Feaco, the Federation of European Consultancies, has produced new guidelines on buying consultancy for the European Commission.
How to get the best from Management Consultancy – A Guide for the European Commission, which was produced in conjunction with the Management Consultancies Association, outlines best practice in management consultancy, including how to run projects and how to select the right firm of consultants.
“The Commission is the biggest purchaser of consultancy and one of the most ineffective and inefficient at doing so,” said Brian O’Rorke, executive director of the MCA.
He added: “The major problem is that the Commission is price conscious and therefore will always go to the cheapest consultancy that tenders, irrespective of whether it can produce the answersthe Commission needs.
It also has too long a tender list – a waste of time for tenderers and Commission officials.”
O’Rorke believes that the new guidelines should help to cut down on the time taken to decide on consultancy projects as well as improve the way projects are run.
He added: “Even though it is unofficial, I have no doubt the booklet will become an authoritative document in the Commission.”