What Role does Government Procurement Play in Manufacturing in the UK and Internationally and How Might This Change in the Future

This report, commissioned by the Government Office for Science, has the general aim of reviewing the available evidence concerning the impact and role of public sector procurement on UK manufacturing. Specifically the report addresses the following questions: What is the current framework for Government procurement in the UK? How does Government procurement directly and indirectly impact on manufacturing activities? How do UK procurement frameworks compare to other competitor nation procurement in terms of supporting manufacturing? In what ways could co-ordinated procurement (procurement that meets multiple Government departmental goals) catalyse and support UK Manufacturing? Previous research has shown that public procurement can have an impact on societal outcomes (McCrudden, 2004; 2007) including innovation and manufacturing (Edler and Georghiou, 2007). However, public sector procurement is dominated by services rather than manufacturing expenditure; hence, the impact of procurement frameworks on manufacturing is limited. The impact of public procurement on manufacturing is also constrained by economic, legal and regulatory factors which are discussed in the report