working with your procurement officer

When you contact your procurement officer, you should be able to explain what you need to buy and why. For simple, low value procurements this can be brief. For everything else, you should be ready to explain:

• your requirements based on your business case

• what your users need – if you’ve completed a discovery phase for your project you should have a good sense of your users’ needs alongside user research

• any advice you’ve had from subject matter experts or technical specialists - if you work for the Scottish Government, you should fill in a questionnaire that will help put you in contact with some of the people who can provide the specialist technical advice you'll need

• how your planning and user research meet the Digital Scotland Service Standard

At this stage, focus on what needs your procurement must meet, not on a specific product or solution.

If you work within the Scottish Government, you must complete an Accountable Officer Form before any procurement can begin.

Make sure you have the right people involved

Your team is responsible for writing the specification for what you want to buy. The procurement team will not do this for you.

You can get digital staff support and advice by contacting:

• the Routes to Delivery team

• the Scottish Government Digital, Data and Technology profession (DDaT)

If required, you can buy in resource through the IT Interim Managers Framework.

Areas to consider

Important things to think about when writing your specification.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

When buying AI and Machine Learning tools, you should be clear on what you intend to buy.

In general, AI products are made up of the:

• model

• algorithm

• data set

Most of the time you will buy a pre-trained model, often as part of a wider application. Some models are static and will not update as data changes over time. Others, usually cloud based, update automatically over time.

You may also choose to buy (or use open source versions of):

• the algorithm, which you can train using your own or purchased data

• the training data set itself, which will require specific data use considerations

You can train models using your own data science capability or by procuring specialist support. Some suppliers also sell access to pretrained models via APIs, which you can apply to your own data without owning the model.

Understanding exactly what you are buying is essential. It will help you assess value, manage the product effectively and make sure you take the right approach to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

More information can be found in the Scottish Government AI Strategy and the Scottish AI Alliance.

Automation

Get expert advice on AI enabled automation and best practices.

Contact the Intelligent Automation Centre of Excellence for support.

Accessibility

Think about accessibility from the start. Your testing and piloting should include:

• the use of assistive technologies

• users with accessibility needs

This will help you identify issues early and avoid extra costs later on. The Supply25 assurance tool can help you assess a supplier's accessibility maturity.

Learn more about how to meet accessibility requirements.

Usability

Ensure you follow the Digital Scotland Service Standard and learn more about usability testing.

Sustainability

Your digital service must be sustainable long term. Make sure any products or services you buy support environmental, economic and social sustainability requirements. You should have organisational strategies in place and measure progress against them.

If your procurement is above £50,000 (excluding VAT) the Sustainable Procurement Duty requires you to consider how it can improve economic, social and environmental wellbeing outcomes.

Functional requirements

These requirements define what a service must do, some examples are shown below:

• Support services

• Incident management and response procedures

• Problem resolution processes

• Service request handling

• Escalation procedures and timescales

• Help desk/service desk capabilities

• Incident management and response procedures

• Problem resolution processes

• Service request handling

• Escalation procedures and timescales

• Help desk/service desk capabilities

• Maintenance services

• Patching schedule and frequency at which bugs are addressed

• Software kept up-to-date and in mainstream support for the duration of the contract

• Robust lifecycle management process including the suppliers' intended roadmap for their product and any planned obsolescence

• Feature updates and enhancements

• Preventative maintenance schedules

• Monitoring and reporting

• System monitoring capabilities

• Performance monitoring and reporting

• Management Information (MI) and KPI reporting requirements

• Incident and problem reporting

• Asset management to include all digital assets

• Data management

• Data exchange capabilities and obligations to supply data back to the contracting authority at the end of the contract

• Backup and restore capabilities

• Data migration support

• Data extraction in a common format

• Learn more about data management

Non-functional requirements

These requirements define how a service should perform, some examples are shown below:

• Performance and availability

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) defining uptime and availability targets

• Response time requirements

• System performance benchmarks

• Capacity and scalability requirements

• Defined, achievable non-functional requirements that are suitable from a business perspective, for example Cyber Security requirements or standards

Relevant key performance indicators (KPIs)

KPIs help you measure supplier performance. They should be relevant and proportionate to the size and complexity of the project. They should focus on outcomes and support continuous improvement.

