Smarter buying could save NUIG €12m a year – report

By Dara Bradley

NUI Galway could make budgetary savings in the region of €12 million annually with savvier procurement practices, according to an unpublished report.

The draft report by Dublin-based Achilles consultants, seen by the Connacht Sentinel, is quite critical of the university’s procurement policies.

The report, Strategic Procurement Plan, was commissioned by NUIG in 2011 and the interim draft was leaked to the country’s TDs and Senators.

The consultants were tasked with assessing the existing procurement arrangements internally at NUIG then a benchmarking them against sector and national best practice.

The 104-pages document states that the annual non-pay related expenditure at NUIG is approximately €80 million, and that there is wide scope for savings at the university, which is largely financed by public monies.

“Although the data analysed does not facilitate a detailed breakdown and opportunity analysis of the non-pay spend, our experience from assignments with similar bodies indicates that potential savings of the order of 15% plus . . . are not unrealistic,” it said.

It is not known when the full report will be published.

NUIG, in response to queries in relation to the draft report, insisted it is “completely committed to ensuring compliance with public procurement requirements and delivering best value for money on all goods and services purchases.”

However, among the key findings in the draft report, according to the author, is that “there is not an acceptance within NUI Galway at the highest levels that the adoption of good procurement practices . . . can significantly impact on the strategic goals of the university”.

It said procurement at NUIG “tends to be reactive rather than pro-active”; and that other than for works “NUIG does not sign formal contracts for goods or services”.

Another area for improvement identified is collaborative procurement, it said. “While NUI Galway engages in collaborative procurement initiatives on a sectoral and national basis, it does so in a piecemeal and ad-hoc manner with little or no account taken upfront of the potential benefits to the university”.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel