Welcome I am pleased to share with you this latest update from the Office of

Government Procurement (OGP). In this issue you can read about recent

procurement activity for our clients including new Irish-medium education

programmes (p2), a Framework for the supply of fire engines to fire

authorities (p3), and other highlighted Frameworks. (p10 & 11) Earlier this year the OGP published a Communications Strategy for the years

2018-2020. The Strategy aims to build on our work to date, particularly in

promoting opportunities in public procurement to SMEs and

micro-businesses.

A key element of raising awareness of public procurement is our attendance at external events where

we can meet directly with businesses and give clarity and confidence about what can work best for them

in the market. In March, I attended TenderCon (p6) where I presented on our work and took part in a

valuable Q & A session which helped build understanding among suppliers interested in engaging with

the OGP. Procurex (p7) in the RDS in April offered the OGP a number of avenues to highlight the variety of work

the OGP engages in. Our presentations at the event covered topics as diverse as eInvoicing and Brexit and our stand gave hundreds of business representatives the opportunity to

engage directly with our staff. Training events for SMEs including Go2Tender and Breakfast Briefings continue to be rolled out around

the country and have proved to be very popular. We would encourage anyone thinking of competing for

public work to attend. In our last newsletter we introduced the team working on eInvoicing. In this issue you can read about

the important work that they are doing both in preparing the infrastructure for the implementation of

the eInvoicing directive and in raising awareness among public sector bodies. For regular updates on the Office’s work, you can visit the website at ogp.gov.ie and also follow on

Twitter @procurement_ie Paul Quinn Chief Procurement Officer

OGP Newsletter

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Following a comprehensive procurement process, managed by the OGP in conjunction with the

Department of Education and Skills, the contract for the Irish-medium B.Ed. programme was awarded to

Marino Institute of Education in Dublin, while the contract for the Irish-medium M.Ed. programme has

been awarded to Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. The new teacher education programmes which are an example of one of the many bespoke competitions

run where the requirements are not met by an existing frameworks, will include a 4-year Irish-medium

Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) for primary teachers commencing in 2019 and an Irish-medium Masters in

Education (M.Ed.) for primary and post-primary teachers, including principals, commencing in 2018. Up to a maximum of 30 new places per annum will be provided on each of the two new teacher education

programmes over the contract period amounting to a possible overall investment of almost €7m depending

on uptake. The introduction of these two new teacher education programmes is a key action in the Policy on Gaeltacht

Education 2017-2022 to promote excellence in Irish-medium teaching in Gaeltacht and Irish-medium

schools. The objective of the implementation of the two new Irish-medium teacher education programmes

is to strengthen the supply of teachers who can provide high quality Irish-medium education. The

commencement of these teacher education programmes will have a positive impact on the delivery of

Irish-medium education in schools. Working with the Department of Education on this competition showcases the diversity of our work and

our commitment to client collaboration, as further highlighted by the following national Framework

agreement.

Left to right: Randal MacDonnell (OGP), Treasa Kirk (Dept. of Education), David O’Sullivan (OGP),

Roisin Killeen (OGP), Caroline Treacy (OGP) Left to right: Dr Angela Canny (Mary Immaculate Institute), Richard Bruton, Minister for Education

and Skills, and Dr T.J. O Ceallaigh (Mary Immaculate College)

Launch of education programmes

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The variety of services the OGP offers to clients is illustrated by the establishment of the first national

Framework Agreement to supply local authority fire services with Class B Fire Appliances. Historically,

the procurement of these appliances was conducted by individual or small groups of local fire services.

The new arrangement will unencumber local fire authorities from the administrative burden and costs

associated with running their own procurement processes. The Framework is also good news for Irish SMEs. Following the competitive tender process two Irish

suppliers (High Precision Motor Products in Carlow and Sídheán Teoranta in the Galway Gaeltacht)

have been appointed to the Framework. Between them, they will be awarded contracts over the next

24 months with an estimated value in excess of €5.5m.

