Last month I wrote a post about how government is supporting open data standards in public procurement and contracting. I suggested that the quality and amount of data around government contracts could be improved by implementing the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS). I published my suggestion as a ‘challenge’ on the Standards Hub.
We’d like your feedback
Since then, a panel of technology and data experts in government have reviewed and offered feedback on my challenge. It has now moved to the next stage of the process: the response stage.
We’d like to hear from potential users and OCDS implementers from inside and outside government. You can leave comments on the Standards Hub if you register for an account. We’re also looking into holding a workshop so that people with an interest can give their feedback in person.
The next stage
The Standards Hub is aiming to set open standards in government IT by breaking things down into 4 stages. For the third ‘proposal’ stage, your input will help me write a proposal to submit to the Open Standards Panel. At the fourth stage, the proposal will be reviewed by the board who will decide if it will be adopted as a solution across government.
Implementing the OCDS in the Digital Marketplace
Earlier this week I travelled to Washington DC with colleagues from the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). We met with the US government's Federal Acquisition Service, 18F and the Canadian government’s Public Services and Procurement department to share ideas about how to transform public procurement.
As I’ve said before, open data standards in public procurement and contracting is an important part of this transformation. It’s also a big part of our vision for the Digital Marketplace, as we help the public sector buy what it needs to deliver great digital services.
We plan to start implementing the OCDS in the Digital Marketplace soon so I also met representatives from the Open Contracting Partnership, to explore how they might help us showcase this.
As always, we’ll share our thinking by blogging regularly. Sign up to the Digital Marketplace blog to keep up to date with our progress.