Why Public Procurement is Stuck in ‘Safe Mode’
Results of the Public Procurement ‘Reality Check’
Partners: Recurve & Bloom Procurement Services | Status: Live – Discovery Phase
Beyond the Bottom Line Project UPdate
In November 2025, Recurve and Bloom launched Beyond the Bottom Line, a collaboration designed to identify and address the practical pressures limiting the delivery of local growth and better outcomes through more diverse and resilient public sector supply chains.
A system in ‘safe mode’
The results of our ‘Reality Check’ sector diagnostic are in. They confirm that on the frontline, the UK’s procurement machinery is running in Safe Mode. Ambitions for delivering social value and local impact are high, but the daily reality for 64% of procurement teams is far from strategic.
In computing, "Safe Mode" is a diagnostic state that starts the system with minimal functionality to prevent a crash. In procurement, it looks like the majority of public sector buyers consumed by reacting to contract expiries and satisfying immediate budget pressures, largely unable to access the "Advanced Settings" required for strategic market shaping.
Key Findings:
A Conflict of Systems: 52% of buyers admit that while Social Value is in the documentation, Price trumps Purpose at the point of award.
Bandwidth Throttling: 47% of professionals cite "zero time" as the primary reason they cannot offer the pre-market engagement which would level the playing field for SMEs and other new entrants.
The Big Assumption: While 0% of buyers see a skills gap, 50% of intermediaries say it’s the #1 barrier to new behaviours.
Download the 'Reality Check' Report
Access the full findings from our Public Procurement diagnostic and sign up for further updates
Upgrading the operating system
The findings of this diagnostic reveal a system mired in the reactive, where financial pressure and squeezed operational capacity consistently trump strategic ambitions for delivering opportunities for local providers and other forms of social value.
Using the Immunity to Change framework, the next phase of this project will identify examples of pioneering practice where public sector organisations have successfully upgraded their ‘operating system’ to move their procurement practices out of Safe Mode and into High Performance.
Get Involved
We are now convening a Peer Network to explore these results further, identify pioneering practice and work together to help more public agencies get procurement out of safe mode. The first gathering will take place online on 10 February, but there will be additional opportunities to engage if that timing doesn’t work for you.
If you are a public sector leader, an innovative SME, or a policy architect, we want your voice in the room.
