Page 15 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

1 Introduction: Developments over the years

Over the past decade, procurement has evolved significantly; however, further advancements
are needed in order to align with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. In
addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed the process of public procurement to respond
rapidly to public emergencies. Governments worldwide have made considerable advances in
reforming digital public service delivery, including governance and decision-making around the
use and public procurement of ICTs.

The following are a few examples presented in chronological order. Note that this list is not
exhaustive.

• United Kingdom: Conceived in 2010, following the Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox’s
independent review (Directgov, 2010) of the main government website at the time, the United
Kingdom Government Digital Services (UK GDS) led a digital government transformation
and the implementation of standards-based assurance of ICT spending, including public
procurement and service delivery. This opened up a highly concentrated government market
in 2010, dominated by a small number of primarily large suppliers to thousands of small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) available through the Digital Marketplace.

• United States: Founded during the Obama Administration in March 2014, 18F was formed by
a group of Presidential Innovation Fellows to extend their efforts to improve and modernize
government technology. 18F develops partnerships with agencies to help them deliver
exceptional digital experiences that address their strategic initiatives. Through their work
together, 18F also aims to strengthen government technology practices in ways that last beyond
their formal partnerships. 18F effects change by practicing user-centred development, testing
to validate hypotheses, shipping often, and deploying products in the open. Later the same
year, in August, the United States Digital Service (USDS) was launched to bring together the
best engineering, design and government talent to change the US Government’s approach to
technology.

• Australia: Founded in July 2015, the Digital Transformation Office (DTO) was an executive
agency comprising a small team of developers, designers, researchers and content specialists
working across government to develop and coordinate the delivery of digital services. The DTO
operated more like a start-up than a traditional government agency, focussing on end-user
needs in developing digital services. In November 2016, the DTO was replaced by the Digital
Transformation Agency to provide strategic and policy leadership across the Government on
ICT and digital service delivery. This includes: ICT procurement policy; setting standards for
government ICT and digital service delivery projects; coordinated funding of ICT projects;
leading an ICT programme management office for the government; and providing expertise
and advice across government on ICT and digital topics.

Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities | May 2023 1