In procuring products and services that are funded through the NSSCF, schools should follow procurement policies and advice developed by government, Catholic and independent education sectors. Advantages include lower costs through bulk purchasing arrangements.
For government schools, the overall procurement policies of their state or territory governments usually apply.
Policies and advice on procurement encompass areas such as:
- expenditure authority and requirements for approvals
- use of common contracts and supplier panels
- tendering processes
- probity
- technical standards
- financial management
- contract terms and conditions
The following principles can help schools make sound supplier selection decisions:
- Recognise that various ICT suppliers are needed to supply:
- computers
- networking equipment and services
- telecommunications services
- application software
- technical design services.
- Identify the requirements for products or services in each category.
- Consider areas of potential overlap in the responsibilities of different suppliers.
- Consider the policies, advice, services and contracts provided by the education sector to which the school belongs.
- Consider the maintenance and other services, if any, that are required.
- Consider the expected length of the relationship with the supplier.
- Consider the nature of the contract.
- Establish a clear selection process based on defined criteria and requirements.
- Establish clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for the supplier selection process.
- Establish mechanisms for managing the performance of suppliers.
Selection criteria
Selection criteria for suppliers include:
- ability to provide the required products or services
- value for money
- ability to provide services in the school’s area
- project management and service management capacities
- financial stability
- environmental practices.
Schools have options of payment methods for their ICT products and services. Because procurement policies differ between education sectors, not all options may be available to each school.
Financing ICT hardware
The options for paying for ICT hardware include:
- purchase—the school pays the full costs, owns the hardware outright, and is responsible for the disposal of the equipment at the end of its lifetime
- receipt of donated equipment—the school accepts a donation of equipment (which may be secondhand), owns the hardware outright, and is responsible for the disposal of the equipment at the end of its lifetime
- leasing—the school makes regular payments for the equipment, which remains the property of a financing company for the term of the lease; at the end of the lease, ownership may be transferred to the school or be retained by the financing company
- regular payments for services—includes the installation of associated equipment, which is owned by the service provider during the service contract (equipment for some communications services is provided this way).
Financing options for software
- purchase of commercial software—the school pays the full cost of the software and retains the right to use it for as long as required
- regular licence payment for commercial software—the school makes regular payments for the right to use the software
- open source software—the school downloads open source software, which has usually been developed by a non-commercial group; usually, there is a software licence agreement but no fees are payable
- software as a service—software is operated by the supplier on infrastructure located outside the school; the school makes regular payments for the service.
Financing options for services
- fixed price—the service provider is engaged to achieve a specific result by a specific date, at a fixed price
- hourly rate—the service provider is engaged to undertake a set of activities, often on an ongoing basis, which are paid for at an hourly rate.
Selecting the best financing option
Schools need to consider:
- the policies and advice of the school system or sector to which they belong
- the availability of capital funds this year compared to the availability of recurrent funds in future years
- total cost of ownership
- additional costs associated with an option, including interest costs
- warranties
- the balance of risks to be borne by the school and by the supplier.
It is important for schools to ensure that appropriate warranties and maintenance are provided for the ICT products and services that they acquire. These need to be clearly understood and need to be consistent with the overall approach to the technical management of the ICT infrastructure.
In considering whether to purchase ‘additional’ warranty and maintenance protection beyond the standard offering, schools will need to consider the following questions:
- What is the expected lifetime of a product, and does it exceed the standard warranty period? For example, many schools expect their computers to be used for four years but standard warranties may be for less than this.
- If a problem arises, how quickly does it need to be responded to? For example, if a server computer fails, how long is the school able to wait until a technician attends to the problem?
- If a problem arises, during what hours should service be provided? For example, if the school network develops problems late on a Friday, do they need to be attended to over the weekend?
- Are maintenance needs for some products already covered by other service arrangements? For example, in some education sectors it might not be necessary to have special maintenance arrangements for certain network equipment because the ICT consultants employed or engaged by the sector have that responsibility.
Some education sectors specify and manage appropriate warranty and maintenance arrangements for the ICT products and services acquired by their schools.
Schools need to:
- consider the risks and impacts of any loss or damage to components of the ICT infrastructure arising from events such as fire, theft, accidental loss or natural disasters
- arrange appropriate insurance against such risks—insurance needs will differ between components; for example, the risks and impacts of losing a personal digital assistant are different from those of losing a major network server.
Many education sectors provide advice on insurance matters, and some have established insurance contracts. These should be used where they are available. Schools that do not have access to such advice and contracts should consult their insurance brokers.