Two Wales DTC Cardiff Business School students, Hushneara Begum and Karen Wontner, have recently been shortlisted for prestigious Welsh National Procurement Awards and attended a ceremony on Thursday 10 June in Bangor.

Hushneara Begum

Karen Wontner

The Awards ceremony celebrated the contribution organisations and individuals have made to procurement in Wales.  Karen and Hushneara were shortlisted for the Community Benefits and Young Professional of the Year categories respectively.  Both students were nominated by Dr Jane Lynch, Cardiff Business School.  The DTC is delighted to announce that in recognition of her outstanding contribution, Hushneara received the award of ‘Young Professional of the Year’ which was presented by a member of the judging panel, Caroline Nicholas (United Nations).  Hushneara’s work brings key industries together to discuss what Wales can do, and has gone on to influence public procurement strategic practices, policies and future legislation.

Hushneara said “I am delighted to have won such a prestigious national award. This award showcases the investment and dedication the ESRC and Cardiff University have both had in me throughout my PhD thus far. I am fortunate to enjoy the research which led to this award and feel immensely proud of the interest shown on a local, national and global platform.”

Hushneara was commissioned by the former Climate Change Commission for Wales to explore the consideration of carbon within the procurement process in Wales. This research aligned with Hushneara’s passion for corporate social responsibility and ethical commerce.  Her report titled ‘Thinking about the future: The consideration of carbon within the procurement process in Wales’ is publicly available on the Climate Change Commission for Wales (CCCW) website.

The initial findings and research have organically evolved into a much larger research piece with Hushneara currently working with the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner to recognise the network involved in the carbon procurement process in Wales.

Karen’s ESRC-supported research explores the issues surrounding the implementation of Community Benefits clauses in public sector contracts.  Her research utilises a range of methods, including practical workshops, supporting public bodies delving into areas relating to her research questions. Karen hopes this research will have significant impact for public procurement practitioners and suppliers, helping them to implement a broader range of Community Benefits in a wider range of contracts.

Nominating Karen, Dr Lynch said “Karen has undertaken in-depth analysis of OJEU notices, policies, policy implementation, barriers to implementation… Karen’s PhD research addresses questions which have yet to be answered. Hence, this is a unique contribution and the findings will have some impact to the development of community benefits, not just in Wales but globally.”

Karen said “It was a great honour to learn that I’d been short-listed for a prestigious Welsh Procurement Award 2016, in the Community Benefits category, for my PhD research.”

Hushneara and Karen both attended the ceremony with support from the Wales DTC. Karen said “attending the Awards enabled me to highlight my research. Without the support of the ESRC, Cardiff Business School and my supervisors, I would not be able to carry out this research into a hitherto under-represented area of procurement”.