ART - Assessing ValueAdd Public Purch Procurement 2005

The document is a research paper titled "A Tool for Assessing the Value Contributed by Public Purchasing Departments throughout Various Stages of Competitive Acquisition Processes for Consulting Services" by Joseph J. Schiele. The paper presents a tool that assesses the value contributed by public sector purchasing departments in the acquisition of consulting services. The tool includes both direct and indirect measures of value. The paper argues that while direct contributions are important, the indirect contributions made by purchasing departments are even more significant in terms of their impact on organizational functioning and ability to serve the public. The paper suggests that the type of value contributed by purchasing departments could be re-categorized according to when it occurred throughout the purchasing process. This approach allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the value provided by purchasing departments. The tool aims to improve the decision-making process of public purchasing departments and enhance departmental and organizational performance. The paper also discusses the lack of an authoritative basis for assessing purchasing department performance and suggests that performance evaluation should go beyond cost reduction to include contributions to organizational goals and objectives. The paper emphasizes the strategic position of purchasing departments and their ability to provide valuable contributions to other departments. It also highlights the importance of meaningful involvement of purchasing departments in the purchasing process. The paper describes the development of the assessment tool based on in-depth case studies and identifies 46 different types of value associated with involving purchasing departments in competitive acquisition processes for consulting services. The tool captures both direct and indirect aspects of value and aims to improve the decision-making effectiveness of purchasing departments.