Funding: The growing crowd

Kirsty Neilsonlooks at new initiatives in funding Crowdfunding platforms ensure that the funds are not released prior to the target amount being reached, and if the target is not achieved in the set time limit (typically between 45-60 days) then the amounts are returned to each funder.Crowdfunding is not a particularly new concept, yet it …
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Judicial Review: An apple a day

Anna Condliffe considers the implications of Unison v NHS Wiltshire Primary Care Trust Civil Procedure Rule 54.5 provides that the claim form in judicial review must be filed promptly and, in any event, not later than three months after the grounds to make the claim first arose.The High Court has rejected an application by the …
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Costs: The winner won’t take it all

Alistair Maughan examines the costs awards in partly successful bidder challenges the court decided that the right approach was to make a proportionate costs order to reflect the extent to which Mears had not been selective in its claims.Despite the liberalisation of the remedies regime, in relation to public procurement over the past three years, …
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Update: The proof of the pudding

Jack Haywardreports on a typically busy few weeks in procurement It is important to remember that the European Institutions are not subject to the Procurement Directives and have their own Financial Regulations.I recently advised a contracting authority on a tender for the supply of management consultancy services to implement a change programme. As many readers …
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Contract: A quick two step

Dr Sam De Silva reviews the utility of step-in rights If the service provider is prepared to agree to step-in rights, it will most likely want to minimise the financial impact and delivery risks that arise when another party takes control.This article focuses on one aspect of outsourcing arrangements, which can be quite contentious, namely …
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Tendering: In a hurry

Kevin Calder summarises potential mechanisms to shorten the procurement process Where the public body has carried out pre-procurement market engagement and has concluded that there are a relatively limited number of suppliers for the relevant product or service, the open procedure can be used effectively for a more complex procurement.In the modern world, it can …
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Policy: Big Society, small players

Tim Heywood and Patrick Parkin assess the significance of SMEs in procurement policy while a contracting authority is not prohibited from using multiple contracts for a single requirement, it may not do so when the intention is to ensure a contract value is below the threshold at which the procurement directives apply.Here in the UK, …
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Finance: Banking on the future

Julie Scottoanalyses the first steps of the Green Investment Bank Once established, the bank is meant to operate at arm’s length from the government despite the government being the sole shareholder.Speaking at the world energy ministers’ climate summit in London in late April, David Cameron said: When I became Prime Minister, I said that Britain …
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