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Mission-led procurement and market-shaping: Lessons from Camden Council
Authored by Prof. Mariana Mazzucato and Dan Wainwright.
1 July 2024
Mission-led procurement and market-shaping: Lessons from Camden Council | policy report no. 2024/06
Authors:
- Mariana Mazzucato: Founding Director and Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value | UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Dan Wainwright: Research Fellow | UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
Summary:
The current procurement paradigm emphasises efficiency and risk, although innovation and social value considerations also feature. The last ten years have seen a renewal of industrial policy, based not solely around sectors, but also around bold missions that address the grand challenges of today. However, many governments are struggling to enact the institutional and organisational transformations necessary to deliver those missions successfully. A range of new policy tools and institutions are needed, including mission-oriented procurement.
Mission-oriented procurement (MOP) recognises the critical strategic role that commissioning and procurement can play in shaping markets that align with government policy goals. Examples of this exist, but it is a niche practice.
Camden Council is embarking on a radical redesign of its procurement policy, to better leverage it as a tool for achieving mission goals. This project explored how the commissioning and procurement of its Adult Long-Term Care and Support service (‘Homecare’) could support the delivery of its Estates Mission, through the design and test of a prototype ‘Mission Incubator’.
Reference
Mazzucato, M. and Wainwright, D. (2024). Mission-led procurement and market-shaping: Lessons from Camden Council. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (2024), IIPP Policy Report No. 2024/06. Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/policy-report-2024-06