Why is there increasing pressure on institutions to come together to buy goods and services? Collaborative procurement is here today to support a growing need to enhance value and innovation in higher education in BC. However, reducing spend can offer both opportunities and challenges. Some of the challenges are magnified in a collaborative environment, as institutions shift from budget-driven to a value-driven way of thinking. The session will help demystify BCNET’s collaborative procurement approach to address how we can:

  • Effectively ensure that principles of fair, open and transparent procurements provide access to collaborative opportunities
  • Shift collaborative procurement from a reactive to a proactive process
  • Re-orient BCNET procurement from solely being organized for contracts to being commodities that drive continuous process improvements

Speakers

Greg Condon

Chief Information Officer, University of Northern British Columbia

Dennis Silva

Chief Procurement Officer, BCNET

Nav Bassi

Director, Academic & Administrative Services, University of Victoria

Michael Thorson

Chief Operations Officer, University of British Columbia