Planting the Flag - strategic collaboration in local public service delivery

This is the first of a series of mailshots on the recently published "Planting the Flag"- an ICT strategy for local public services produced by Socitm for the Local CIO Council.

Planting the Flag identifies three core principles - Collaboration, Redesign, Innovation. Today's focus is on collaboration and how your organisation can best approach it.

Strategic collaboration in local public service delivery is vital for two reasons: it's less expensive, and it delivers better results for the local community. If local providers - councils, government organisations, housing organisations, emergency services, health and the voluntary sector - can collaborate, share and re-use assets, outcomes will improve and costs will fall. Integrating back and front office staff across partner organisations, sharing front offices and web infrastructure, streamlining governance and pooling budgets are just some examples of how collaboration can reduce duplication, improve coordination and cut costs.

Piecemeal initiatives at departmental or organisational level are not the way to achieve this; the risks of failure are considerable and the potential benefits limited. A strategic approach is needed with leadership and clarity of purpose coming from the very top. So what are the key elements in developing this strategic approach?

• Firstly, CEOs, directors and elected members (in the case of councils) have to develop and agree with partner organisations a joint vision of how collaboration will change the shape of local public service delivery, and set clear targets for benefits and savings. Without this clarity of vision and target setting, the whole initiative is doomed to failure.
• The vision has to be communicated and shared within the organisation, across all organisations involved in local service delivery and - crucially - with the ultimate beneficiaries, the public. The views of service users are of particular importance as collaboration should centre on understanding their needs holistically and meeting their needs collaboratively.
• Within each organisation, it is essential for the CFO to put in place the financial performance measures and processes to realise savings and benefits from business change. All too often transformation projects have lacked these and it has proved impossible to measure success or even prove it has been achieved.
• The role of the CIO or equivalent is of critical importance. More collaborative, more efficient and more effective working between local public service providers depends on better use of information and information technology. CIOs understand what technology can do and are skilled in programme and risk management. Whether it's enabling workforces and other assets to be shared, redesigning services to be simpler, standardised and automated, or using innovative technology to empower citizens and communities, the CIO's input is central to the strategic vision and to its tactical implementation.
  

With financial pressures on local public service providers never greater, it's all too tempting to rush into shared service initiatives in pursuit of short-term gains. This will not work. A more strategic approach which starts from a clear vision, is driven by customer needs, has performance management built in and which puts information technology at its core will deliver the local public services of the future more effectively and more cheaply.

We can assist with partnership development, vision setting, strategic planning, shared services, legal frameworks, operating models, community needs analysis and information and ICT strategy. If you would like to discuss any aspect of this and how it might be applied to your community I'd be pleased to hear from you.