In a context of fiscal restraint, public procurement is one of the primary tools with which government can have a material impact on growth and innovation in the broader economy. However, the government’s current approach to procurement, which views most public procurement through a narrow lens, results in a transactional approach that favours low, short-term cost instead of long-term value creation.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s latest report, Spend Smarter, Not More, urges the Government of Ontario to adopt a new, strategic approach to public procurement. Strategic procurement provides government with an opportunity to diversify its procurement model in order to spend smarter, but not more.