Resource Change Management

Procurement Transformation in Syracuse: A Digital Service Network Spotlight

The Digital Service Network (DSN) spoke with API Director Nicolas Diaz Amigo, GPL Fellow Mia Capone, and OMB Director Timothy Rudd to learn more about the City of Syracuse's multi-year procurement transformation initiative.

Organizations: Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Digital Service Network

Author: Antara Garg

Published Year: 2024

View Source

Download Resource

DSN Spotlights are short-form project profiles that feature exciting work happening across our network of digital government practitioners. Spotlights celebrate our members’ stories, lift up actionable takeaways for other practitioners, and put the examples we host in the Digital Government Hub in context.

Agile, user-centered digital delivery strategies do not always align with longstanding procurement policies and processes in government, often causing IT contracts to go awry. Overhauling these policies and processes can be a key component of high-quality digital transformation, with digital government practitioners increasingly working on procurement as part of advancing their work. 

In 2023, the Syracuse Office of Analytics, Performance, and Innovation (API), in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), concluded year one of a multi-year procurement transformation initiative. The initiative includes technical assistance from the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL), and is structured around four pillars: 

1. Improve procurement planning, 
2. Streamline and digitize procurement systems,
3. Build capacity for results-driven contracting, and
4. Improve contracting equity.

To learn more about Syracuse’s approach to procurement transformation, the Digital Service Network (DSN) spoke with API Director Nicolas Diaz Amigo, GPL Fellow Mia Capone, and OMB Director Timothy Rudd.