The biweekly efficiency and improvement bulletin is produced by the LIFT SW Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.
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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
Public Sector Food and Drink Procurement Conference - 4th June, Taunton
The Government Office for the South West and the South West Regional Development Agency invite you to attend the first Public Sector Food & Drink Procurement Conference for the South West of England on Wednesday 4th June 2008. This event will be hosted by South West Food and Drink and will bring together key individuals from across the region involved in the policy and practice of sustainable food procurement within the public sector.
As part of the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Strategy, the conference will cover approaches and solutions to issues of sustainable public sector food procurement. Keynote speakers include:
- Government Minister, Lord Rooker – Minister for Sustainable Food & Farming
- David Rabey – Director, Purchasing & Supply, Defra
- Professor Kevin Morgan - Cardiff University
For further information and to register your interest for this event contact:
Sarah Harbour - sarah@toniceventmanagement.co.uk
Customer Channel Management Conference - 5th June 2008, Exeter
LIFT SW RIEP will be running a Customer Channel Management Conference on 5th June in 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 (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
Sustainable ProcurementThe London Borough of Camden has been leading on a sustainable procurement project for the past two years. Its aim has been to develop practical tools to assist authorities in implementing sustainability into procurement activities.The project includes the development of sustainable toolkits and case studies including:
- Sustainable Procurement and the role of the Councillor
- How to deliver a sustainable meals service
- Sustainable furniture disposal contract
- Sustainable procurement e-learning
Download the above and additional information from the following link:
http://www.lcpe.gov.uk/sustainable/
Councillors at the Heart of Their Communities Event – Presentations Now Available
This well-attended and highly successful LIFT SW RIEP funded event was organised by Linda James from South Gloucestershire Council together with the West of England Member Development partnership. It took place in Bristol on 25th April 2008.
The presentations available are as follows:
- The Role of Councillors in a Healthy Democracy – Dame Jane Roberts, Chair of the Councillors’ Commission
- The Creative Councillor – Mark Ingleby, Author & Former Councillor
- Neighbourhood & Community Champions: The Role of the Elected Member – Cllr Paull Robathan, South Somerset District Council
- Creating a Culture of Participation & Community Consultation – Rhion Jones, Director of Consultation Institute
Download the presentations from the following link:
http://www.swce.gov.uk/Events/summaryofpastevents/pastevents2008/
Cllrsattheheartoftheircommunity.htm
For further information contact:
Linda James (South Gloucestershire Council), linda.james@southglos.gov.uk or Ann Penwell (LIFT SW RIEP), a.penwell@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Following intense consideration from the Government Opportunities (GO) Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2008 judging panel, the entries that will be the finalists in each category have been decided. Only the very best nominations have achieved finalist status and the South West region finalists are:
- Category - GO Sustainability Award - Exeter City Council
- Category - GO Award for Improved Delivery Through Greater Third Sector Involvement - Dorset County Council, Local Food Links Ltd and Dorset County Council, Partnership for Old People
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.goawards.co.uk/awards/home.htm
Annual Efficiency Statements
The Mid-Year Update efficiency statements were published on the Community and Local Government's (CLG) website on 9 April. They showed that councils
were on track to deliver the gains forecast in the Forward Look. The template for the 2007-08 Backward Look efficiency statements will go live on the esd-toolkit in May, along with a short information note providing updated information on the approved deflators and quality crosschecks that councils should use, and contact details for each department. The deadline for councils to submit these statements is Tuesday 8 July, and the data will be circulated to departments for their review and feedback shortly thereafter. Councils will then have a further month to amend and resubmit their statements, so final data on efficiency achievements in SR04 will be available to publish in September. The first data collection of NI179, which replaces the AES, will be in October. Like other indicators, this will be done through the Data Interchange Hub, part of the Info4Local domain, which has now gone live. The existing measurement guidance will be fully refreshed to reflect the new arrangements and published during the summer.
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.info4local.gov.uk/documents/publications/732236?version=1
Transforming public services is now a major theme in the work of both central and local government.
The Local Government White Paper, the 2007 Budget Report, and recent reviews such as those conducted by Sir Michael Lyons and Sir David Varney, have all highlighted the need to:
- improve citizens’ experience of public services
- make our organisations more efficient in the way they operate
Attention has rightly focused on corporate and ‘back office’ functions. However, it is the work local authorities and their partners do on the frontline that is likely to have the greatest impact on citizens and businesses.
Research on front office shared services has been undertaken, it expands on analysis published last year and identifies the new skills that local authorities and their partners are developing on a range of projects, including customer insight and managing complex change programmes. Also learn how new performance frameworks and structures aim to promote local action.
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=6440077
Councillor's guide 2008/09
If you're a new councillor who has just been elected, access the IDeA’s must-have 'Councillor's Guide'. It provides information on how to be a councillor and guidance on civic leadership. Revised and updated, it reflects the latest legislation and thinking on local government.
Download additional information from the following link: http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8264659
LGA Annual Conference - 1st - 3rd July, London
The Local Government Association annual conference and exhibition brings together 2,000 of the leading players in councils, central government, partners and business. The LGA is a cross party organisation which represents councils in England and Wales, who together, employs 1.6million people, spends £85billion and has more than 20,000 elected members.
Councils have more impact on the lives of local people than any other public or private body. 24 hours a day, local government is at the heart of delivering services that improve the lives of local people. The conference will be the major focal point for listening and talking to key national figures in local government; showcasing new ways of delivering services; sharing technological innovation and investigating ways to deliver services ever more efficiently.
Download additional information and book your place online from the following link:
http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/events/display-event.do?id=28858