The high-spec, specialised appliances that are available under this framework are price-fixed for the

duration of the agreement. A streamlined process will see fire services purchase the appliances via a

Direct Drawdown facility. Clients will have a choice of chassis model, a choice of body-construction

material, and a selection of optional extras to enhance the appliance. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has allocated €9.2m in capital funding for

the purchase of twenty-three (23) new fire appliances between 2018 and 2020. Any future allocations

for Class B Fire Appliances that may be announced within the duration of this framework, can be

sourced under this framework agreement.

Irish SMEs to supply new fire engines

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The OGP eInvoicing team welcomed André Hoddevik, Secretary General, OpenPEPPOL to Dublin to officially announce Ireland as a PEPPOL Authority member with the Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan T.D.

(Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan T.D. , André Hoddevik, Secretary General, OpenPEPPOL & Paul Quinn, OGP CEO)

OpenPEPPOL is a non-profit international association under Belgian law and consists of both public sector and private members. OpenPEPPOL is responsible for coordinating the PEPPOL eDelivery network for eProcurement and eInvoicing. The PEPPOL eDelivery network enables businesses to 'Connect Once – Connect to All' European Public Sector buyers. Joining OpenPEPPOL is an important part of the eInvoicing programme's strategy to supporting public sector bodies comply with the European eInvoicing Directive (2014/55/EU), ultimately making it easier for businesses to engage with Government online.

The OGP joined OpenPEPPOL as a PEPPOL Authority Member in January 2018 as part of the eInvoicing Ireland Programme.

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The OGP's eInvoicing team joined representatives from both the Public and Private sectors across Europe at the OpenPEPPOL General Assembly in Brussels. In the last quarter this was an opportunity for the OGP to learn more about how other Member States are progressing towards complying with the European Directive on eInvoicing and for Ireland and to contribute to discussions at a European level on a range of eProcurement related topics and issues.

Following on from Brussels eInvoicing Ireland welcomed Christian Rasmussen and Martin Forsberg, from the European Commission's CEF Digital initiative, to host an eInvoicing event in Dublin. In April.

(Pictured - Martin Forsberg of CEF Digital Initiative)

The event provided insights from Europe's early adopters, as well as examples from Ireland's eInvoicing public sector pioneers from the Education and Health sectors. eInvoicing eliminates the delays that result from mailing, routing, sorting and re-keying paper documents. Suppliers can easily route invoices for fast processing and approval as the data is immediately available electronically in their workflow systems. Presentations and recordings from the event are available online at ogp.gov.ie/einvoicing and on the OGP You Tube Channel. (Pictured—Christian Rasmussen of CEF Digital Initiative)

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TenderCon2 was held in March in the Science Gallery, Trinity College. The main focus of TenderCon2 was to demystify the procurement process for SMEs and to promote collaboration among SMEs in bidding for work.

OGP CEO, Paul Quinn, was keynote speaker at the event. His presentation highlighted the core areas that the OGP engage in, explained procurement processes, and outlined to the SMEs present how valuable partici-pating in the process could be.

The event offered an opportunity to showcase one of our case study videos, de Siun Architects, to an SME au-dience which presented the value of engaging with the OGP, and in turn offered potential clients an oppor-tunity to watch and learn how accessible the OGP can be them. Afterwards, Paul participated in a panel ses-sion further discussing innovation in procurement and the potential for SME participation. OGP videos are available at: OGP YOUTUBE Channel

Go-2-Tender Workshops:

As part of the OGP Customer Service engagement with SMEs, the Key Account Managers (KAMs) made a presentation at Go-2-Tender workshops on the OGP Procurement model, the SME friendly aspects of the Di-rectives (lotting, proportionality) and the various supports that are available to SMEs (Helpdesk, website, TAS). Additionally, we encourage SMEs to engage in the Request for Information (RFI) process and other OGP market analysis activities.

The KAM’s presented at the Go-2-Tender event in Dundalk and in Galway. There was excellent engagement

by all participants at both events and the feedback the KAMs received from the event presenter was very pos-

itive. Our breakfast briefings continue to be rolled out throughout the country , offering SME’s further opportuni-ties to engage with the procurement process. Information on the breakfast briefings are available from the InterTRadeIreland website

SME Support

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Procurex 2018 The annual Procurex Ireland Live conference took place on 26 April 2018 at the RDS Dublin in the Shelbourne Hall.

