CANBERRA — A reform of the Australian government’s ICT procurement policy is putting in place caps on the length and value of ICT-related contracts to enable more opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises. But for the Australian Aid program and its focus on the use of technology to innovate and advance development assistance, what does this mean?
The new policy, announced in Canberra on Aug. 23 by the Digital Transformation Agency’s Assistant Minister Angus Taylor and CEO Gavin Slater, may open competition to the delivery of technical aspects of the aid program. But it may also transform operations and governance of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and deliver better data and reporting to educate the public on foreign aid.
Wednesday’s announcement was a response to an ICT Procurement Taskforce Report that provided 10 key recommendations to improve ICT procurement processes and policies, to improve the visibility of ICT spending, and to improve engagement between government and vendors and develop reforms for ICT panels.