Jess Talks - September 2023

By Jessica Jones, Executive Director Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

Once again, I am travelling as I write this intro for Local Buy News after being in western Queensland with LGAQ CEO Alison Smith and Head of Advocacy Sarah Vogler, attending council meetings. These meetings are an important part of our broader engagement program and provide an opportunity to have meaningful conversations to understand the needs of councils in their local environment. We kicked off in Charleville with visits to Murweh Shire Council, Blackall-Tambo Regional Council, Barcaldine Regional Council and finished at Longreach Regional Council.

I did mention in the last newsletter that there will be some exciting announcements to come and I am pleased that I am able to finally share this with the Local Buy network.

The first of which is the big wins at the CIPS Australia & New Zealand Excellence in Procurement Awards in August. I mentioned last month that Local Buy had been shortlisted as finalists and Mike and Glen headed to Melbourne for the awards night. We didn’t expect to come away with the biggest award of the night, the overall CIPS winner for 2023, along with Best Procurement Transformation Programme and Public Procurement Project of the Year and runner up for Best Initiative to Build a Diverse Supply Base. These awards are incredible recognition of the work achieved by the entire team at Local Buy as well as recognising the work of the sector, so we should all be celebrating these awards as they highlight what can be achieved when we work together. Local Buy certainly couldn’t have achieved this without working so closely with all councils across the state. 

You may also have seen the big announcement I sent out regarding the State Government Procurement Technology project. This is really exciting news and the collaboration between state and local governments using a common technology platform provides a huge opportunity to support doing business with Queensland. We have been busy recruiting the roles associated with this project and the team are underway with implementation with our colleagues at Queensland Government Procurement. I will continue to provide updates on this as the project progresses. Kicking off in October we will be joining the state government team on their procurement roadshow across the state to talk about the changes and what this will mean for Queensland local suppliers.

The last of our procurement summits for the year was held in Rockhampton and again we’ve received great feedback. A big thanks to the team at Rocky for collaborating with us on this event. Overall, we have run 4 summits across the state, with 109 council officers representing 38 councils plus numerous guest speakers. The series has offered a diverse program and highlights the need for increased focus on procurement capability development and the opportunity for professional development. 

Noting this, you may have seen the survey that was recently sent out by Tina seeking input for the Local Buy annual conference. If you haven’t had a chance to provide your feedback please take a moment to complete the survey as the more we have the better the event will be at meeting the needs of what you would like to see at this important event. We would also love the opportunity to hear from Local Buy suppliers, so please jump into the survey and provide your feedback as well. More on this to come over the next few months…

Conference season is upon us and we look forward to catching up with many of you at the upcoming events including LGAQ annual conference in Gladstone, IPWEAQ annual conference and Local Government Finance Professionals conference. Please drop into the Local Buy trade booth at these events and say G’day to the team. It is a great opportunity to understand a little more about the work we are doing at Local Buy, connect with the relevant category managers and share with us how we can continue to support you, our council stakeholders and our valued suppliers. 

I reckon I may have another special announcement up my sleeve so watch this space. I will drop a hint…someone pretty special is coming back to join my team at Local Buy. 

Jess