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Concept Viability: Early engagement with industry
08/12/03
Government and IT Industry Aim for Successful Delivery of IT Projects
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and Intellect have today launched a package of new measures designed to ensure the successful delivery of public sector IT projects.
The package will help to further cultivate a modern relationship between Government and Industry based on openness and trust. Ultimately leading to the implementation of public services based on value for money, efficiency and effectiveness, and delivering increased benefits to the British taxpayer.
Designed in parallel with the three critical stages of project concept, development and delivery, the package includes: a new service entitled Concept Viability, Effective Partnering Guidance, and for the first time, an IT Supplier Code of Best Practice.
The Code, through its Ten Commitments, establishes official standards of professionalism for all providers of information systems and services to Government. Ensuring that best practice is championed and that public sector IT projects are delivered successfully.
Commenting on the package of new measures, OGC Chief Executive, Peter Gershon, said:
"The public sector is a complex environment with a chequered history of delivering successful IT-based programmes to cost and time. These new measures get to the heart of some of the key issues which have inhibited success and, together with improvements already being implemented by Clients, offers the real potential to drive up the success rates to the benefit of both taxpayers and Suppliers."
Director General of Intellect, John Higgins said:
"The IT Industry recognises its role as an enabler of effective e-Government. It is therefore committed to the adoption of these new measures, to the cultivation of modern relationships with its public sector customers, and to the ongoing process of reform.”
Today's announcements complete a year in which both Government and industry have introduced reforms. Earlier, this year OGC introduced measures to establish higher standards in the public sector within project and programme management, and procurement. In addition Intellect has worked with its member companies to raise both corporate and individual standards of professionalism.
Package of new measures – Contents Overview:
- Concept Viability: Concept Viability is a new service offered by Intellect to the public sector. It will enable public sector organisations to use industry as a ‘sounding board’. Helping them to effectively assess the potential technological risks associated with specific public sector IT projects, before progressing from concept to delivery.
- Effective Partnering: A set of guidelines developed by government and industry members of the Senior IT Forum. It seeks to promote closer working relationships between public sector project management and their IT service providers. It provides public sector IT procurement managers with the guidance they need in order to effectively partner with industry and will cultivate strong working relationships built on mutual benefit.
- IT Supplier Code of Best Practice: Intellect has developed the first IT Supplier Code of Best Practice. This Code establishes a clear set of standards that public sector clients can now expect from their IT suppliers.
The Code consists of Ten Commitments - core values to which the Industry believes it should be working - and each of these is further defined by principles or actions to which companies and individuals should comply.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Established in April 2000, the OGC was set up to act as a catalyst in procurement issues and to work with civil departments to achieve best value for money in their commercial activities. Responsible for civil central government procurement policy and best practice including Construction, Property Management, IT, supplier relations including opening government contracts to SMEs, e-commerce including the Government Procurement Card, the Gateway Review Process, OGCbuying.solutions, including the Government buying catalogues, G-Cat and S-Cat and developing strategic procurement partnerships with the private sector.
2. Intellect is the trade association for the UK IT, Telecommunications and Electronics industries in the UK. It represents a membership of over 1000 companies, spanning blue-chip multinationals to early stage technology companies, within an industry that together contributes around 10% of UK GDP and at least 15% of total UK trade. More information about Intellect can be found at http://www.intellectuk.org
3. The Senior IT Forum was established in 2000 following the government published report “Successful IT: Modernising Government in Action” and the Computing Software and Services Association (CSSA) report “Getting IT Right for Government”. The Forum is jointly sponsored by OGC and Intellect, and its aim is to identify and address joint systemic issues that occur in the acquisition and implementation of Government IT-enabled projects.
4. Membership of the Senior IT Forum consists of an equal number of senior representatives from government and the IT industry and is chaired by Peter Gershon, Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce. The aim of the Forum is to identify and address joint systemic issues that occur in the acquisition and implementation of Government IT-enabled projects.
5. To view the OGC ‘Successful Delivery Toolkit’ including the new ‘Effective Partnering’ guidance, click here: www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit/
6. In October 2002, the Senior IT Forum launched its first three initiatives:
9. Press enquiries to OGC to Martin Day on 020 7271 1318 or e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Press contact: Press Office T 020 7331 2168 E This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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