E-government progress check

The project issues
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) engaged Socitm Consulting to carry out an assessment of its progress towards satisfying the Government's targets for Electronic Service Delivery.

Councils initially had considerable freedom as to how they define those service elements that are capable of being e-enabled. SBC initially developed a definition of services and was on target to achieve 100% against this list by December 2004, one year ahead of the Government target.

In an attempt to introduce a measure of standardisation, the Improvement and Development Agency (I&DeA) introduced the ESD-Toolkit, containing a standard list of services - now known as the Local Government Services List (LGSL). The list currently identifies about 670 services. The specification for IEG4 made it clear that the ODPM expects all local authorities to use the list as the basis for defining the BVPI 157 capability.

After mapping its services against the Toolkit list, SBC's achievement was reported at around 25%. This was partly due to differences in the way in which services were defined, and partly because a number of services that had not previously been considered now have to be included. SBC had given high priority to bringing this measure up to the required standard, and changes were made to the Council's website to improve the level of information provided and the services offered. At the commencement of this assignment the Toolkit report showed an achievement of 72.9%.

The Council also regularly monitors progress towards implementing the Priority Outcomes. The 29 "Required" outcomes must be achieved by December 2005, and a further 25 "Good" outcomes must be achieved by March 2006. A further 19 "Excellent" outcomes are defined as optional attainment targets for authorities that have achieved the relevant Required and Good outcomes.

The Socitm Consulting solution
The assignment was conducted on the basis of two and a half days work on-site together with background research. The first afternoon was spent establishing the scope and carrying out initial familiarisation, based on documents provided and the council's website. On the second day, the ESD-Toolkit entries were examined line-by-line. For each process, the following points were considered:

• Is this process applicable to Stockton?
• Which interaction types are applicable?
• What evidence exists that these interactions are e-enabled?

The toolkit was then updated on-line to reflect these deliberations. An interim report was produced for discussion on the following morning.

The final day on site was spent examining the Priority Outcomes. This work was based on the regular monitoring reports maintained by the e-Government team, together with interviews with key staff.

A final report was produced, summarising the findings and making recommendations for future action.

The project relied on the commitment of significant resources from SBC staff, especially Dave Griffin (E-Government Development Officer) with additional input from Malcolm Stephenson, Suzannah Howe and Judi Asquith. The support of Ian Miles (Head of ICT) is also gratefully acknowledged.

The e-Government and web development teams showed a high level of commitment to the project, and were positive in their response to suggestions.

The benefits to the client
Malcolm Stephenson presented the final report to the Corporate E-Government / ICT Strategy group, and stated that the report in terms of both content and depth of coverage was very well received. The overall recommendations in terms of programme governance and resourcing sparked a lively debate and the detailed commentary in respect of PSOs and BVPI 157 enabled the Council to prioritise the remaining project activities.

Malcolm also said that "There is no requirement for any final amendments but plenty of work for Dave and me to implement the recommendations. This has been a very productive exercise for Stockton and the direct impact on our current reported position alone has justified the time and effort invested by the Council. Dave and I found you very knowledgeable and made it easy for us to work with you during your time on site. It has been a pleasure working with you and I would have no hesitation in recommending your services and that of Socitm Consulting to other interested parties."

Project identification
Client organisation: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Client contact: Malcolm Stephenson, e-Government Development Manager, 01642 526353, malcolm.stephenson@stockton.gov.uk
Lead consultant: arthur.doney@socitm.gov.uk
Project no: 5396