In this time of austerity, and the upheaval of change being experienced through all tiers of the public sector – everyone is looking for new ways of doing things, no – not tweaking things – but radically overhauling how services are delivered, and in turn saving money for frontline service delivery.

The Government has issued a challenge to the public sector www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spendingchallenge, with David Cameron’s challenge to all

“Don’t hold back. Be innovative, be radical, challenge the way things are done. If you think you can make things better for less money don’t just complain to your colleagues about it – tell us about it so we can make it happen”

Debate rages as to the role of ICT in helping to address the challenge – is it just another overhead – or is it an effective means to facilitate change and save resources? Are organizations undertaking ICT projects, business change projects or transformation projects?

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Public sector services are definitely facing a period of upheaval, with conflicting views of needs and impacts, but clearly underpinned by two priorities, preserving frontline services, and achieving that more efficiently!

I came across a topical article to this extent, regarding what is likely to happen in relation to magistrate courts and comments from Ken Clarke the Justice Secretary. http://www.ukauthority.com/?tabid=64&id=2833

This brings to mind one particular aspect of work that we did with a large central government agency. This project relates to a new piece of legislation which provides a non-court based alternative to bankruptcy – whereas the latter does actually require a role for the courts. The courts system is one which moves at a certain speed (and substantial cost), and perhaps is not one which has adapted to the advent of new technology – therefore not responding to the needs of a society which is more mobile, 24/7-oriented and operating via multiple channels. These are all challenges that many public sector organisations, and local authorities in particular, are facing today – causing them to look at new service delivery models, and the use of their real estate. (more…)