WIREDGOV

Read about the outcomes of our Digital Marketplace Regional Events that we've been hosting with the Government Digital Services over the last month.

Over the past month, we have hit the road with both the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to bring public sector buyers and suppliers up and down the country the latest information on the Digital Marketplace. In total, we ran fourteen free events in seven cities.

We are delighted to have brought together almost a thousand people through our events, with more than 530 suppliers and 240 buyers registered over the course of the 14 sessions. The events were held at a crucial time, given that the tender for the seventh iteration of G-Cloud was published last week. Our sessions allowed suppliers and buyers to get an in-depth understanding of what changes they could expect from G-Cloud 7, and an insight into the re-design of the Digital Services Framework (DSF), for which GDS has been developing a radically different approach.

We view these events as an exemplar of effective engagement between the tech industry and Government. The sessions had a clearly defined purpose, Government was open to listening and these events formed part of a wider engagement programme.

Key takeaways from both sessions:

• G-Cloud is very popular and reaching out to the tech community across the UK is important. We heard from suppliers who attended similar sessions we organised last year and as a result, they are now on G-Cloud and successfully providing their services to Government.
• For both the buyers and supplier sessions, the level of understanding varied hugely which means there is still some 'basic' market education required.
• The level of attendance and market awareness varied across the regions, helping us to identify where we need to do more work.
• Small businesses are not aware of the key tools available to them such as access to the Crown Representative for SMEs, SME champions within departments and the Government's target to award 33% new procurement spend to SMEs.
• The most successful companies and buyers take a proactive approach to the frameworks in the Digital Marketplace and understand that whilst they are not perfect, Government is on a journey and the frameworks are improved with each iteration.
• There is a need for a better understanding and consolidation of the wider framework landscape to make it simpler for suppliers and buyers.

techUK runs monthly meet-ups on the Digital Marketplace for buyers and supplier, register for the next one which is on the 24 September.

Useful links:

• If you missed the supplier events and would like to catch-up on what was discussed, you can watch live-stream footage from our London session on 13 August here
• More information on the G-Cloud 7 application process
• Further details on G-Cloud 7 for new and existing suppliers
• How to sell cloud services through the Digital Marketplace
• Digital Marketplace Strategy Update (July 2015)

​Naureen Khan, Associate Director – Central Government
T 020 7331 2022
E naureen.khan@techuk.org