In recognition of Open Access Week, which was last week (Oct. 22 – 28), Cottrill Research, for the second year in a row, is honoring research resource providers that make available information and data of value to procurement professionals free of charge.
With roots in the scientific and scholarly communities, Open Access Week is celebrated to bring awareness of the benefits of opening up access to research. The movement got started in response to a growing belief that the traditional publishing model creates barriers and limits access to research.
With a focus on supply market intelligence here is Cottrill Research’s 2018 honor list of information providers, organizations and government agencies that offer key open access research offerings that are helpful to procurement researchers. The list is not inclusive and selecting honorees was challenging as there are many excellent offerings.
Top Honorees
Public Spend Forum
Public Spend Forum is a market intelligence platform and community for public sector buyers and suppliers. Through their platform, government buyers, as well as suppliers, have access to deep market and supplier research, best practice tools and data, and the ability to collaborate with a community of government professionals, experts, and suppliers. The Market Intelligence Library provides overall and market-specific insights resources. GovShop, launched this year, was created and designed specifically for government procurement researchers and provides a platform to find authorized government suppliers and contractors. The Contract Vehicles currently available are federal supply schedules. Government-wide acquisition, national cooperatives and contracts, and other contract vehicles are coming soon.
United Nations – UN Comtrade Database
UN Comtrade is the United Nations International Trade Statistics Database and it is the largest depository of international trade data. Over 170 countries/areas provide the United Nations Statistics Division with international trade statistics data detailed by commodities/service categories and partner countries, which are transformed into the Statistics Division’s standard format for consistent coding and valuation. All data is accessible through API and the website offers flexibility for obtaining desired data. Users who would like to view or download small amounts of data can use the data extraction interface. Searchers will need general background knowledge on the classification codes and a good place to start is the Knowledgebase page. Here, helpful links are provided that explain the various coding systems and how to use the database.
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation and provides statistical research data that is vital for companies – and their procurement functions – that operate globally. World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2018 focuses on four key risk areas: environmental degradation, cybersecurity breaches, economic strains and geopolitical tensions. Also presented are the results of the Global Risks Perception Survey, which covers the likelihood and impact of 30 global risks over a 10-year horizon. The 2018 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report introduces the new Global Competitiveness Index 4.0, which measures national competitiveness for 140 economies. Designed as an alternative to GDP, the Inclusive Development Index is an annual assessment of 103 countries’ economic performance that measures how countries perform on eleven dimensions of economic progress in addition to GDP.
Honorable Mentions
Ed Zarenski Construction Analytics
Construction economics analyst, author, educator and presenter Ed Zarenski provides key construction economic statistics and data (with thoughtful, detailed commentary) including updated versions of Construction Inflation Cost Index, PPI Construction Materials Inputs Index, and construction spending analysis.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
FAO announced in 2018 that it is applying a Creative Commons 3.0 IGO license to all eligible publications and documents published on its website, further encouraging and providing a framework for the broader use, reproduction and dissemination of its material. FAO is an invaluable source for global food and agriculture statistical and supply data and publishes the FAO Food Price Index.
World Bank Commodities Market
World Bank, since 1960, monitors metals, precious metals, agriculture, and fertilizers commodity markets. World Bank Commodities Price Data (the Pink Sheet) show annual and monthly prices and is published at the beginning of each month. Price forecasts for the next 10 years are published quarterly. A comprehensive review of commodity markets is published four times a year.
