Speaker Neil Hopkins

Head of Procurement Strategy and Performance, Birmingham City Council

Neil is Head of Strategy and Performance for Procurement in Birmingham City Council, the largest Local Authority in Europe with procurement spend in excess of £1bn.  Responsible for developing procurement policy and practice, Neil is leading on implementing procurement approaches that support sustainable local economic development, resulting in benefits for the residents, businesses, and communities of Birmingham.

Examples of new approaches implemented in Birmingham include; forming ‘Buy For Good’ a specialist procurement social enterprise, procuring innovative products and services using new techniques e.g. pre-commercial procurement, providing support for employees to set up new  enterprises, helping the third sector form consortia,  setting up a localised business networking and development programme.