The biweekly efficiency and improvement bulletin is produced by the LIFT SW Partnership (GOSW, IDeA, SWLGA, SWCoE).
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If you wish to include efficiency or improvement articles in the next bulletin, or add your name to the circulation list please email swce@dorsetcc.gov.uk.
Procurement Surgery - Collaborative Procurement and Category Management - 4th June 2008, Taunton
LIFT SW RIEP and OGC are running a Collaborative Procurement and Category Management surgery for local authority officers on 4th June in Taunton. There will be specialists available to discuss how LIFT SW and OGC can assist you to achieve substantial savings in fleet, energy and ICT. Authorities will also have the opportunity to learn how OGC’s innovative e-Auctions and Contracts Database can help you to deliver value for money.
Download additional information and book your place online from the following link:
http://www.swce.gov.uk/Events/Eventogcprocurementsurgery040508.htm
For further information contact:
GIllian Brindle - 01305 757232, g.brindle@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Customer Channel Management Conference - 5th June 2008, Exeter
Don’t forget to book for our Customer Channel Management Conference- 5th June 2008, Exeter.
With more time given over to discussion and networking, the plenary sessions will include presentations on Channel Strategy and Customer Insight from within and outside of the region, an external perspective from industry as represented by John Lewis and a national perspective from the Cabinet Office.
Workshops will cover a range of themes in this area including:
- Eating Shapes (Understanding Customer Demand!)
- Channel Shift
- Performance management including some insight into NI-14 – avoidable contact – the how and what
Download additional information including agenda, plenary and workshop session summaries from the following link:
http://www.swce.gov.uk/Events/Customerchannelmanagement.htm
For further information contact:
Anita Tadayon - anitatadayon@yahoo.com
Innovation in Action at Bristol City Council & DHL Consolidation Centre - 6th June 2008, Bristol
Are you running out of ideas for collaborative projects that deliver efficiencies AND support the delivery of LAA indicators such as per capital CO2 emissions or adapting to climate change? Do you want to see and learn about an innovative approach to achieving all of the above and more?
Join us at our next CFT-Network Action Learning Event on Friday June 6th for a site visit and round table discussion at Bristol City Council and the DHL consolidation centre in Avonmouth, Bristol where they have achieve a:
- 75% reduction in delivery vehicle trips for participating retailers
- Saved 196,000 vehicle kilometres
- Saved over 22 tonnes of CO2
- Re-cycled 14 tonnes of cardboard and plastic waste and much more
This is a rare opportunity for 15 executives from Local Authorities across the region to get together, meet representatives from Bristol City Council and DHL Teams and share their perspectives/learnings and investigate the applicability to your circumstances.
Download additional information including agenda and map from the following link:
http://www.swce.gov.uk/Events/innovationinaction.htm
For further information and to book your place contact:
Anita Tadayon - anitatadayon@yahoo.com
Reminder! 15th May - Closing date for on-site course applications
Just a reminder to get your application bid in by the 15th of May and enjoy the benefits of targeted on-site delivery of our public courses at 50% plus subsidy.
LIFT SW have approved 20 on-site courses, at a total cost of over £38,000, across 11 Local Authorities in the South West including Districts, Counties and Unitaries.
For further details on our courses and on-site subsidy application see our website www.swce.gov.uk (skills development, on-site course section) or contact Anita Tadayon on 07885363408, anitatadayon@yahoo.com
Top innovation award goes to Gloucestershire County Council
Gloucestershire County Council has won the ‘Innovation’ prize at the annual Local Government Chronicle Awards in London, and was highly commended for the Procurement award.
The council’s procurement team developed an effective tool for pricing high cost placements in social care, ensuring that the council pays a fair price for the needs of individual clients. Now adopted by the South West region, it has revolutionised the way authorities procure social care for working-age adults.
Claire Smart, Director of Strategic Procurement at Gloucestershire County Council collected the award, she said: "Winning this award and being highly commended in the Procurement category shows just how successful this project has been. It is the ultimate recognition for Gloucestershire, as well as all the regional care teams who have put so much energy into this and the Regional Centre of Excellence who so passionately supported us. We are delighted to receive this accolade, as it will undoubtedly encourage greater take up of the initiative."
The benefits of the scheme have been immense, not only in cashable savings but in management information, relationship with suppliers, best practice, compliance monitoring and regional collaboration. Gloucestershire also developed a regional placement database, offering a ‘one-stop shop’ to locate placements and also provide market management information.
Savings from across the region currently total more than £3m.
