Procurement Summit Series 2023 Wrap-Up

Written by Tina Pholi, Senior Engagement Manager - Local Buy

We rounded out our 2023 Regional Procurement Summits with the Central Queensland event on Wednesday 13th September in partnership with Rockhampton Regional Council.

We were joined by colleagues from eight councils as far north as Burdekin Shire Council and south as Maranoa Regional Council.

Thanks to our informative speakers for sharing their time, knowledge, and experience with our audience: 

• Jacques Coetzee, Director - Queensland Audit Office
• Kate Zubrinich, Manager Data & Analytics – LGAQ
• Joshua Brown, Legal Counsel & Compliance Manager – Local Buy
• Alisa Priddle, Coordinator Procurement – Central Highlands
• Matt Panayi, Social Procurement Lead - Social Traders
• Peter Lacey, Executive Director - Queensland Government Procurement | Policy, Department of Energy and Public Works

Feedback from our final summit has once again been overwhelmingly positive with the event receiving a delegate rating of 4.6/5 with 100% of delegates indicating they would attend future summits and found value in attending.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to network with other local Procurement professionals and learn more about social enterprise, sustainable Procurement and best practice for local government Procurement” A Lewis, Livingstone Shire Council.

Here are some quick stats on the Regional Procurement Summit Series held in 2023:

• 4 full-day events delivered across the state,
• 4 council partners collaborated to bring quality industry and professional speakers to the regions - Douglas Shire Council, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Blackall-Tambo Regional Council and Rockhampton Regional Council,
• 38 Councils were represented by delegates to learn about topics including social and sustainable procurement, contracts and risk management, the future of procurement, probity, council case studies and data driven decision making,
• 110 council, government owned corporations and ROC colleagues collaborated, networked and engaged 
• 43 expert presenters shared their knowledge experience and insights.

After such a successful series, in 2024 we are aiming to reinvigorate the Local Buy Annual Conference, amongst other great events, so please keep your eye out for more opportunities to connect with your council peers as we aim to uplift Local Government procurement maturity across Queensland.