Procurement practices in the education system: The quality of the tender
by Dominik Roennekearticle from the archives of
How does the procurement process for media technology and IT infrastructures for schools work and what problems arise?
(Image: pixabay)
Contents of this basic article:
School is becoming more digital. And it is becoming more medial. The lessons make greater use of media technology. To achieve this, schools must be equipped with suitable technology. And not only that: data infrastructure, IT administration and technology maintenance are becoming just as important. The DigitalPakt School is currently very present as a major driver for the implementation of digitalization. With this federal funding, school authorities can apply for funding for “digital work devices”, “location-based display devices” and, to a limited extent, “mobile devices”. In addition, other services are eligible for funding: “Professional structures for IT administration and IT support are supported, which are directly related to the nationally significant investments in the rapid development and expansion of digital teaching and learning infrastructures as part of the DigitalPakt School. “
These guidelines alone make it clear that purchasing technology alone is not enough. The school authorities are required, on the one hand, to procure the technology and, on the other hand, to create structures for equipment and IT administration. For device maintenance and service, the situation looks completely different from a funding perspective: “Independently of the DigitalPakt School, it is the task of the municipalities or private school authorities to ensure the operation, support and maintenance of the IT in the schools. During the application process, the states check whether appropriate concepts exist.”
Under laboratory conditions macom’s media technology laboratory is Germany’s only manufacturer-independent innovation hub for experiencing, Testing and developing state-of-the-art presentation, communication, interaction and collaboration systems. (Image: macom)
A very important pillar in school digitalization is internet supply and WiFi coverage. Networking measures and WiFi coverage within the school can be funded by the DigitalPakt, but the school’s broadband connection cannot. This may have to be financed with the help of other funding programs. All of these requirements show that a comprehensive overall assessment of future digitally supported teaching is necessary, especially when using funding. For the procurement of technology, software and services, the school authorities/municipalities prepare tenders in accordance with the extensive guidelines.
It is not a given that the person responsible for procurement in a municipality or a private school authority has the necessary media technology knowledge to be able to determine suitable school equipment. Perhaps all of the municipality’s or school authority’s procurement processes come together at this or that person? From this position, it is probably far too complex to be able to evaluate the media technology concept with technology requirements of a school and to tender and procure suitable technology on this basis. The potentially quick and convenient recourse to previous offers and tenders is also not helpful in view of the rapid product development.
Smaller purchases may still be manageable. There may be local dealers and service providers who have already provided support and supplies in the past. However, as the volume increases and funding with specific requirements is used, responsible planning with the help of experts is strongly recommended. This is the only way to prevent the school in question from ending up with inadequate or even unsuitable media technology equipment or from the total costs exceeding the set budget. Measures that promote the digitalization of schools should always be accompanied by specialist planners.
“Smaller municipalities or school authorities are inclined to go it alone in order to save planning costs,” says Christoph Wax, Branch Manager at macom GmbH, a consulting and engineering company that is intensively involved in the education sector. He knows that, according to the administrative instructions, professional advice is borne by the school authorities and therefore usually by the municipalities themselves as a “compulsory accompanying cost when raising funds”. But when it comes to procurement, “the most important thing is a technically and formally correct tender that is based on proper planning of technology and processes. This is the only way to present prices in line with the market, without the risk of subsequent calculations, and to meet the requirements of competition law.”
Matthias Boderesponsible for sales and at Lucky Look GmbH Training (Bild: Lucky Look)
Matthias Bode, Sales & Training, from the company Lucky Look Conference and Presentation Systems, is also intensively involved in the digital equipment of schools and has seen a trend for some time now that municipalities are increasingly seeking advice. At the same time, however, he is surprised that it doesn’t happen as often as he imagines: the municipalities have now discovered that buying cheaply ends up being expensive because you have to buy twice. But it also often happens that the requirements in the tender are formulated so vaguely that the schools as users end up with something completely different. He has already experienced that “sometimes things are invented for tenders by putting together specifications of different products that do not even exist on the market.”
Before tendering, Matthias Bode advises school authorities to bundle the equipment requirements of all schools in their area of responsibility as comprehensively as possible. In his experience, “smaller municipalities are more likely to trust a local specialist dealer who has perhaps already delivered successfully with previous purchases. Larger municipalities take a different approach. They work with specialist planners, which is the norm at universities, for example,” says Matthias Bode.
BITCOM guidelines as a construction kit for tendering?
The Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media published a “Guideline for public IT purchasing”. V., Bitcom for short, will provide an “overview of the basics and criteria for the procurement of hardware for the school sector” at the beginning of 2021. The aim of the document is to provide public clients with reliable and understandable help so that they can formulate their tenders for the procurement of hardware for the school sector in a product-neutral manner, i.e. without using protected brand names or naming specific manufacturers and taking current technical requirements into account.” .
Test and try In the macom LAB, future users can get to know various technologies and try them out for themselves. (Image: macom)
With the help of this guide, responsible school board purchasers can gain a very detailed insight into relevant device and infrastructure characteristics. However, it quickly becomes clear that such a generalized construction kit can only be a guide. The intensive comparison with the individual circumstances of the school or schools in question will inevitably lead to technical decision-making situations that, for example, a municipal procurement officer cannot easily understand when preparing the tender. There is also the interface to the users, i.e. teachers, who are supposed to use the systems. The procurer has to “read” the requirements from the media education concept and “translate” them into a tender, and this usually without the necessary expertise. Skepticism is warranted, given the expected results and user satisfaction.
Christoph Wax from macom is of course familiar with the guide: “From a technical point of view, the device classes are explained in detail and with detailed information based on the state of the art. However, the provision of planning examples and checklists could lead to the conclusion that, on this basis, the IT officers in schools can carry out the planning and procurement of digital infrastructure and end devices themselves.”
Christoph Wax is Branch Manager at macom Consulting- und Ingenieursgesellschaft GmbH. (Image: macom)
However, he considers the guide to not be as product-neutral as the authors portray it. He also criticizes that “when preparing the commercial models for procurement, for example, the consideration of the total costs over the maximum possible period of use should be taken into account. With rental or software-as-a-service models, this can quickly result in a sobering overall balance that significantly exceeds the financial scope of the budgets of schools and educational institutions.
A deep understanding of the entire subject is necessary for a comprehensive and correct tender that gives providers a precise framework for action. “No tender without complete planning and a detailed list of services!” is Christoph Wax’s demand, and he explains: “We have so many key points that we have to hit exactly so that it fits.” This goes so far that future users In the “macom Lab” you can get to know and test technologies or Matthias Bode advises teachers on site in schools so that “the pedagogical aspect is reflected in the technology. “That’s when I realized that there was a lot of catching up to do.”
Suitable for everyday use When purchasing media technology for schools, the focus should be on the entire period of use. (Image: Dominik Roenneke)
When preparing the tender, the overall planning view should also focus on the entire period of use. “In the procurement process, the accompanying costs must always be checked. What are the effects over the term? What happens if there is a defect? Is a replacement planned? Later things can no longer be budgeted and there are delays until new funds are released. Professional and precise planning also prevents avoidable errors in the procurement process, which can have extremely detrimental effects if, for example, B. Bidding objections can result in a stop to the process, loss of funding or, even worse, civil or administrative proceedings.
At the end of the procurement process, it must be ensured that the investments are sustainable and lead to success, says Christoph Wax: “We as planners can make offers to manage the introductory phase and empower the users. Planning and advice don’t stop when the devices are unpacked, the “after” is actually much more important!”
