The Civic Accelerator: A Guelph experiment

Executive Summary

Guelph’s Civic Accelerator pilot project has caught the attention of municipal governments, procurement aficionados, and policy geeks across Canada, and with good reason. Government procurement, the act of government purchasing goods and services, is a powerful lever for policymakers.

First, well-run procurement processes enable government to select vendors to provide high-quality goods and services that, in turn, enable government to provide high-quality public programs and services to citizens.

Second, procurement can position government as a critical customer for businesses; in 2016, the Ontario government alone procured $6 billion of goods, services, and construction from over 55,000 vendors. If desired, procurement can position government as an important customer for early-stage companies developing innovative products, therefore contributing to broader innovation policy objectives.