Get ahead of probity and risk

Balance risk and reward

Buyers of innovation need a higher risk appetite than what is needed for a standard procurement. While taking certain risks can improve innovation outcomes, buying teams need to know which risks bring benefits and how to manage them carefully to minimise exposure and maximise benefits.

Risk and probity in innovation

Since risk is the impact of uncertainty on a project's objectives, risk management usually means reducing or eliminating uncertainty. Buying innovation requires a more agile approach that embraces uncertainty and systematically turns new ideas into value. Test and Buy Innovation (TBI) achieves this by breaking the big risk of uncertainty into smaller, more manageable risks that, over multiple stages, reduce uncertainty.

Probity is a key objective of government procurement policy. Agile procurement can appear to pose risks for probity, but the TBI model implements it with the public sector in mind. Buying teams should understand the potential for amplified probity risks and how to manage them while protecting innovation outcomes.

Apply to your project

The risks associated with uncertainty can feel overwhelming for those buying innovation for the first time. Taking risks is essential for discovering, testing and implementing innovative solutions, but buying teams may need to get buy-in to do this in risk-averse operating environments. Test and Buy Innovation guidance supports buying teams to access the right expertise, identify risks, know which ones are worth taking and manage them in a staged approach without blocking innovation.

Some probity-related risks are amplified by the more collaborative nature of innovation procurement, and the need for iteration. Governance of change and communication are important treatments for these risks. One way of setting up an innovation buying project for fairness and transparency is the use of concise communication with the market via plain English documents such as the Innovation Challenge Guidelines.

TBI guidance helps buying teams apply risk frameworks and manage probity to outcome-focused, multi-stage innovation buying projects.