Procurement Team of the Year – Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council is one of Wales’s largest local authorities, responsible for managing over £336 million of annual third-party spend. As procurement practice evolves across the public sector, the Council is shifting away from a purely cost driven model to one that fully embraces economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing objectives. With an 18strong team delivering both above and below threshold procurements and support services for e-procurement and Pcard, the service plays a central role in realising the Council’s ambitious Corporate Plan.

In 2024/25, the team supported a significant programme of transformation covering vulnerable people’s services, regeneration, environmental initiatives and education infrastructure. This was undertaken while also navigating new regulatory changes, an operational challenge met through strong governance, robust process design and deep service area trust.

The Procurement Team delivered a structured, collaborative and innovation led approach to support organisational priorities and regional objectives. They took the lead on high profile collaborative procurements across Wales, including the replacement of a social care system initially on behalf of 18 councils and a major engineering consultancy procurement valued at £70m across three authorities.

The approach centred on early engagement, strong stakeholder alignment, and tailored procurement strategies. The team also transformed social value delivery by introducing a dedicated Social Value Officer, a bespoke tracking system and a streamlined, needs based SV Matrix. These initiatives made social value more accessible to SMEs and ensured outcomes were manageable, meaningful and community focused.

In addition the team further strengthened value for money principles through enhanced market engagement, coproduction with service users, and updated standard documents ensuring innovation, sustainability and longterm outcomes were embedded from the outset.

The team’s work delivered substantial and measurable impact across the organisation and the community. Their procurement activity enabled critical investments including supporting independent living, improving education facilities, accelerating regeneration, and advancing environmental priorities.

The social value programme produced tangible benefits including job creation, apprenticeships, education support, community volunteer hours, and direct financial contributions to local groups.

Internally, the Procurement Team drove cultural and operational transformation with over 200 staff engaged in the transition to the Procurement Act 2023 through workshops to ensure organisational readiness. The teams trusted relationships, mentoring culture and emphasis on continuous improvement have positioned procurement as a strategic enabler of longterm change and community wellbeing.