KPIs provide a way to measure the 4 areas of a balanced scorecard:

• quality

• cost

• sustainability

• user satisfaction

Intellectual Property (IP)

Intellectual Property (IP) created during a contract should be owned by whoever is best placed to use and develop it.

Government should avoid treating IP ownership as a simple either/or choice. Instead, it should look at each case separately to get the best long term value for both contracting authorities and suppliers.

IP strategies should recognise that commercial benefits, risks and unintended consequences may conflict. The following factors outline different options for IP ownership and when each may be suitable.

Maximising the benefits of IP for the UK

If a supplier owns the IP and can use it elsewhere, they may get value beyond a single contract. This value is reduced if contracting authorities require Crown ownership of all new IP. You should expect higher costs if you want more control over the IP.

When choosing an ownership model, you should also think about how to avoid supplier lock in.

Government also acts as custodian of citizen data. Protecting the security and integrity of this data is essential. The government must also protect the intellectual value of this data and ensure it benefits Scotland. Data must be protected from hostile, inappropriate or commercially unfair use.

Maintaining a competitive market

If a contract does not give the Crown enough ownership or licence rights, you should consider how this affects future competitions or reuse of the IP. Open source is the default in the public sector. You must understand ownership and licensing terms and how these affect whether something can be published as open source.

Encouraging innovation

You should consider whether requiring Crown ownership or exclusive rights could discourage suppliers from offering their best ideas. Some suppliers may be reluctant if they cannot gain wider market value, especially if their innovation might later be licensed to a competitor.

Options for IP ownership

1. Supplier ownership with a Crown licence to use

Examples include a license:

• for the contracted service only (including future competition)

• allowing wider use across Scottish Government services

This may be suitable when:

• there is no clear benefit in the Crown owning the IP, and the supplier is best placed to exploit it

• new IP cannot easily be separated from the supplier’s existing IP (for example SaaS solutions)

• code or other IP is stored as a single entity on the supplier’s remote systems

2. Supplier ownership with profit sharing for the Crown

Examples of licences include:

• an exclusive or sole licence, giving full use rights to the supplier only (or supplier and Crown)

• a nonexclusive licence, allowing both the supplier and Crown to exploit the IP

This may be suitable when:

• the authority has invested substantial resources and wants a return

• innovation and wider exploitation are important

• it helps avoid subsidy control issues by preventing the supplier from gaining exclusive benefit

3. Crown ownership with a supplier licence

Examples of licences include:

• exclusive or sole licence for the supplier (or supplier and Crown)

• nonexclusive licence allowing both parties to exploit the IP

This may be suitable when:

• the IP is high risk or business critical and requires close management

• the authority wants wider reuse, for example to support standardisation

• the Crown has provided significant existing IP and keeping all the IP in one place avoids complexity

• the IP will be used across multiple services or future contracts

• public interest requires Crown ownership, for example where it could pose a security risk

Note: This guidance does not replace legal advice. If unsure please consult with legal colleagues such as SGLD for IP related advice and guidance.

IP ownership for Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) services

For COTS or standard packaged services like standard Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software support, the standard OEM licence terms will usually apply.

These cases will use an End User Licence Agreement (EULA) or standard service terms. You must read and understand these terms before awarding a contract, including how issues with the product or service will be handled. The EULA applies directly between the OEM and the contracting authority.

Your procurement officer will help you decide the best way to procure what you need. The right approach depends on factors such as cost and how common your requirements are.