Procurex Ireland brought together the largest annual gathering of public procurement professionals and market leading suppliers, from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The OGP had a significant presence at the conference this year, our stand operating from a central van-tage point in the hall. The staff were kept busy throughout the day engaging with the numerous visitors that approached to ask many varied questions about procurement, tendering for business, eInvoicing, our frameworks and how best to engage with the OGP. The overriding message of the day was to build better awareness of the OGP’s mission and accomplishments, remit, and operating environment.

Our speakers on the day were Paul Quinn (CEO), who spoke about support to SME’s, Declan

McCormack who spoke about eInvoicing, and Ronan O'Reilly from policy who spoke about Brexit.

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OGP Client Proposition Our Frameworks The OGP has established a wide range of procurement

arrangements since it became operational in 2014. All

our arrangements have been established in accordance

with EU Directives, national legislation and procurement

best practice and support you in delivering value for

money and compliantly procuring goods and services to

meet your needs. What to expect from the OGP Depending on the nature of the goods and services you

are accessing through a mini-competition the

complexity of the competition will vary. In order to support your planning processes, the OGP

has categorised all of its existing frameworks into tiers

based on their complexity and has committed to a

delivery timeframe. The tier categorisation for each

framework is available on the OGP website.

The OGP can also support public sector bodies with bespoke competitions where their requirements

are not met by an existing framework. Dedicated staff are available to support this work but the

capacity to take on new projects is limited. For 2018, the OGP will, subject to demand and resource

availability, support bespoke competitions that meet the criteria below. Detailed information on

bespoke competitions is also available on our website.

Clients who have planned procurement requirements for 2018 that require a bespoke competition or

a mini-competition on a Tier 4 or 5 Framework are encouraged to note the timelines for completion

and to contact the OGP without delay.

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Selected OGP Frameworks now available Professional Services Integrated Design Team Services to support the ‘Social Housing Strategy 2015 - 2020: Support, Supply and

Reform’ Property and Valuation Services Insurance Brokerage and Placement Services to the Public Sector Marketing, Print and Stationery Managed Print Service Framework & Vendor Neutral Print Audit Media Planning and Buying (includes Placement of Advertising in the Print Media Framework) Customised Envelopes ICT Consumables Fleet and Plant Large and Medium Sweeping Vehicles Fleet Maintenance Framework – Cars and Light Commercials Landscaping Equipment ICT & Office Equipment Video Conferencing Equipment and Associated Services External ICT Technical Support Services (ICT Professional Services) Mobile Voice and Data Communications and Associated Products and Services Utilities Bulk Liquid Fuels Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Managed Services Irish Language Translation Services Photography and Videography Services Training Services under Protected Disclosures Act 2014 Facilities Management and Maintenance Waste Management Services Electrical Goods (White Goods and Small Appliances) Confidential Shredding Services Hospitality Services Framework Travel and HR Service Courier Services International Confidential Shredding Services

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Public Sector Purchasing Cards provided by

Ulster Bank are fully compliant with procurement

regulations.

Key benefits include:

Significant savings achievable in transaction

costs and processes by removing steps from

existing Purchase to Pay processes

Coverage for cardholder theft or misuse under

Corporate Liability Waiver Insurance

Prompt payment to small and medium size

enterprises (SMEs) and all suppliers

Access to online management and reporting

analysis tools

Increased transparency, security and control

Fraud prevention and detection systems

Support, including access to a dedicated

Account Manager

Purchasing Cards can be used with any card-

enabled supplier and function similar to a credit

card but are different in the sense that balances

are normally settled in full on a designated

monthly date based on a single electronic

statement provided to the Client each month,

covering all transactions.

There is no charge to Clients for using Purchasing

Cards and all related services. Services will be

delivered so that cards will be provided free of all

charges, other than Government fees and duties.

Find out more OGP User Guide:

https://bz.procurement.ie/contracts/4144

Ulster Bank:

Tel: Valerie on +353 (0) 87 9152838

Email: valerie.lang@ulsterbank.com

Log onto: www.ulsterbank.ie/commercialcards/

publicsector

The OGP’s Framework Agreement for the provision of Purchasing

Card Programmes is available by direct drawdown to all Irish

Public Sector bodies.

Now available with an Electronic Fund Transfer payment option for clients