Background

Efficiency and the Transformational Government Agenda

Local Government is now under increasing pressure to provide efficient service delivery with The Comprehensive Spending Review of 2007 (CSR07), demanding that local authorities create cash-releasing efficiency savings of £4.9 billion in the three-year period to 2010-11, equating to an annual efficiency target of 3% for each of the three next years.

One of the ways in which authorities are looking to achieve these targets is in the transformation of service delivery, with well-executed Project Management always vital to success.

The Transformational Agenda and the importance of partnership and collaborative working across both the public and private sectors means there has never been a greater demand for effective project management; for example, the PFI/PPP ambitious investments in schools, hospitals and public transport; with more than 11,000 managers from the public sector in the North West alone working on projects involving transformation and change.

The public sector remit is to continually examine ways to improve service delivery and efficiency, making better use of e-government, innovation and shared services.

Shared Services

Over the past decade, shared service models have increasingly been used within the private sector as a method of enhancing the efficiency of their corporate support functions, such as finance, human resources, information technology and procurement. 

Shared services are now being widely embraced by the public sector both in central and local government. The Local Government White Paper, CSR07 and recent reviews, such as those conducted by Sir Michael Lyons and Sir David Varney, have highlighted the need to improve citizen’s experience of public services, while making the public sector more efficient in the way it operates.

This demands collaboration across different departments within organisations and closer collaboration across stakeholder organisations – public, private or third sector – to provide better, joined-up services.

Old Verses New

The OGC Guidance P30 and Portfolio is now  published and is designed to help public sector organisations develop capability and deploy best practice in the disciplines of programme, project and risk management and IT service management.

These products will help improve processes and operations for organisations of all sizes – including small businesses and major global enterprises as well as public sector organisations.

Subjects that will be discussed, include;