It looks like centralised procurement is working, in terms of driving down the prices of several items, and even getting savings on the cost of consultancy, although consulting fees through the framework agreements have tripled in three years. Question: is that a sign of people working out how to use these agreements more effectively to avoid the morass of EU procurement legislation?
Separately, it looks like “share-in-savings” schemes haven’t taken off in the US (these are where a supplier invests up front in the provision of a government service and pays for its time by sharing the savings realised).