Published
By Jack Horton
In the new academic year, Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) will be updating and expanding our Procurement Advisory Groups (PAG) offering, following consultation with members and stakeholders.
Starting in the autumn term 2026, we will introduce a new category-based model, PAG meetings will become structured around CPC’s three categories (People, Place, and Product) with topic‑focused sessions aligned to each of these categories.
We believe the change will not only help increase engagement and attendance at these meetings but ensure they always have a dedicated topic and desired outcome that will be of use to CPC's 10,500+ membership.
The category-based approach will mean three meetings three times a year, replacing the current quarterly regional meetings and we hope this change will not only provide more clarity and consistency for attendees but also allow procurement teams to bring other relevant stakeholders/budget‑holders to each category meeting, naturally strengthening this community of practice in the process by aligning these discussions with actual procurement workflows.
CPC Regional Procurement Manager Jack Horton said: “It’s an exciting time for CPC’s engagement streams as we look to fine-tune and expand our support, offering more meaningful engagement to our members. As an engagement team, we always want to put our members first while continuing to evolve our offer each year. We believe that, with this approach and our charity’s core values at the heart of it, the new category model will work perfectly for PAG members moving forward. The CPC Contracting team is already aligned to this new approach, which will help support the new structure. It will also make it easier to secure speakers and involve suppliers in a meaningful way, without the logistical pressures, and we expect engagement to improve as a result.”
Category-based topics can be shaped clearly and proactively and allow us to structure more interactive PAG sessions where both the members and the stakeholders they invite (estates managers to the Place sessions for example) will leave with a stronger understanding of efficient procurement and an encouragement to work with, the procurement official, to achieve better value for money through the process.
In short, the new category-based PAG model will be more streamlined and better aligned with CPC’s internal resources but most importantly will be more valuable to members and wider stakeholders.
Next Steps
We will be using the summer months to lock down agendas for each meeting throughout the next year and then will begin publicising this, so that you have plenty of time to get them in your diaries and invite the relevant colleagues.
If you have topics you want us to discuss at these meetings or any further queries about this upcoming change please get in touch.
If you wish to be added to the PAG groups then please reach out to Jack Horton or your dedicated RPA.