Page 49 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

To enable this, buyers need to establish valid user needs to help inform their buying strategy. Doing
this during an emergency can be difficult but is essential to avoid buying the wrong product or
service at a crucial time.

What it means

To identify user needs during an emergency public officials and stakeholders should:

• listen to the most impacted communities – they have already been dealing with the problems
of insecurity (e.g., food, health, shelter, sanitation) for longer than many others will have been
and will have valuable experience from which to learn;
• speak to medical professionals, NGOs and key workers involved in an emergency response;
and

• use data – for example, health information systems to identify at-risk groups and procurement
records to check stock levels of critical supplies.

To prioritize what products or services public officials and stakeholders need to buy, they should:
Table 2: Dos and don’ts-planning for an emergency (Digital Buying Guide)
• base buying requirements on the needs they discover by speaking to users and experts and
for persons with disabilities;
Do Don’t
• quickly test any assumptions they have about products or services they are intending to buy –
do not expect staff to respond to
set up a team to respond to emergency

for example, check if users have access to the Internet if they are proposing an online solution;
situations emergency situations without training and
and
access to appropriate digital tools

identify strategic suppliers that provide
• follow international guidance on priority emergency supplies to buy (for example, lists supplied
critical services
by the World Health Organization).
review previous emergency spending
Dos and don’ts
with suppliers
Table 3: Dos and don’ts-Prioritize needs (Digital Buying Guide)
Table 3: Dos and don’ts-Prioritize needs (Digital Buying Guide)
Do Don’t

base requirements on valid user needs, do not assume that you know the
discovered through speaking to impacted challenges your users might face, or that you
communities will be able to recognize if someone is more
vulnerable than others
follow international guidance on priority
emergency supplies to buy

test any assumptions you have about
products or services you are intending to buy

Table 4: Dos and don’ts-Engage with and support suppliers (Digital Buying Guide)

Do Don’t
Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities | May 2023 35
contact suppliers at the beginning of an do not terminate a contract during an
emergency to discuss any challenges they are emergency without first considering all the
facing alternatives

encourage new suppliers to register
with you

provide extensions or other forms of
relief to help suppliers during an emergency

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