The National Office for Local Content at the General Secretariat of the Tender Board held a meeting today on "Local Content Indicators in Institutional Excellence," with the participation of more than 50 government entities and over 300 attendees from various sectors.

The meeting aimed to enhance the governance performance of local content implementation, establish a comprehensive regulatory framework to measure compliance with local content policies, and identify opportunities for improvement. This contributes to achieving strategic objectives that support the national economy and strengthen the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

During the meeting, participants reviewed the achievements of local content implementation to date and were introduced to mechanisms for applying indicators, measuring their performance, and integrating local content into government projects, procurement, and contracts. The session also covered performance measurement based on local content indicators within institutional excellence. Attendees explored the stages of local content application, from planning to monitoring and performance evaluation, with a focus on incorporating local content requirements in tender documents and assessing bidders based on their local content plans.

Participants were also introduced to the local content indicators in institutional excellence, which are categorized into three main areas: developmental projects, operational contracts, and government entities and their procurements. Each area includes three key elements: job creation for citizens, enhancing the use of local goods and services, and supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs. These elements are distributed across eleven sub-indicators designed to assess government entities' performance in implementing local content policies and fostering collaboration to enhance local content in their procurements, contracts, and projects. The ultimate goal is to maximize the local economic impact of government spending.

Eng. Ghalib bin Amer Al-Hinai, Head of the National Office for Local Content at the General Secretariat of the Tender Board, emphasized that the meeting serves to build bridges of cooperation between the National Office for Local Content and government entities in implementing local content policies. He highlighted the positive economic impact of these policies through job creation for the national workforce, support for local products and services, and the empowerment of SMEs.

He further stated that, as part of efforts to strengthen oversight and ensure compliance, local content indicators will be measured monthly to maintain data accuracy and conduct regular analysis. Measurement results must be submitted to the National Office for Local Content at least ten working days before the end of each quarter. These results will then be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Excellence team at the Ministry of Labor.

Additionally, the outcomes of these indicators will be incorporated into the overall institutional excellence metrics for each government entity to evaluate institutional performance and improve public spending efficiency. Al-Hinai affirmed that the National Office for Local Content remains committed to developing the local content framework in a gradual manner that aligns with market dynamics and Oman's developmental needs. This approach fosters integration between government entities and the private sector, promotes sustainable economic development, enhances the competitiveness of national institutions, and reinforces Oman Vision 2040's goal of a sustainable, knowledge- and innovation-based economy.

For his part, Ishaq bin Said Al-Kharousi, Director of Business Development, noted that the meeting was a significant step in unifying perspectives among government entities regarding the concept of local content, its implementation in projects, procurement, and contracts, and its measurement using institutional excellence indicators.