Assessment Information/Brief 2021-22 – Subject to verification by external examiner Module title Procurement CRN 54076L05 – PMC PT, 54076L07 – QS FT, 54068L01 – CM FT, 54068L02 – CM PT, 54076L01 – CM FT, 54068L08 – QS PT, 54076L02 – CM PT, 54076L04 – PMC FT, 54068L04 – PMC FT, 54068L05 – PMC PT, 54068L07 – QS FT, 54076L08 – QS PT 54068L03 – CM DL, 54068L06 – PMC DL, 54068L09 – QS DL, 54068L10 – QS ME DL, 54076L03 – CM DL, 54076L06 – PMC DL, 54076L09 – QS DL, 54076L10 – QS ME DL CSCT students Level 7 Assessment title Module assignment – Value Based Procurement Weighting within module This assessment is worth 100% of the overall module mark. Submission deadline date and time 03/12/2021 16:00 UK time (GMT) Work submitted after this time, but within 7 days, will be marked. If it is of pass standard the mark will be capped at the pass mark (50%). Students with a Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP) should check their RAP to see if an extension to this submission date has been agreed. Module Leader/Assessment set by Prof Peter McDermott 439, Maxwell Building P.McDermott@salford.ac.uk How to submit You should submit your assessment electronically through Turnitin Further information and support for students using Turnitin can be found here, https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills/assessment-support Assessment task details and instructions Context Conventional approaches to construction and infrastructure procurement have been consistently criticised for continuing to focus the competitive element – the tendering process – almost solely on the determination of an initial price for a given design. Modern approaches to procurement are expected to consider wider Assessment Information/Brief 2 client and stakeholder values. Both public and private sector clients have sought to introduce approaches that focus competition not only on economic but also, wider social and environmental outcomes. In 2017 the UK government put it this way – “We will maximise the contribution that… investments can make to growth and productivity by strengthening consideration of broad strategic outcomes at the earliest stage… and then carrying them through all subsequent parts of the design and procurement process”. In addition, in September 2021 it was emphasised the “The Government is committed to using its position as the single largest construction client to support adoption of a more productive, efficient and sustainable business model within the UK construction sector”. Task details Your employer – as part of a strategic review of the business – has asked you to produce an internal report on the significance of these moves towards “procuring for value” by both government and private sector clients. You are tasked to • do a critical review of attempts at building wider values into the procurement process. The focus should be on what is meant by value. • explain and synthesise the current advocated strategic approaches to procurement (including for example the guidance of the Government Playbook, Infrastructure Procurement Route-map and the wide array of Framework Arrangements, available in the market- place) that public and private sector clients are adopting • discuss in detail your firm/how firms in the construction industry could be considering how their current business model can help them address the changing procurement approaches, and whether they need to change their business model to capitalize on these changes. You are encouraged to discuss cases and real project examples in building your arguments. You may choose to apply the learning from the module directly into your current or recent workplace. Instructions – Business Report Format The assignment is to be submitted in a report format and as such should have a formal structure and layout. It should be submitted as a single document. The University has produced general guidance for Business Report writing and this should be followed – Assessment Information/Brief 3 https://www.salford.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2020-06/BusinessStyle-Reports.pdf Instructions – referencing style/ requirements References should be recorded using the Harvard APA 7th Edition, details of which can be found here https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills/referencing/apa-7th-edition Instructions – the audience for the task The scenario is set that you should write the report imagining that you are employed in the construction sector and that the report has been requested by your line manager/ Director. You may, of course, choose to use a current or recent employment situation to guide you. Knowledge and Understanding Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills Assessed intended learning outcomes On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to: 1. Critically evaluate client objectives and determine the appropriate selection of procurement systems for design and construction services. 2. Critically evaluate supply chain relationships and develop strategies for various stakeholders in the construction industry. On completion, you will have had the opportunity to/will be able to: 3. Advise on the selection of appropriate procurement routes. 4. Advise relevant parties on the rationale regarding early strategic procurement decisions. Module Aims 1. Explore the role of various procurement systems in various types of construction projects. 2. Critically examine strategic procurement approaches for effective and efficient design and construction solutions Word count Your report should be no more than 3000 words long. This includes every word, excluding only: any initial contents/title page, and the reference list located at the very end of your submission. Only the first 3000 words (as defined above) will be marked. Any words written in excess of 3000 will be ignored. At this L7 stage of your development, you need to decide how to allocate the limited word count to the separate sections of the assignment, considering the proportion of the marks allocated to each. Feedback arrangements You can expect to receive your assignment marks and summative feedback within 20 working days of your submission and this will be loaded into Blackboard. Assessment Information/Brief 4 Formative feedback opportunities through dialogue with the module tutor and your peers will be provided during the on-line classes and in discussion groups. Support arrangements You can obtain support for this assessment through attendance at face to face and online sessions and tutorials where the assignment will be discussed in detail. Formative support will be offered as noted above. In addition, students must use the Turnitin draft submission area in the Assessment Support module on Blackboard, to obtain an originality report. This will assist in ensuring good academic conduct and practice and help diagnose any problems with the use of source material. If you need assistance with interpreting an originality report, please contact the module tutor. askUS Good Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS. This includes, especially for new students, Wordscope. This is a programme of tuition with a proven record of helping students to overcome common writing problems such as inappropriate punctuation, faulty sentence structure, and confused paragraphing. Students are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skills which students need https://www.salford.ac.uk/library/skillsfor-learning. This year – 202/21 – the University has adopted the updated APA 7th edition as our official Harvard referencing scheme and the main referencing style in use at the University. https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills/referencing/apa-7th-edition Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously. You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct here. Assessment Information Personal Mitigating Circumstances If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find further information in Blackboard in the Assessment Support area. If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure here. Assessment Information/Brief 5 Personal Tutor/Student Progression Administrator If you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Personal Tutor or your Student Progression Administrator. Assessment Criteria You should look at the assessment criteria to find out what we are specifically looking at during the assessment. Criteria Task Weighting Knowledge, understanding and critical review of the need to consider value and not just cost or price in procurement …..attempts at building wider values into the procurement process. The focus should be on what is meant by value. 30% Knowledge, understanding and the bringing together of the different views on modern, strategic approaches to procurement ….explain and synthesise the current advocated strategic approaches to procurement that public and private sector clients are adopting 30% Knowledge, understanding and critical discussion on how more modern methods of procurement by clients might require the suppliers to change their own business models in response. ….discuss in detail how your firm/how firms in the construction industry could be considering how their current business model can help them address the changing procurement approaches, and whether they need to change their business model to capitalize on these changes. You are encouraged to discuss cases and real project examples in building your arguments. 30% Communication Presentation of business report (Layout, structure, visual presentation, use of language, clarity of expression, referencing within text) Sources are recorded in accordance with Harvard APA 7th. Source literature appropriately applied to the discussion of value, strategic procurement and business models. 10% Assessment Information/Brief 6 Outstanding 90% – 100% Excellent 80% – 89% Very Good 70% – 79% Good 60% – 69% Satisfactory 50% – 59% Unsatisfactory 40% – 49% Inadequate 30% – 39% Poor 20% – 29% Very poor 10% – 19% Extremely Poor 0% – 9% All marking will follow the University of Salford marking scales. In Year Retrieval Scheme Your assessment is not eligible for in year retrieval. Reassessment If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will need to resubmit on or before 6 th May 2022. For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances for absence/non submission, this will be your replacement assessment attempt. The reassessment task will be the same as the original coursework task