EURIM Public Service Delivery Working Group

The devolution of responsibility for public service delivery to co-operatives involving public, private and voluntary partners working to local priorities presents serious challenges to those who think in terms of ministerial and centralised planning and procurement to deliver nationally standard services. We need to look at how the two visions can and should be brought together in practice so as to secure cost effective and socially inclusive Public Service Delivery at a time of rising expectations, social networking and falling budgets.

We have to help rebuild confidence that the Government and ICT industry can work in partnership to reliably and securely deliver cost-effective, socially inclusive, joined-up, public services. That entails identifying and rewarding good practice in planning, procurement and implementation. It requires rebuilding the skills of Government as an intelligent customer, able to agree realistic policy objectives and performance measures as well as to play its part in delivery. It requires learning from failure and publicising success.

These have to be achieved at a time of structural change with Central Government committed to devolving responsibility for delivery to a sustainable community partnerships. This means there is an urgent need to identify and promote good practice in consulting the public on policy and service priorities and in ensuring that performance measures reflect the service they receive. This is essential to ensure public support for programmes which aim to deliver major savings without impacting the quality of front-line delivery to those in most need.

Introduction, Objectives and Strategy

This group builds on the “Transformational Government Dialogues”, when MPs and Peers from six select committees took evidence on how to improve public service delivery and better address social exclusion at affordable cost. That programme revealed the need to address issues of good practice in policy formation, planning and procurement, including with regard to the parliamentary scrutiny and monitoring of programmes that cross departmental boundaries. A particular priority is to address the jungle of "guidance" in the context of the commitment of the Coalition Government to increasing transparency, cutting overheads and devolving responsibility for delivery to community partnerships which can respond to changing needs and priorities.

Objectives

• To help the ICT industry (users as well as suppliers) and those responsible for planning and procurement respond to the structural changes that are gathering pace, not just to the cost-cutting pressures.

• To publicise clear, authoritative and intelligible guidance on good practice and case studies of success with regard to consultation, planning, procurement and performance monitoring.

• To address the issues raised by the stated commitment of HMG to use open standards in future procurements.

• To make a reality of cross-departmental, citizen-centric, socially inclusive services, with intermediaries chosen and trusted by the service recipient, and for the inter-operable, market-driven approaches entailed.

Strategy

• Co-operate with relevant officials, trade associations, professional bodies, interest groups and the voluntary sector to identify and publicise authoritative good practice guidance and case studies.

• To identify a critical mass of well-informed MPs and Peers who will use that body of knowledge to hold to account those who fail to follow it, whatever their political, official or industrial seniority.

• To organise a high profile policy study on "Delivering more for less: reform of public sector planning and procurement for information systems to support flexible and devolved delivery partnerships".

Work Programme for 2011-12

Procurement:

Quarters 1 and 2 2011:

• Complete review of existing UK public sector frameworks for buying Shared Network Services and publish report.

• Complete review of existing UK public sector frameworks for buying Security Services and model contract terms for including security in custom procurements and publish report.

• Respond to consultation on the Modernisation of EU Public Procurement Policy.

Quarter 3 2011

• Plan forward programme to publicise existing clear guidance on good practice as part of build up to "Delivering More for Less" policy study.

Open Source/Standards and Inter-operability:

Quarter 3 2011: review current situation and agree objectives and terms of reference.

Social Inclusion and Successful Delivery:

Collect case studies.

Consultation:

Quarters 1 and 2 2011: co-operation with Consultation Institute on launch of the Quality of Information Report: Improving the Evidence Base".

Responses to Consultations:

• The Modernisation of EU Procurement Policy

• Public Administration Select Committee: IT Good Governance

Delivering More for Less:

Quarter 3 2011 - Identify target participants and partners and draft terms of reference for policy study into reform of planning and procurement for systems to support flexible and devolved delivery partnerships.

Quarter 4 2011 - Pre-launch "come and join us" activities.

Quarter 1 2012 - Launch

Forthcoming Meetings
The sub-groups drafting material tend to operate by e-mail with physical review meetings at about six week intervals. Please e-mail eurim@eurim.org if you would like to participate.

