The Procurement Brief
Ten questions that turn a live purchase or renewal into a one-page board brief
Bring one live decision: a purchase, a shortlist or a renewal. Ten questions across five tests produce a verdict, the conditions to attach, and the questions to put to the supplier in writing.
Before the questions
Write the decision in front of you, as it would appear in the board papers: what you are deciding, where you are in the process, and the problem it should solve, in one sentence and without the supplier's words.
| No | In part | Yes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1You can state the problem this purchase solves in one sentence, without using the supplier's words. | |||
| 2Your staff raised this problem before a supplier offered to fix it. | |||
| 3A school like yours, in phase, intake and budget, has shown the outcome you are buying. | |||
| 4You can speak to a current user the supplier did not introduce. | |||
| 5You know the three-year cost, including licences, training and staff time. | |||
| 6You know what the price does at renewal. | |||
| 7If you leave, you keep your data in a format another system can read. | |||
| 8Core operations would continue while you switched to an alternative. | |||
| 9The staff who will use it most have time and training budgeted, not promised. | |||
| 10A named person owns this internally once the supplier's onboarding ends. |
- Problem fit
- Questions 1 and 2. Out of 4. Below full marks: Ask the supplier which customers chose not to renew last year, and why.
- Evidence in your context
- Questions 3 and 4. Out of 4. Below full marks: Ask for a reference school that matches your intake, and permission to contact them directly.
- Total cost
- Questions 5 and 6. Out of 4. Below full marks: Ask for the three-year price schedule in writing, including renewal terms and any exit charges.
- Exit and ownership
- Questions 7 and 8. Out of 4. Below full marks: Ask for the data export format and the exit process in writing before you sign.
- Capacity
- Questions 9 and 10. Out of 4. Below full marks: Ask what the supplier expects from your staff each week, and for how long.
- 16-20 · Ready to proceed
- The decision is well held. Table the brief, attach the conditions on any test below full marks, and set the review date before you sign.
- 10-15 · Proceed with conditions
- The decision can hold once the gaps named below are closed. Each condition is answerable by the supplier in writing, within a fortnight. Sign after the answers arrive.
- 0-9 · Pause and gather
- The gaps are named below and every one is answerable. Gather the answers before the next meeting and the decision will be stronger for the wait.
One page for the papers: the decision as you named it, the verdict, the conditions to attach, and the written asks for the supplier. Sign after the answers arrive.
Complete the brief online at educaveresearch.com. educave.ai · Free to copy, forward and use inside your institution, with attribution.