Central Procurement Directorate came into existence on 1 April 2002 as a result of the Review of Public Procurement which recommended the merger of the Construction Service and Government Purchasing Agency into a single directorate.
The Review also recommended a number of other new institutional arrangements including the establishment of a Procurement Board (pdf, 19kb), to lead on procurement policy for the Northern Ireland Public Sector, and a network of Centres of Procurement Expertise through which all to public sector procurement should be channelled.
One of the key recommendations of the Review of Public Procurement was the need to re-think existing policy. At a meeting on 16 May 2002 the Executive agreed to a revised public procurement policy (pdf, 2.86mb) for all Northern Ireland Departments, their agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and Public Corporations. A Summary Document (pdf, 22kb) is also available.
This new policy is guided by a clear definition of public procurement and the concept of “best value for money” (pdf, 149kb) and sets out twelve principles by which the administration of public procurement should be governed.
Our Vision
Our vision for CPD is to be respected by all customers, clients and stakeholders for delivering best value for money procurement solutions.
We will achieve this through:
- Providing leadership in public procurement;
- Delivering value, promoting sustainability and enabling reform;
- Quality advice and professional service in all our procurement, delivery and support activities;
- Motivated, trained and expert staff; and
- An integrated organisation, committed to continuous improvement, which values and promotes the diverse talents, skills and competence of our people.
Our Values
As a part of the Department of Finance and Personnel the Directorate fully subscribes to the values which the Department believes should influence the way in which it works. These are:-
- clear direction and strong leadership;
- customer focus;
- respect for people;
- open communication;
- working to deliver best value;
- development of positive working relationships with others;
- commitment to the highest ethical standards of public service, and
- valuing and harnessing the diversity of our staff.
In addition we have identified a further value which is very important to how we, as an organisation, work. This value is:
- our services and advice to customers will be provided by staff expert in their particular professional discipline and encouraged to be a member of a relevant Professional body.
Complaints
We aim to provide a high quality, efficient and professional service to all our customers and suppliers, however, occasionally things can go wrong and we are keen to learn from our mistakes. If you feel we have fallen short of demonstrating our values, or meeting our guiding principles as set down in the revised Procurement Policy (pdf, 2.86mb) please speak initially to the member of staff with whom you are dealing and they will try to resolve your problem. Should they be unable to resolve your complaint and you wish to take the matter further we have a formal complaints procedure within our Supplier Charter (pdf, 67kb) which can be followed in such cases.