Our focus is on operational PFI Contracts: How to get the most from partner changes. With most PFI contracts having an average lifespan of 20 to 30 years, it is inevitable that some of the parties will change during that…

If you are to believe the statistics published on problematic big IT projects – whether a commercial sector Enterprise Software implementation (ERP), a Local Authority Client Relationship System (CRM) or an NHS Trust dealing with a problematic Electronic Patient Records…

As I recently read through yet another Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report uncovering yet more failures of Government procurement and project failures, I found myself wondering whether the squandering of the public purse is ever going to be addressed with…

As everyone knows, the public sector has never been a great ‘financial bonus giver’. After all, we’re just that little bit less likely to vote for any politician who openly supports the provision of financial bonuses paid via the public…

Despite the mounting pressure of ever more limited budgets and strict HM directives to actively pursue savings in PFI contracts, it is surprising how few organisations have completed a thorough review of their PFI-related costs. Recent discussions with senior managers…

So, here we are again. The rumpus of big public sector outsourcing (although not necessarily just in the public sector) has hit the headlines with both Christopher Hyman (CEO, Serco Group) and Richard Morris (CEO, G4S) both falling on their…

This blog post is the fourth in a series that has looked at some of the most significant upcoming changes to the EU Procurement Rules Directive* and discussed the possible impacts across the Public Sector. In this concluding post, we’ll…

This blog post is the third in a series that will assess some of the most significant changes to the new EU Procurement Directive* and examines the possible impact across the Public Sector. This article highlights the proposed changes to…

In recent years the massive tectonic plates of change have shifted significantly from a status-quo where organisations have been comfortable with long-term, hands-off arrangements with outsourced service provision across a variety of disciplines to one where every aspect of the…

The Post Office recently hit the headlines again after admitting that IT training and support failings may have resulted in some users of its Horizon system being wrongly accused of false accounting. After undergoing a forensic accounting investigation, it now…

A new EU Procurement Directive* is close to being agreed and is likely to come into force by the end of the year. This blog post is the second in a series (click here for the first one) that will discuss some of…

A new EU procurement Directive is close to being agreed; as a result, new EU Procurement Rules are set to replace existing Public Sector procurement terms later this year (*subject to ratification; see foot note). The proposed changes will affect…

You’ve cut back and trimmed the fat, removed the less effective processes and people, and economised, as many sizeable organisations have had to do in recent years. But with more cost saving required in 2013 and all the ‘obvious’ opportunities…

The statistics are overwhelming; nearly 50% of strategic vendor relationships end in failure. If matters have come to a head and no matter what you’ve tried, your strategic vendor is simply unable to achieve the business outcomes you expected, then…

Most organisations, whether in the public or private sector, are under extreme pressure to cut service costs – and quickly. But they also remain under pressure to keep service levels as high as they possibly can. And minimise complaints from…

Outsourcing, managed and commissioned services are prone to relationship problems, with around half failing due to partners not performing to client expectation. You will be well aware that a lack of performance kills trust, but may be less aware of…

It was recently reported in the trade press that pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) on public sector contracts under €200,000 will be axed. The reasoning behind this move is that PQQs on smaller contracts are “burdensome” and make the tendering process onerous for…

Since The Localism Act was introduced at the end of 2011, bringing both new freedoms for local government and new rights and powers for individuals and communities, there has been a move by internal staff teams to express an interest…

Outsourcing has once again been in the public eye due to two recent high profile project failures. Last month, MI5 abandoned its reported £90m digital records management system over concerns that implementation of the system would lead to an “intelligence…

Every now and then I will come across an article about outsourcing that gives me pause for thought. One such article was published in The Guardian back in January this year. The article referred to a review designed to improve the…

At Best Practice Group, our primary function is to advise businesses and organisations on how they can contract for high-quality outsourced services, at a low cost, that can meet their desired outcomes. Our ethos is to do this by ensuring…

Prematurely terminating an outsourcing relationship is something you should really try to avoid at all costs. Those are the words we typically tell to every single prospective client we speak to who are at their wit’s end with their strategic…

The adverse financial ramifications of large PFI contracts that were negotiated in healthier economic times are only now becoming clear to many public sector organisations across the UK. Such agreements were entered into with the best of intentions and were…

Failed outsourcing relationships are a really painful experience to go through. If you are in a strategic relationship that is not achieving your business outcomes then you will have tried many actions in an attempt to encourage the vendor to…

In 2007, Somerset County Council struck a deal to outsource various services to a joint venture company. That company — Southwest One (SW1) — was intended to serve as a trailblazer that demonstrated how public and private organisations could work…

Professional Pensions recently reported that the procurement of library services by Croydon Council has been severely hamstrung by issues relating to Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) contributions. Although John Laing Integrated Services (JLIS) was selected as the preferred bidder in…

Last week we featured 2e2’s administration in an article about disaster avoidance. However, the 2e2 story offers up more than one moral that we can apply to the practice of outsourcing and sub-contractors. Yes – 2e2 failed as a prime…

After close to a month of uncertainty it was revealed last week that Daisy Group PLC has entered into an agreement to assume control of 2e2’s datacentre business unit. It was revealed late last month that 2e2 had gone into administration…

On Friday 21st December 2012 — the last working day before the Christmas break — the details of core grant allocations to councils across the UK were announced. The data revealed that cuts to local authority budgets could be as…

With the best of intentions, strategic partnerships and major projects can still falter. Such failings are typically down to a lack of quantifiable goals or a failing in the translation of business outcomes to contract terms (which are typically easily…

In last week’s post on using an expert to fix a failing provider relationship we touched upon the fact that repairing a relationship is almost always better than terminating one. Termination is a rocky road to travel down. The potential…

It’s a common situation. An organisation is very disappointed with what they perceive to be a failing provider relationship, unsatisfactory service delivery from a strategic provider, and they want out of the contract. They appreciate that exiting a service provider,…

I am always on the lookout for mentions of service commissioning in the media, and at the end of last month I sat down to watch a Dispatches special, Getting Rich on the NHS. The programme highlighted Virgin’s involvement in public…

Although Councils are tasked with slashing budgets whilst maintaining (or even increasing) the quality of public services, the endorsement of local authority strategic commissioning as a potential solution is seen by many councillors as dangerous ground upon which to tread.…

In the past few weeks we have explored how cloud computing procurement can go wrong and how an adjusted approach to the same situation can result in a beneficial outcome. However, we ended last week’s post with a disclaimer —…

Cornwall County Council leader Alec Robertson was ousted from his role last week in the wake of his attempts to finalise a hefty strategic commissioning contract. Robertson planned to outsource various Council services in a deal worth £300m. This followed…

In preparation for my speech at the “What to do When IT Goes Wrong” conference next week, I have been casting my mind back to memorable IT projects I have worked on in the past. One thing is for sure…

The Government’s decision to pull out of letting the West Coast Main Line contract to FirstGroup is a costly and high profile example of the ramifications of a formal legal challenge on a flawed procurement process. This is quite a back-down…

Cloud computing is becoming more and more relevant to public sector organisations. After all, the much-publicised G-Cloud Plan calls for 50% of new government IT spending to move to cloud computing services by 2015. However, adoption of CloudStore products has been…

Imagine that there is a small-scale model of a planned development on display at your local council. Although it gives a good representation of what the finished building will look like, most of the detail is lost in the scale.…