London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham: Strategic Partnership
The Challenge:
In 2004, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) was an ‘excellent’ CPA-rated Council. However, the Council recognised that despite this rating, there were opportunities to improve further, in particular through the provision of more ‘joined-up’ services.
H&F looked for a partner who could grow with them over time, sharing and developing the clear vision that embodied the Council’s Customer First programme that cut across all departments. The Council sought to minimise risk, maximise the commercial leverage, and set the potential partner the challenge of proving their worth in the face of some council scepticism. Finally, the partner needed to provide not simply ICT services, but rather the platform for transformed service delivery – and with it the means to design, implement, manage, and continuously improve.
The Solution
After a thorough and collaborative bid process, Agilisys was selected as the Council’s Strategic Partner, in an incremental framework partnership. The in-depth work completed during the procurement process, including client workshops, planning, and due diligence meant the contract was signed almost immediately after selection, and work began literally the day after appointment.
The Partnership –from procurement through to present day – involved a wide range of stakeholders from the start, from Council members to the Unions to staff representatives from multiple services. The Partnership was established with a clear and shared governance structure, with a joint programme management office (PMO) and board overseeing individual projects while reporting to the joint Strategic Partnership Board.
The flexible nature of the Partnership means individual projects can be identified and completed incrementally, as new requirements and learning evolve over time, allowing for ongoing and growing buy-in across the Council. The governance of the Partnership Board and PMO ensures that each individual project fits the overall vision and roadmap established, avoiding duplicated effort and lower levels of customer service.
The Benefits
Agilisys and the Council rapidly established a true collaborative partnership – in fact, one that has been held up as an example of best practice by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now Communities and Local Government). Within the first year of the partnership, we delivered our first project –a corporate Contact Centre covering multiple services – on time and on budget, proving the value of the Partnership.
More recently we have worked with the Council to develop a new joint venture – the Hammersmith & Fulham Bridge Partnership (HFBP). HFBP provides a vehicle through which a centre of excellence will be created. The partnership will deliver ICT and other services to Hammersmith and Fulham Council first and then, with the aim of extending services to other boroughs and public sector bodies in London, provide shared services to deliver the efficiency agenda to the public sector.
Read more about how we worked with H&F to transform the Housing Benefits Service.
Read more about HFBP, our innovative joint venture.