Renfrewshire Council Chief wins top honour at Scottish
Procurement Awards

Wednesday 3rd November 2010

Renfrewshire Council chief executive David Martin has been honoured for outstanding achievement at the Government Opportunities (GO) magazine Excellence in Public Procurement Awards Scotland.

Speaking at Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, Mr Martin said: “I am absolutely overwhelmed to receive this award. Those of you who know me know that I’m never short of a word or two and, again, I am overwhelmed and delighted. I’ve never received an award for anything like this in my life and hopefully this is the last time. But seriously, the reality of receiving an award like this is that it actually not an awful lot to do with me – my role in procurement, particularly with Scotland Excel, is down to a lot of people in this room, all the local authorities who are part of Scotland Excel, John McClelland for example, he too has exercised tremendous leadership. I am very embarrassed but honoured for this award, thank you very much.”

The GO Awards Scotland, organised by BiP Solutions and held last week (Tuesday Oct 26) during the annual Procurex event at the SECC, are the only such awards dedicated to public sector procurement north of the border.                                           

Renfrewshire Council’s Corporate Procurement Unit was also honoured for outstanding achievement, being Highly Commended in the GO Team of the Year Award category.

Accepting the prize, Fiona Hughes, Corporate Category Manager, Renfrewshire Council, said: “We’ve worked very hard for this. We are obviously delighted with what we were recommended for, as it shows that we’ve come on leaps and bounds. We have the appropriate people in the appropriate positions to do what’s needed, and that’s been reflected in our recognition.”

The judging panel included many of the procurement and business community’s leading experts in the sector: John F McClelland, author of the Review of Public Procurement in Scotland; Dorothy Cowie, Director, Scotland Excel; Barry Graham, Head of the Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise (CGCoPE); Duncan Eaton, former Chief Executive of NHS PASA; Liz Cameron, Chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce; Vince McKeown, Membership Relations, SCDI; Grahame Steed, Managing Editor, Government Opportunities magazine; and Morven MacNeil, Features Editor, Government Opportunities magazine.

GO Managing Editor Grahame Steed said Scottish procurement professionals should be recognised for the demanding work that they carry out so successfully, and the GO Awards Scotland provide an excellent means of doing just that.

He added: “This year's GO Awards Scotland have underlined the quality of procurement staff across the country, and also highlighted that there are many suppliers prepared to go the extra mile in order to deliver quality services. Procurement will see some radical changes over the coming years, but on the evidence of these Awards, there are many individuals and organisations in Scotland with the right mindset and ambition to ensure a successful outcome.” 

Picture captions:

1. David Martin (centre) with Alastair Merrill, the Scottish Government's Director of Procurement (right) and Government Opportunities Managing Editor Grahame Steed

2. Corporate Procurement Unit team, Renfrewshire Council 

Winners 

GO Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year Award

(Sponsored by DHL)

Argyll and Bute Council Procurement Team 

GO Best Service Award (Sponsored by Tracker)

Pertemps / Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise

GO / John F McClelland Collaborative Procurement Initiative of the Year Award (Sponsored by Delta) 

Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise

GO Innovation or Initiative of the Year Award (Health Organisations) (Sponsored by eNgageSpace) 

National Procurement, NHS National Services Scotland (Pharmacy Team)

GO Innovation or Initiative of the Year Award (Other Organisations) (Sponsored by eNgageSpace) 

Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise (Scottish Court Service) 

GO Best Supplier Engagement Initiative Award (Sponsored by CompeteFor) 

Supplier Development Programme 

GO Team of the Year Award (Sponsored by BiP Solutions’ Procurement Advice and Support Service – PASS)  

Procurement Development Team, Scottish Procurement Directorate

GO Outstanding Contribution Award

Recipient – David Martin, Chief Executive, Renfrewshire Council

Highly Commended

GO Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year Award

(Sponsored by DHL)

Procurement Scotland (National Electricity Contract)

GO Best Service Award (Sponsored by Tracker)

Strathclyde Tyres Ltd / Scotland Excel

GO / John F McClelland Collaborative Procurement Initiative of the Year Award (Sponsored by Delta)

National Procurement, NHS National Services Scotland (Strategic Sourcing)

Tayside Procurement Consortium

GO Innovation or Initiative of the Year Award (Other Organisations) (Sponsored by eNgageSpace)

Graduate Trainee Programme, Scotland Excel

GO Best Supplier Engagement Initiative Award (Sponsored by CompeteFor)

Catering and Cleaning Team, Scotland Excel

GO Team of the Year Award (Sponsored by BiP Solutions’ Procurement Advice and Support Service – PASS)

Central Procurement Unit, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils

Corporate Procurement Unit, Renfrewshire Council 

Issued by BiP Solutions 

For more information or interview requests, contact Ray Jackson on 0141 270 7343 or email ray.jackson@bipsolutions.com 

Alternatively contact Alex Hamilton at The BIG Partnership on 07812 138701

 

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