Policy Network Analysis of UK Central Government Civil Procurement

Abstract

This paper analyses recent policy developments in civil procurement by UK central government departments and agencies using policy network analysis. The research was funded by an ESRC personal research grant (No. 000237023), and included a questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews of heads of procurement in government departments and agencies, as well as interviews with members of management boards responsible for procurement. The paper maps changes in the policy networks from 1995 to 2000, showing an increasing recognition of the importance of procurement in government policy and a commensurate rise in the status of the procurement function. In particular, the extent to which procurement is seen as contributing to core government policies and processes, such as obtaining better value for money from public expenditure, is reflected in the integration of procurement networks at the centre of government with traditionally powerful policy networks based within Treasury and the Cabinet Office, demonstrated by the establishment of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) within Treasury. However, that integration has not occurred within all departments and agencies, with the result that procurement's contribution is not being optimised fully across government, and attempts by the centre to ensure uniform implementation of procurement policy raise issues of centre departmental power and interdepartmental relationships. Finally, the paper concludes that policy networks provide a valid and useful theoretical framework for the analysis of public procurement.