BBC Review Online Commissioning System
June 24th, 2009
Posted by Ian
The BBC recently requested feedback and suggestions on how their commissioning process and ASL might be improved. These were my thoughts – I’d love to hear yours too…
I’m really surprised to see that there are lots of folks here saying the same thing – ‘we’ve had no enquiries from the ASL in the last 3 years’. I’m also somewhat reassured. After 7 years on the ASL and only one opportunity (one other enquiry was from a producer touting their services to us!), I thought it was just us! I don’t believe we’re crap – so why no calls? (let me know if I’m missing something will ya) I’d like to know : * Do opportunities exist or are we just expecting too much? I want to see some numbers. * WHO exactly is getting the opportunities and what are they doing that we’re not? I can work out the why, but not the who. I must confess that I don’t entirely understand the ASL’s raison d’etre and remit – does the BBC have a responsibility to make the system fair to suppliers, or is it just a mechanism that ensures regional suppliers are used at some point in the chain? See #1 And how do producers select suppliers using the ASL? * Is it a structured process with defined criteria that everyone has to follow, or is it more subjective? * Can producers browse the suppliers or are they give three leads based on search criteria? From the outside, it feels like a closed shop – I worry that it’s about who you know. Transparency is surely the key to a successful system.
#1 The BBC publishes a Statement of Online Operation (2006) (MS Word format), explaining how the quota for bbc.co.uk works. In brief, it means that at least 25% of eligible spend is spent with external suppliers. They do produce reports on the nature of external commissions, including their location, but it’s no more specific than that.
2 Responses to “BBC Review Online Commissioning System”
You can watch a video of George Foster from Zoo Communications put his questions to the BBC about the ASL at http://tinyurl.com/lonsz5 On behalf of all external suppliers, well done George – your questions seem to have terrified those sat next to you!
#1
Posted By Ian September 10th, 2009 at 1:29 pmThis article was followed up by Broadcast magazine in September ‘09 – http://tinyurl.com/mfjgfx – where I reiterated my general moan ;(
Still awaiting the outcome from the review…