Your procurement officer will consider if:

• a low value, common purchase in the Scottish Government can be made quickl using an ePC or a quick quote

• a Scottish Government reusable component, such as ScotPayments, ScotAccount or the Cloud Platform, can meet your needs

• there is a legal Framework or Dynamic Purchasing System you can use to access the products or services you need

If reuse is not suitable, your procurement officer will take your requirements to the external market. This could be through:

• an existing procurement framework

• a Dynamic Purchasing System

• an open competition

You do not need to do anything to start the process of going to market. It's the responsibility of your procurement officer to oversee this process. They will involve you when needed, for example during supplier conversations.

Your procurement officer will also tell you if you need to provide supporting documents, such as a specification.

Early engagement

Engaging with the market early helps shape solutions that meet user needs. It supports clear, outcome based specifications and encourages innovation.

You should invite suppliers to share their experience, including:

• past performance

• examples of best practice

You should use that expertise to shape your requirements and inform your approach to the:

• overall project timeline

• delivery model assessment

• potential solutions

• testing and learning

• procurement procedure

• bid evaluation criteria

• contractual terms and conditions including intellectual property (IP) ownership and exit arrangements

If you are considering the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), this engagement can help you understand its capability and limitations, where the data came from and ethical considerations.

An example of early market engagement are supplier days. All early market consultation should observe the principles of public procurement:

• equal treatment

• non-discrimination

• proportional

• transparent

It should be handled in a way that no supplier gains an unfair advantage.

Early market engagement should be announced by publishing a Prior Information Notice (PIN) and a Request for Information (RFI) on Public Contract Scotland (PCS).

Find out more about the options when going to market, including procurement frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems.

 

You'll need to evaluate offers from suppliers with your procurement officer. Your procurement officer will carry out the commercial evaluation. Your team is responsible for the technical evaluation. It checks which offer best meets your requirements.

Tender Evaluation Panel

You should form a Tender Evaluation Panel to conduct the technical evaluation. This panel should include:

• senior leads on your project, such as Service Owners or Product Owners

• people with appropriate digital and subject matter expertise

Your technical evaluation must show the recommended offer:

• meets the Digital Scotland Service Standard (DSSS), especially criteria about choosing the right technology, understanding your users and accessibility

• has a documented decision process – for complex procurement you can use a Technology Options Appraisal document, but you can document your decision in any clear and robust format

Your evaluation, completed with your procurement officer, will usually include 'weightings'. These help you prioritise your requirements from both a technical and commercial perspective.

The final decision is based on which offer provides the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), meaning the best overall value, not just the lowest cost.

Once you've made the decision about if you're going to procure and who has been successful as a result of the procurement, your procurement officer will sign a contract with the successful supplier.

Your contract will be a fully integrated, consistent set of documents. It will define:

• what you're buying - the specification you went out to market with

• the method and timeframe for delivery, risk allocation and other key commercial terms - for example, the payment mechanism and KPIs

• what happens if things go wrong - that critical risk allocation is defined and properly reflected in the contract

The contract also makes sure:

• decisions on contractual roles and responsibilities are documented

• the rights and obligations of each party, and the associated contractual processes required to implement your procurement, are defined clearly

• any intellectual property is appropriately considered and attributed to the relevant owner or party

If the procurement was done through a framework, your supplier will generally have already signed up to pre-agreed, robust terms and conditions as part of their successful entry to a framework. However, bespoke call off related terms relating to your specific requirement can be agreed. Your procurement officer will help you with this. If the procurement was done through a dynamic purchasing system, or in another way, this will not be the case, so your procurement officer will help you put the terms together from a set of standard terms and conditions used for Scottish Government procurement contracts.

For services contracts, sometimes a Statement of Work approach can be used if packages of work need to be defined as the contract progresses. Statement of Work schedules can be found in the Model ICT Services Contract with guidance available on how these should be used and incorporated into the tender process.

Proportionality

Your contract should match the scale, complexity, criticality and lifecycle of what you are buying.

If it's an ongoing product or service, you’ll need to make sure that your team is resourced to actively manage the relationship with your supplier and the product or service delivered through the contract.