Achieving a Modern Digital Government
How Bloom Procurement Services and NEPRO3 Can Support Government in Achieving a Modern Digital Government
The UK Government’s vision for a modern digital government is an ambitious and forward-thinking strategy to reshape how public services are delivered. With an emphasis on innovation, efficiency, and user-centric design, this blueprint aims to create a government that is more agile, transparent, and responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses. For this transformation to take place, there needs to be a shift in how public sector procurement is approached, ensuring that digital services are accessible, cost-effective, and impactful.
In this context, procurement plays a critical role. Traditional procurement methods can often be slow and inflexible, hindering the rapid implementation of necessary digital solutions. To overcome these challenges, frameworks like NEPRO3, delivered by Bloom Procurement Services, offer a more agile and efficient model, connecting government bodies with the right suppliers to meet their digital transformation goals. This approach helps ensure that public sector organisations can meet the ambitious objectives of the digital government blueprint effectively.
Understanding the Blueprint’s Objectives
The digital government blueprint is built on three primary pillars:
Better Outcomes for Citizens and Businesses: By delivering accessible, user-friendly digital services, the goal is to make it easier for citizens and businesses to interact with government departments, access services, and get the information they need.
Enhanced Efficiency within Government Operations: This involves improving the way government services are delivered internally, streamlining processes, reducing inefficiencies, and implementing innovative technologies to make government operations more effective.
Strengthened Public Trust: Public trust is a cornerstone of any successful government initiative. Ensuring ethical, transparent, and inclusive service delivery is key to maintaining trust in digital services.
Achieving these objectives requires more than just new technology; it requires a shift in procurement strategy, ensuring that government bodies can quickly and efficiently tap into the expertise and solutions they need to drive transformation. This is where Bloom and NEPRO3 come in, offering a framework that makes this process faster, more flexible, and more transparent.
How Bloom and NEPRO3 Support the Digital Government Vision
1. Access to Specialist Suppliers
One of the key components of a modern digital government is the ability to access cutting-edge technology and expertise. Whether it’s digital transformation consultancy, cloud solutions, data analytics, AI implementation, or cybersecurity, government bodies need to work with specialists who can deliver results. Bloom’s NEPRO3 solution connects government organisations with a wide range of pre-approved suppliers, many of whom are specialists in these areas.
The NEPRO3 network includes both SMEs and larger organisations, offering diverse expertise to meet the specific needs of various public sector projects. This variety ensures that government bodies have access to the right skills and innovation for each digital transformation initiative.
2. Agile Procurement Processes
Government digital projects require flexibility and speed, which can often be at odds with traditional, rigid procurement processes. NEPRO3 simplifies this by offering a more streamlined and agile procurement model that addresses these challenges. With NEPRO3, public sector organisations can:
Speed up supplier onboarding: Projects can move forward without unnecessary delays, as the procurement process is faster and more efficient.
Tailor solutions to specific needs: Each department or project can receive a customised approach that meets its particular requirements, ensuring the best fit for every situation.
Ensure compliance: NEPRO3 adheres to public sector procurement regulations, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, ensuring that all projects meet legal and governance standards.
These streamlined processes ensure that digital transformation projects can progress without the usual bottlenecks associated with traditional procurement.
3. Driving Value for Money
Achieving value for money is a critical priority for any public sector project. In the context of digital transformation, this means ensuring that taxpayer funds are used efficiently and effectively. NEPRO3 supports this objective by promoting:
Competitive supplier selection: The framework encourages competition among a wide range of suppliers, helping to drive innovation and cost-effectiveness.
Transparent pricing models: By providing clear and upfront pricing information, government bodies can make informed decisions about costs and benefits.
Outcome-based contracts: NEPRO3 ensures that suppliers are held accountable for delivering results that align with government objectives, helping to guarantee that spending leads to tangible outcomes.
By fostering a competitive environment and focusing on results, NEPRO3 helps government bodies achieve better value for money on digital projects.
4. Supporting SMEs and Innovation
A key aspect of the UK Government’s digital vision is to create an ecosystem that encourages innovation, particularly from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs can offer flexible, creative solutions to complex challenges, and NEPRO3 actively promotes their inclusion in public sector projects. Through Bloom’s framework, government organisations can:
Engage SMEs: By giving smaller businesses a platform to showcase their expertise, NEPRO3 ensures that innovative solutions from SMEs are included in the procurement process.
Drive innovation: A diverse range of suppliers encourages out-of-the-box thinking, leading to more creative solutions to the challenges of digital transformation.
Support local economies: NEPRO3 actively promotes suppliers from across the UK, contributing to local economic growth and helping to “level up” communities.
This focus on SMEs helps to ensure that government projects benefit from diverse and innovative perspectives.
5. Ensuring Ethical and Inclusive Procurement
The success of any digital government initiative depends on the trust of the public. That’s why ethical, inclusive, and transparent procurement practices are vital. Bloom’s NEPRO3 framework prioritises these values by:
Promoting diversity and inclusion: Ensuring that suppliers from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups are given a fair opportunity to contribute.
Supporting sustainability and social value: NEPRO3 encourages suppliers to consider the broader social and environmental impact of their solutions, promoting sustainability and social good.
Ensuring transparency: All procurement decisions are made with full transparency, helping to build trust and accountability with the public.
By focusing on these ethical principles, NEPRO3 helps ensure that the digital transformation of government services is carried out in a way that is aligned with public values.
Case Study: Supporting Digital Transformation
Bloom has a strong track record of supporting digital transformation projects in the public sector. A notable example is our work with a local authority aiming to modernise its citizen portal. By using NEPRO3, the council was able to engage with a specialist SME that developed a user-friendly, data-driven platform. The new portal reduced processing times, improved user satisfaction, and streamlined access to services.
This case highlights how NEPRO3 can support digital transformation by connecting government bodies with the right suppliers and expertise, ensuring that projects are completed on time, within budget, and with measurable benefits.
Looking Ahead
The UK Government’s blueprint for a modern digital government is a bold and exciting vision for the future. Achieving its goals will require collaboration, innovation, and a procurement model that can keep pace with the demands of digital transformation. Bloom Procurement Services, through the NEPRO3 framework, offers a flexible and efficient approach that helps government bodies navigate this journey, ensuring that digital projects are delivered on time, on budget, and with the desired impact.
As the government continues its digital transformation journey, NEPRO3 will play a crucial role in supporting these efforts, driving innovation, and ensuring that the public sector delivers the best possible services to citizens and businesses.
Get in touch to find out how Bloom can accelerate your digital journey.
