City of Abbotsford Accelerates Value-Driven Procurement

The Opportunity

The City of Abbotsford, located in the Fraser Valley region of BC, serves a rapidly growing population of over 141,000.

With many staff changes and significant projects on the horizon, the timing was perfect to offer Procurement information sessions geared to bringing everyone up to speed on the important topics of the supply chain world.

The historical approach of awarding contracts based primarily on low price was changing, and staff needed to understand the importance of examining overall best value when spending tax dollars. They also needed to be able to explain this shift to constituents and other municipal stakeholders, which required a uniform understanding of both the legal and business rationale.

New trade agreements, new attitudes and limited training budgets created importance for training that would be succinct, efficient and provide consistent messaging across the organization.

The Procurement School Response

In consultation with key staff at the City, and drawing on material from its Signature Seminars and Public Sector Procurement Program, The Procurement School created two custom sessions for the City — now collectively known as the “Municipal Training Bundle” — each with a different focus but centering on the same key messages and information.

Part 1 (Procurement Essentials for Elected Officials), was delivered to Mayor and Council at City Hall on May 15th, and sparked an informed discussion and engagement around the role of elected officials in the procurement process. For many, the information presented a valuable lens on the legalities of the competitive process, and for others it reinforced the importance of maintaining conflict-free and unbiased effective oversight. A common understanding of the critical importance of the procurement function and a high-level review of some key strategies helped to ensure elected officials understood the importance of providing staff with sufficient time and resources for thorough procurement planning.

In a parallel but more detailed and nuanced delivery, managers came together on May 30th for Part 2 — a half-day session entitled Procurement Essentials for Municipal Managers. Specific ‘burning issues’ were embedded in the delivery, including an overview of the pending (at that time) new trade agreements, wrestling with incumbent advantage and local preference issues.

Attendees included procurement staff as well as managers from various departments, including Parks, the Airport, Finance, Engineering and Planning, to facilitate a cross-functional understanding and team-building.