Recent Meetings and Papers

Date	Subject	Papers
20 Jun 12	Telehealth & Telecare Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
24 Apr 12	Inaugural meeting of EURIM working group on how Government can accelerate telehealth/telecare	Summary Report
12 Apr 12	Teleconference Meeting on EURIM Response to Cabinet Office Consultation on Open Standards
30 Mar 12	Teleconference Meeting on EURIM Response to Cabinet Office Consultation on Open Standards
14 Mar 12	Teleconference Meeting on EURIM Response to Cabinet Office Consultation on Open Standards
18 Jan 12	Shared Infrastructure Group meeting working in cooperation with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure, the Institute of Civil Engineers and Policy Exchange to launch a major study on how Government can identify and utilise existing infrastructure to join up investment in superfast broadband, smart energy metering and smart grids.
14 Jul 11	Group Meeting	Summary Report
07 Jul 11	Open Source / Standards Subgroup Meeting
20 Jun 11	Shared Network Services Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
10 May 11	Inaugural meeting of Shared Infrastructure Group	Summary Report
03 May 11	Security Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
18 Apr 11	Inaugural planning meeting for the Open Source Procurement Subgroup
12 Apr 11	Draft review meeting
22 Mar 11	First meeting on EURIM Response to EC Consultation on Modernisation of Procurement Policy	Summary Report
24 Feb 11	Group Meeting	Summary Report
03 Nov 10	Security Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
27 Oct 10	Shared Network Services Procurement Subgroup Meeting
07 Sep 10	Shared Network Services Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report Presentation
06 Sep 10	First Security Procurement Subgroup Meeting
09 Jun 10	Public Procurement Subgroup planning meeting	Summary Report
09 Mar 10	Public Procurement Subgroup meeting	Summary Report
04 Feb 10	Visit of UK parliamentarians to The Netherlands to understand Dutch Public Procurement	Meeting Notes Presentation
12 Jan 10	Public Procurement Subgroup meeting	Summary Report
18 Nov 09	Public Procurement Subgroup meeting	Summary Report
10 Nov 09	Group meeting on local consultation methods	Summary Report
02 Sep 09	Public Procurement Subgroup meeting	Summary Report
29 Jul 09	Public Procurement Subgroup meeting	Summary Report
01 Jul 09	Public Procurement Subgroup meeting	Summary Report
03 Jun 09	Public Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
20 May 09	E Participation planning meeting	Summary Report
22 Apr 09	Public Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
01 Apr 09	E-Consultation exercise with the Audit Commission	Summary Report
19 Mar 09	Public Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
11 Mar 09	Dragon's Den Planning Meeting	Summary Report
27 Feb 09	Public Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
05 Feb 09	Public Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
17 Dec 08	Public Procurement Subgroup Meeting	Summary Report
09 Dec 08	Dragon's Den Planning Meeting	Summary Report
08 Jul 08	Group meeting	Minutes
11 June 08	Group meeting	Minutes
Transformational Government Dialogues: Submissions & Reports of Hearings
08 Nov 07	Social Inclusion
22 Nov 07	Delivery Partnerships
06 Dec 07	Democratising Delivery
05 Mar 08	John Suffolk (Government CIO) & review of integrated report

Group Outputs

Date	Type of Output	Title
Jun 12	EURIM Response to the Government Consulation on Open Standards
Apr 11	EURIM Response to The Modernisation of EU Public Procurement Policy Consultation
Jan 11	EURIM Response to the Public Administration Select Committee IT Good Governance Enquiry
Sep 09	Public Procurement Subgroup Status Report Summary	Good Practice in Procurement - Summary
Sep 09	Public Procurement Subgroup Status Report	Good Practice in Procurement

Other Relevant Documents & Links

Date	Description
Jan 11	Disputes in a smaller state – bigger society Dr Karl Mackie CBE, Chief Executive, CEDR
Nov 10	CEDR expanded note on guidance for ADR in public sector ICT procurement and contract renegotiations
Jul 10	DCLG: Draft Structural Reform Plan www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/ 16359212.pdf
Jul 10	LocalGov Article on Procurement
Jun 10	Cabinet Office: Draft Structural Reform Plan www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/414879/srp-cabinet-office.pdf
Jun 10	Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) - A summary of key achievements – two years on www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=19977756
Jun 10	Public Sector Electronic Invoicing and Payments Administration – cutting costs, improving service, and setting an example to SMEs
Jun 10	CEDR Preliminary Note on developing guidance on ADR in public sector ICT procurement & contract renegotiations
Mar 10	National Fraud Authority - A fresh approach to combating fraud in the public sector
Mar 10	Stephen Darvill, Logica - Speech to Conservative Technology Forum on 1st March 2010
Sep 08	OGC Guidance on Framework Agreements in the Procurement Regulations www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/OGC_Guidance_on_ Framework_AgreementsSept_08.pdf