Since working with teams across Defence and National Security, I’ve seen how procurement decisions shape everything that follows. The intent behind a contract determines whether delivery will be adaptive or constrained and, in too many cases, good teams and strong suppliers are asked to operate within rules that make rapid responses impossible. The irony is that agility often fails not in delivery, but at the point of purchase…talk about shifting left! For years, procurement has been treated as a compliance exercise i.e. it’s a process to complete, not a capability to develop. The problem with that is by the time that as soon as the tender is produced, the department typically needs that capability yesterday, so we’re already behind.
The simple fact is that how government buys shapes how government delivers.
The Case for Shifting Procurement Left
Procurement is often seen as the final act of planning rather than the first step in learning. By the time requirements reach the commercial team, problem discovery has ended, funding is fixed (at mostly arbitrary number), and urgency has set in...can they start next week? This reactive posture prevents departments from buying what they actually need, forcing teams to deliver against assumptions rather than evidence. Shifting procurement left means treating it as part of design, and bringing commercial thinking into problem definition, so procurement helps clarify what outcomes matter and what flexibility is worth protecting. As much as some might hate to admit it, procurement is not a dirty word – it a vital part of the process – but we need to modernise how it happens. Done right, this approach, often called Lean Agile Procurement produces faster contracts, fewer disputes, and higher value-for-money outcomes.
Bringing Lean-Agile Procurement into Government
Lean-Agile Procurement (LAP) was originally developed to speed up complex sourcing decisions without sacrificing rigour and risk mitigation. Instead of multi-month tender processes based on written submissions, LAP brings buyers, suppliers, and stakeholders together in short, structured collaboration events (I’ve seen one once, and it was incredible). The aim is to co-design a shared understanding of value, risk, and feasibility - fast.
Applying LAP principles in the UK Government context could transform how departments engage suppliers, especially SMEs. Key practices include:
- Time-boxed collaboration: Replace long evaluation cycles with focused, two- to three-day workshops that combine technical, commercial, and policy experts to align on needs.
- Transparent evaluation: Decisions are made openly with all stakeholders present, improving trust and cutting rework.
- Outcome hypotheses over detailed requirements: Contracts are built around measurable hypotheses, allowing adaptation as evidence emerges.
- Concurrent contracting: Legal, financial, and technical terms evolve in parallel, dramatically reducing the time between discovery and award.
Swiss public institutions that have adopted LAP have reported procurement time reductions of over 80%, with higher supplier satisfaction and fewer post-award disputes¹. Perhaps UK Government could achieve similar results by piloting LAP in controlled settings such as pre-discovery funding competitions or innovation partnerships?
Building Commercial Capability for Agility
Shifting procurement left and applying LAP principles will only work if commercial teams understand how delivery works. I often train organisations on ‘Introduction to Agility’ because even 25 years after the Agile Manifesto, people still don’t know what it means for how they could work. Agile delivery thrives on continuous feedback; commercial procurement must mirror that. The Government Commercial Function already recognises the need for more adaptive commercial models, but training still focuses on compliance and contract law. The next step is to teach commercial professionals how to design contracts for learning. That means:
- Embedding commercial staff inside delivery teams during discovery.
Commercial specialists should sit alongside product managers, service designers, and engineers during the early stages of problem exploration. This allows them to see uncertainty first-hand, understand user constraints, and shape procurement strategies that reflect the real delivery context.
- Training in facilitation and collaborative negotiation, not just financial control.
The skill set required for adaptive procurement is closer to facilitation than enforcement. Negotiating flexible contracts depends on understanding delivery intent, user outcomes, and the supplier’s constraints. Training should therefore focus on active listening, hypothesis framing, and running Lean-Agile Procurement workshops that bring all parties together to co-design outcomes. A commercial professional who can facilitate alignment between policy, delivery, and suppliers adds more value than one who can just interpret regulations and budgets.
- Creating a community of practice for agile procurement.
A cross-government Agile Procurement Network could connect practitioners experimenting with Lean-Agile approaches, sharing templates, evaluation techniques, and outcomes. This would help scale good practice across departments while maintaining consistency with Treasury and Cabinet Office expectations.
Conclusion
Procurement is no longer just a gateway to delivery. It is part of the design of delivery itself. The more we treat it as an iterative, collaborative process, the more we can build trust between departments and suppliers, especially SMEs that bring speed and focus. Lean-Agile Procurement shows that speed and quality are not opposites; they are outcomes of collaboration. Shifting procurement left allows departments to buy learning, not just capacity.
If the UK Government is serious about agility, it needs to start upstream - at the point where a decision becomes an investment. That is where the next wave of transformation should begin and when it does, we can begin using procurement intentionally to design better delivery conditions.
References
- Lean-Agile Procurement Alliance, Case Studies and Public Sector Benchmarks 2024. https://www.lean-agile-procurement.com/
- Ministry of Defence, SME Office Announcement, DSEI 2025. https://www.dsei.co.uk/news/dsei-uk-2025-exclusive-uks-new-sme-office-launch-january
- UK Cabinet Office, Procurement Act 2023 Overview. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/procurement-act-2023
- Ministry of Justice, Digital and Technology Services Framework Pilot Report 2023.
- OECD, Public Procurement for Innovation: Good Practices and Strategies, 2024.
- Government Commercial Function, Transforming Public Procurement Programme. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/transforming-public-procurement