SUPC is an operating division of Southern Universities Management Services Ltd and is governed by the SUMS Board. The SUMS Board has responsibility for setting our strategic direction and the SUPC Council advises on operational issues. For Freedom of Information requests, please email sums@reading.ac.uk

SUMS Board

SUPC is governed by the SUMS Board (also known as the SUMS Management Committee), which is made up of directors from SUPC’s and SUMS Consulting’s memberships.  The members of the Management Committee are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law. To the right is a copy of the Management Committee’s Terms of Reference.

For additional information, please email us at supc@reading.ac.uk

Council

The Heads of Procurement from each of our Full Member institutions are members of the Council.  Council Members represent a wide range of institutions from large research-intensive universities to smaller specialist universities and everything in between.  The Council provides an ideal forum to discuss strategic procurement issues, share best practice between members and offer a professional network. The SUPC Council meets two-three times per year. To the right is a copy of the Council’s Terms of Reference.

Please click here for the Council Group page.

Strategic Partnering Advisory Board

The higher education sector is changing rapidly and with this change comes an increasingly challenging financial environment for purchasing consortia and their members. To support our respective members to deliver value for money from procurement activities, SUPC and the London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) have established a formal strategic partnership.  

Our strategic partnership provides the necessary framework to drive the delivery of the cumulative benefits available through collaboration on systems, services and resourcing, but at a modest cost and acceptable level of risk.   

Strategic partnering between SUPC and LUPC will provide the following benefits for members:

  • Joint leverage of resources to support the development of new services for members.
  • Joint leverage and building of specific category skills and knowledge for member benefit. 
  • Increased market facilitation and event opportunities for members.
  • Joint influencing ability – speaking with one voice to influence the sector and other bodies on behalf of members.
  • Leverage of consortia insight and expertise for members.
  • Aligned systems, services and resources across consortia.
  • A longer-term and sustainable approach to collaboration by focusing on the alignment of strategic objectives & core operating principles.
  • Joint identification, development and implementation of core systems to provide consistent access to information for members.
  • Consistent ways of working and reporting.
  • The ability to build staffing resilience through planning and leveraging resource across our consortia.
  • A robust governance framework to drive delivery. 

SUPC and LUPC have jointly established a Strategic Partnering Advisory Board to focus on the implementation and delivery of the collaboration activities outlined by the Future Collaboration Programme and to foster further collaboration beyond this. We have moved from a collaboration project to a collaboration programme, recognising there will be multiple projects/work streams. 

The Strategic Partnering Advisory Board will meet at least three times per year.  You can read the Board’s Terms of Reference in the selection of public files to the right.  

If you have any questions, please contact us at supc@reading.ac.uk