Bid number (for EG use) | |
Lead Bidder | Orkney Islands Council (OIC) |
Brief description of the aims of the
project | To improve efficiency in the management and
delivery of support services in both Orkney
Islands Council and NHS Orkney, by means of
closer working and/or integration of selected
support services. |
Clear description of what the EGF money
would be used to buy | For Stage 1, the commissioning of
consultancy services to conduct fast-track
joint best value reviews of the services under
consideration. The output would be a set of
recommendations for the most efficient
structure and modus operandi for each of these
services. Stage 2 would comprise the implementation of
the recommendations. |
Partners to the project likely to commit
resources | Orkney Islands Council and NHS Orkney |
Names of other organisations with whom the
project has been discussed (to assist the
introductions process) | Orkney Community Planning Partnership
members, specifically the Policy Implementation
Group and Senior Officers Group. Organisations
represented directly on these groups
include: Careers Scotland Communities Scotland Highlands & Islands Fire Brigade Historic Scotland JobcentrePlus NHS Orkney Northern Constabulary Orkney College Orkney Enterprise Ltd Orkney Housing Association Ltd Orkney Islands Council Orkney Tourist Board Procurator Fiscal Scottish Water SEERAD SEPA SNH Voluntary Action Orkney |
Evidence that suggested approach has been
deployed successfully elsewhere | OIC and NHS Orkney already have six joint
posts operating successfully, including one key
post in support services (Communications
Officer). In addition, a number of posts are
employed by the Council but partly funded by
NHS Orkney through resource transfer. The two
organisations are accustomed to working closely
together and their small size means that staff
get to know each other well and have a good
working relationship. |
Are there any restrictions to potential for
enlargement of the project (i.e. technology,
number of partners etc) | The project is initially being planned as a
joint initiative between OIC and NHS Orkney,
but it is envisaged that support services could
be provided with and/or for other agencies as
well, should they wish, once the project is up
and running. Orkney Enterprise Ltd was invited
to participate at an early stage, but many of
its support services have already been
relocated elsewhere following rationalisation
by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It may,
however, be interested in participating with
regard to its remaining local support services.
Orkney is a small island group so this
particular project will naturally be limited in
scale, but it could potentially form a model
for other small island or isolated
communities. |
Benefits projected from the project | As well as the potential for significant
time- and cash-releasing savings, other
projected benefits are: (i) each service would achieve critical mass
so that it could operate more efficiently; (ii) productivity would be improved, by
means of reducing staff numbers, improving
services or contracting out spare capacity; (iii) integrated services would be more
flexible and effective in meeting the support
needs of service departments; (iv) there are better career prospects in a
larger organisation, which would improve
recruitment and retention, an increasingly
critical issue; (v) local jobs and services, which might
otherwise be relocated south, would be retained
in Orkney. |
Estimated Financial Projections | Total | 2005/6 | 2006/7 | 2007/8 | 2008/9 |
Stage 1: joint reviews | £135k | £135k | - | - | - |
Stage 2: implementation | tba | | | | |
Overall project cost | tba | | | | |
Estimated projected benefits | tba | | | | |
Is a pilot required - see guidance notes | It is not anticipated that a pilot would be
required, as joint initiatives between the two
organisations already operate effectively
through joint posts, resource transfer and
joint working. |
Additionality: why is EG funding
required | Both OIC and NHS Orkney are small
organisations with limited resources. They have
no spare resources to fund the additional costs
of a project such as this, even on a
spend-to-save basis. Some of the work would in
practice have to be undertaken by existing
staff on top of their existing workload, but
neither organisation has the spare capacity
that would be required to undertake a complete
set of fast-track best value reviews within the
tight timescale demanded by the EG initiative.
EG funding would therefore be a vital element
in ensuring that the project can proceed. |
Is this project complementary in anyway to
other EG work e.g. e-invoices, e-procurement
Scotland programme, increasing productivity, or
anything in line with wider EG agendas | Orkney is not at present part of any other
EG consortia, although it is following their
progress with interest and would be happy to
consider any options which might be of mutual
benefit. With regard to wider agendas, the
Orkney project would help to support the
Modernising Government agenda through examining
common support services and administrative
processes. |
Is "stage 2 development funding"
requested? | Yes. This initial bid is for funding to
cover the work required to prepare a stage 2
bid. |