For additional information contact:
Anna Slade (Gloucestershire County Council) - Anna.slade@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Proclass - new website now available
A new website has been developed with all the latest information on ProClass – the common classification that helps councils across England gain a new understanding of what they are buying and from whom. The website will be a valuable source of information, featuring case studies, toolkits, the latest version of ProClass and a numbered version of the classification system to aid computer implementation. The website also includes a forum, where those using ProClass can discuss the latest issues, including how best to use and develop ProClass. ProClass is owned by local government and is easily incorporated into existing systems, allowing councils to identify exactly what they are buying and make direct comparisons with others.
Download additional information from the following link:
http://proclass.org.uk/
Third Sector Commissioning Forum - 20th June, London
Third Sector Commissioning remains high on the political agenda. The benefits of full Third Sector involvement in local service delivery have been well documented. However, there remain challenges to overcome before this can be realised.
Capita’s 4th National Third Sector Commissioning Conference will get to the heart of these challenges through a series of plenary sessions and practical case studies.
This conference will address the key issues in the commissioning process, including:
Building capacity within the Third Sector for bidding, winning and fulfilling contracts
Creating a culture for engaging and working with the Third Sector
Understanding the legal context for commissioning processes
Delegates attending this conference will have the opportunity to interact with key stakeholders in the commissioning process and fully understand how to maximise the benefits for their organisation. This event examines the practical challenges of the process allowing attendees to take away ideas to implement in their own areas.
Download additional information and book your place online from the following link:
http://www.capitaconferences.co.uk/OurConferences/LocalGovernment/Third+Sector+new.htm
National Procurement Strategy
Communities and Local Government have now issued the third and final report on the National Procurement Strategy (NPS) for Local Government 2003–2006. It summarises the state of play and looks back at achievements over the three-year life of the Strategy. It concludes with recommendations on next steps in the light of the developing policy, in particular the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 and the National Improvement and Efficiency Strategy.
Download the strategy from the following link:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/procurementstrategy
Public sector procurement can help buy a better world
A new toolkit has been launched to help the public sector make more sustainable purchasing choices.
Often sustainability factors – such as the environmental and social impacts of the goods and services purchased – aren’t factored into spending decisions. But officers are now increasingly understanding the need for procurment decisions to support public sector sustainability goals. The Sustainable Procurement Toolkit from Forum for the Future, supported by a full report, Buying A Better World, will help public sector buyers incorporate social and environmental factors into their decision making processes, alongside value, resulting in benefits for end users, tax payers and suppliers.
The toolkit is based on two years of research and pilots undertaken with the health service and local government in the East Midlands as part of the BEST Procurement Programme. The toolkit will help those with responsibility for spending, respond to the expectations in national health, and local government sustainable procurement strategies, published at the end of 2007 (see note 1). Buying a Better World
explains the importance of incorporating sustainability thinking into buying decisions, and includes case studies and action planning tips for busy procurement officers.
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/node/1413
Local Government Energy Procurement Action Plan
The Local Government Energy Procurement Action Plan, launched in April 2007, has been developed to help authorities identify and manage the key areas that enable effective and efficient energy procurement. To date, 33 authorities in London have undertaken self assessments against the Action Plan, which has identified areas for improvement and helped authorities measure their progress against the London average.
This toolkit is available for other authorities to use.
Download additional information and the toolkit from the following link:
http://www.lcpe.gov.uk/energy/
Project Directors’ Development Programme
The investment made in local government PFI, PPP and other complex projects is increasing and for the long-term gain of the organisations involved it is essential that mutually beneficial contractual arrangements are negotiated. This is only possible if the project development and procurement processes are lead effectively and efficiently by a strong project director.
The role of project director is critical to the success of a project; it is essential they have leadership skills, negotiation skills, procurement expertise and commercial awareness necessary to cope with the risk and complexity of the project and its environment.
Recent reports by the Public Accounts Committee and National Audit Office have highlighted the lack of expertise within the public sector to effectively procure complex PFI and PPP schemes.
4ps in partnership with University College London (UCL) and Constructing Excellence has developed a project directors’ development programme to help address this skills gap. The programme will provide project directors from the public and private sectors personal and organisational development to improve project development and delivery. The course will enable them to understand every aspect of the procurement process and equip them with the necessary leadership, decision-making and negotiation skills to lead the development of successful PFI, PPP and other complex projects.
Download additional information from the following link: http://www.4ps.gov.uk/PageContent.aspx?id=275&tp=Y
Buying Green Procurement Guide
The European Commission have published ‘Buying Green’, a handbook on environmental public procurement. The handbook covers the essentials of green public procurement, including a step-by-step guide to green purchasing, the connection between public purchasing and the environment and the potential environmental benefits.
Download the guide from the following link:
http://ec/europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/buying_green_handbook_en.pdf
