An Assessment on the Procurement Process in the Department of Science and Technology Central Office towards Strategic Procurement Measures

Abstract

Procurement is the process of selecting services from a supplier who fits best the need. It includes the process of selecting a supplier that will provide the best value for people’s money. Given the pressing challenges that hamper the success of procurement undertakings which includes, but not limited to, lack of or insufficient proper market study and cost-benefit analysis and limited training or experience in crafting Terms of Reference and/or Technical Specifications, there is a need to mainstream within the Department the significance and advantages of syncing the public procurement process and budget cycle.

The researcher used the descriptive survey research design to present the assessment of the respondents who are involved in the preparation of the annual Procurement Plan of the DOST Central Office. Specifically, the convenience sampling technique was employed. The target population of respondents encompassed all permanent and non-permanent employees.

The findings of the study are beneficial to the adoption of strategic procurement measures. The results indicated that the procurement planning in the DOST Central Office is timely with that of the National Government’s budget. It bears emphasis, however, that the overarching principle of coordination and appropriate training is lacking, and that there is a weak linkage among the End-Users, Planning Office, and Budget Office.

The researcher thus recommended constituting a team who would undertake the strategic planning of all procurement activities, and to capacitate all employees with effective and efficient management of procurement undertakings by emphasizing the importance of procurement planning, introducing tools on the preparation of technical specifications, and providing an accurate and reliable cost estimate.