LIU ANNOUNCES 'BIG DATA' PARTNERSHIP TO REDUCE NYC'S PURCHASING COSTS
City Will Gain Instant Access to SmartProcure's National Repository of 58 Million Government Purchase Orders from 2,200+ Federal, State, and Local Agencies
Yesterday, New YorkCity Comptroller John C. Liu announced that, in an effort to reduce procurement costs and facilitate better purchasing decisions, New York City will partner with SmartProcure, a national repository of 58 million purchase orders from more than 2,200 federal, state, and local government agencies.
"New Yorkers know how to shop around to find good deals, and this partnership will give our government the ultimate tool for comparison shopping," said Comptroller Liu. "Knowing exactly what prices vendors offer other governments will help City agencies negotiate the best possible deals for taxpayers."
The partnership will give each of the City's more than 100 Agency Chief Contracting Officers (ACCOs) access to government purchasing information from across the nation, allowing them to quickly determine the best value, price, and source for every procurement decision. City agencies did not previously have access to procurement data from other governments.
"If better procurement data reduces the City's $11 billion contracts budget by just 1 percent, we will realize savings of more than $100 million a year," said Ari Hoffnung, Deputy Comptroller of Budget & Public Affairs. "This is one of the many ways that 'Big Data' can help make local governments more efficient."
SmartProcure improves procurement intelligence through information sharing, and connects thousands of local, state, and federal agencies to government contractors in order to determine market opportunities, product trends, and competitive intelligence. SmartProcure provides all participating government agencies with access to the government purchase database at no cost.
"SmartProcure's platform will allow New York City's government agencies to rapidly perform due diligence on any vendor, product, or service," said Jeff Rubenstein, Founder & CEO of SmartProcure. "With this data, New York City can easily find which vendors provide the best products, both in terms of price and performance. They will be able to see every government agency across the US that any vendor has sold anything to and assess value from multiple vectors. And adding New York City's purchase order information into the repository will enhance the data available for over 2,200 participating agencies."
Comptroller Liu credited an inter-agency collaboration for making the partnership possible. The Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS) worked with SmartProcure to train the City's ACCOs to use the SmartProcure platform.
"Comptroller Liu's office hasn't been content to rest on its laurels when it comes to improving contracting tools," said Phineas Baxandall, Director of Tax and Budget Programs for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. "A city can't be sure it has negotiated a good deal with an outside contractor unless it knows what other cities are paying for those same goods and services. Private contractors have long had access to massive databases that tell them what government agencies have been willing to pay. As of today, New York City agencies will come to the contract negotiating table with those same advantages."
"By partnering with SmartProcure, Comptroller Liu has demonstrated yet again his strong commitment to open government and technological modernization," said Council Member Gale A. Brewer. "Accessing government purchasing data from across the country will enable the city to compare price quotes instantly, and will drive down contracting costs. This is a perfect example of how Big Data can improve government efficiency and save the City money, and is exactly the type of innovative governance we should all strive for."
"Comptroller Liu's innovative SmartProcure program is an important step toward greater transparency in public finances and will allow the government to negotiate a better deal for taxpayers with private vendors," said Dick Dadey, Executive Director of Citizens Union.
"Our governments used to work in isolation, continually reinventing the wheel and not working together," said Abhi Nemani, Co-Executive Director of Code for America. "With technologies such as SmartProcure, they are now able to share information to work smarter and work together. By bringing transparency into government spending, SmartProcure and the City of New York will not only bring greater civic accountability, but also help City Hall make better decisions for the people and with the people."
"By connecting the City of New York with the SmartProcure national repository of government purchase orders, the NYC Comptroller is once again showing that technology innovation not only saves the city money, but also helps deliver to citizens a more accountable and responsive government," said Andrew Rasiej, Chairman of NY Tech Meetup and Founder of Personal Democracy Media. "With the participation of New York City, government agencies everywhere will now be further incentivized to participate in sharing their contracting information and demonstrating that 'Big Data' can actually mean smaller government."
The project represents another important milestone in Comptroller Liu's efforts to use technology to make City government more transparent and efficient. Over the past three years, the Comptroller's Office has launched a number of innovative websites, including Checkbook NYC, an online transparency tool that for the first time placed the City's $70 billion of spending in the public domain, and The People's Budget NYC, a crowd-sourcing tool to engage the public in the New York City budget process. Earlier this month, the Comptroller's Office launched the "NYC 311+" app, which allows New Yorkers to view 311 requests on interactive maps and write reviews for subways, playgrounds, and libraries. A joint effort by the Comptroller's Office and MOCS will also make New York City the first municipality in the country to publicly report payments made to subcontractors.
About SmartProcure
SmartProcure (www.smartprocure.us) provides the most comprehensive, high-quality government purchasing data; powerful, easy-to-use analytic and reporting tools; and a nationwide information sharing platform to enable easier and more efficient government procurement. SmartProcure provides the only online government purchasing history database in the nation.