Government
Procurement – Let's
Shake It Up A Little

Meet The Average Australian ICT
Business
● Average Australian
ICT business is either
Micro or Small (less
than 20 employees)
● Delivers world class
services and products
● Is constantly seeking
growth and developing
new products
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Australian ICT Meets Government
Work
● For most ICT businesses, this is how
Government Procurement appears
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Not Invented Here
● Bias towards tech and providers from outside
● Local ICT view the only valid path is overseas
● We lose opportunity and talent
● The perceived view is of Australia as an
incubator but not as a mature market source
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

The Emperors New Procurement
● Make the process as open as possible
● Release as much information about the tender
as possible
● Strip out the commercial in confidence
information and release tenders
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Niche Job Market Place
● Micro to Small ICT businesses stay away from
Government work
● Tendering process viewed as cumbersome and
geared towards bigger providers
● Not every job requires a multi-national
● For jobs under $50,000 list them via Niche Job
Market Place
● Use completely transparent tendering rules
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

It's Open Standards People
● Make Open Standards support a standard
Tender requirement
● Open Standards encourages the development
o f the local industry
● Open Standards allows for more cost effective
software management via easier transitions
● Encourage development within Government
Agencies and Departments
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

The G Prize
● Tender Process isn't the only way to do it
● Why not launch a competition?
● Competitions allow the developers more freedom to
explore and innovate
● Government ends up with a new tool for their work
● Developer gains kudos and recognition as well as
prize
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Apps For America
● Annual competition run by Sunlight labs
● Aim to create new apps for the Gov2.0 sphere
● This year is partnering with Data.gov
● http://sunlightlabs.com/contests/appsforamerica2/
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

GovSource
● Setup a repository of Government owned and
developed software
● Release said software (as much as possible)
under an Open Source License
● Benefits:
● Possible outside contributions to better software
● Pool of potential support and development grows
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Culture Change
● Australian Business and Government Culture
needs to change
● ICT innovation can and is being done in
Australia – Up to a point, then we're forced OS
● We need to get better at retaining the brains
and the businesses
● Silicon Valley is nice and all but I'd prefer
Silicon Beach
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Final Thoughts
● Stop thinking of Australia as an incubator only
● Where all things are equal procure locally
● Australian ICT scene is truly world class, we're
doing some very very cool stuff, take advantage
of it before someone else does
● Cliché time: Think outside the box, break out of
the tender framework and try something new
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Collaborynth
Mobile: +61 406 576 553
Email: james@collaborynth.com.au
Skype: purserj1977
Gtalk: jamesrpurser@gmail.com
Twitter: @purserj
Government Procurement – Lets shake it up a little

Collaborynth
Mobile: +61 406 576 553
Email: james@collaborynth.com.au
Skype: purserj1977
Gtalk: jamesrpurser@gmail.com
OOOG – Open Source, Open Standards, Open
Government

Collaborynth
Mobile: +61 406 576 553
Email: james@collaborynth.com.au
Skype: purserj1977
Gtalk: jamesrpurser@gmail.com
OOOG – Open Source, Open Standards, Open
Government