Gerald Ford: Navigating the complex world of municipal purchasing
Gerald Ford – the national program manager at Kinetic GPO (not the 38th U.S. president) – has spent many years helping municipalities manage the often-complicated world of public sector purchasing. So it’s not surprising he picked up some insights along the way.
Ford sat down with Municipal World CEO Susan Gardner at the 2019 Ontario Municipal Administrators’ Association’s spring workshop, at Niagara-on-the-Lake. The two discussed the procurement challenges faced by smaller communities and the strategies to overcome them.
Fixing the Public Sector Purchasing Knowledge Gap
In the past, Ford said, municipalities tended to hire a lot of people in the procurement field. “And, a lot of them are considering retirement and so now there is a big gap out there,” in terms of people who are able to provide the level of experience that organizations need. “Nowadays, there is a lot more emphasis on doing it right, making sure you follow the legislation, and there are some organizations that are pretty close to getting themselves into trouble.”
Ford said his organization has been fortunate in that it has kept “up-to-speed” on all the associated legislation across Canada. Therefore, when something new comes along, they’re in position to deploy team members who are ready to help.
Young People, Newcomers Offer Solutions
When it comes to filling that gap in experience, Ford suggests one of two approaches. Municipalities can look at giving opportunities to young people just entering the profession. Or, they can reach out to newcomers with a diverse background of experience.
Ford said, speaking from experience, both approaches offer considerable benefit – and not just to a municipality’s bottom line.
Public Sector Purchasing: A Great Place to Be
“I’m always saying to people looking at purchasing, look at public sector purchasing. It’s a great career, a great opportunity,” Ford said. “It’s a great challenge and a great place to be.” MW
✯ Municipal World Insider and Executive Members: You might also be interested in the article: Leveraging your asset management policy for strategic investment. Note that you can now access the complete collection of past articles (and more) from your membership dashboard.
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