LATEST: » Has the Penny dropped in the G Cloud and IT communities on Social Value? Or Social Value Revolution challenges Tender Evaluation Myopia
What’s all the fuss about social value? Isn’t it just a few more tick boxes in our evaluation model which we have used for years? It’s not really going to make any difference to our inherent bias to select on lowest price. It only covers services and not products or works. After all, we are a technology procurer where social value doesn’t apply to our suppliers. Even if it did, then it just requires an indication of some non price benefits and is a sop to SMEs to try to award more contracts to them. There’s no need to think it through, review or change what we do, although increasingly Cloud products such as IaaS, SaaS and PaaS are being specified. The fact that Infrastructure, Software and Platforms are being sold as a Service surely doesn’t matter. Or does it? With the trend in IT towards delivery as a service and in that we highlight G Cloud, we believe that much tender evaluation is myopic in its approach and the Public Services (Social Value) Act and Remedies Directives will be the catalyst for change. Read more...

» Social Value Revolution challenges Tender Evaluation Myopia (Or Has the Penny dropped on Social Value?)
What’s all the fuss about social value? Isn’t it just a few more tick boxes in our evaluation model which we have used for years? It’s not really going to make any difference to our inherent bias to select on lowest price. It only covers services and not products or works. After all, attaining social value just requires an indication of some non price benefits and is a sop to the Third Sector to try to award more contracts to them. There’s no need to think it through, review or change what we do. Or is it? We believe that much tender evaluation is myopic in its approach and the Public Services (Social Value) Act and Remedies Directives will be the catalyst for change. Read more...
 

» Building Capacity in Outcome Based Contracting
The Work Programme is the first large scale Outcome Based commercial contract to be pioneered by this Government. It however provides little incentive for the unemployed to gain skills as contractors are better encouraging claimants to become window cleaners and go for quick hits. The all or nothing payment has an effect in discriminating against some SMEs. Read more...
 

» Outcome Based Contracting and Payment by Results
It goes without saying that Outcome Based Contracting and Payment by Results should go together but the history in areas such as Health and Social Care is not so straightforward. A simple definition of an Outcome is Results. Outcomes are however usually high level and not suitable directly for contracting. For example, there are 8 Outcomes for adults in Health, one of which is ‘Being Healthy’. So does that mean being physically fit, mobile, disease free, sane and not addicted? So given the degree of subjectivity, how would an Outcome Based or results based reward system be designed? Read more...
 

We currently offer 3 workshops – A brief outline is featured below, with further details via the link. Please contact us if you have any questions.

1. NEW: 'Bidding to Win with Outcomes and Payment by Results'

2. 'Outcome Based Specification Writing and Pricing'
(including Payment by Results and the Impact of Social Value)

3. 'Understanding Alternative Delivery Models including GOC's, Mutualisation and Intrapreneurship'

1. Bidding to Win for Outcome Based Contracts and Payment by Results

Venue: LONDON – Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury, London
Up coming workshop date:
14th May, 2013

Most housing based organisations have considerable bidding experience for conventional input based contracts. However, recent budget restrictions and reorganisations have resulted in organisations developing novel and innovative approaches in the use of Outcome Based Specifications and in Payment by Results Pricing. Increasingly, Payment by Results (PBR) techniques are being utilised across the public sector and attempts are being made to link these directly to outcomes.

Our research shows that many organisations require to understand outcome based approaches and the risks involved in payment by results pricing in contracts. Increasingly, outcome based contracts are seeking to link achievement of the outcomes to reward.

This workshop is designed to improve the delegates’ Bidding Skills. Our goal is to update and inform delegates on the best methods of bid preparation.

Click here for more details and Booking Form

2. Outcome Based Specification Writing and Pricing
(including Payment by Results and the Impact of Social Value)

Venue: LONDON – Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury, London
Up coming workshop dates:
16th April, 2013
15th May, 2013
5th June, 2013

This Workshop is designed to improve the delegates’ Outcome Based Specification Writing skills. You will know how important that skill is in contractual dealings. So if you are responsible for any of these areas including assurance, Finance, Procurement, HR and IT, then attendance will help to ensure that you are helping to contract quality services. Our goal is to update and inform delegates on the best methods of producing specifications. In order to reinforce learning, delegates will be expected to participate and undertake short learning exercises.

This is run as a small group of up to 20 delegates in order to do exercises, enable questioning and undertake skills transfer. We will show you what to do in order to write excellent specifications. The delegates will receive checklists which will help them to complete specifications. Barony Consulting is on London Council’s Personalisation and HMG’s G Cloud Framework agreements.

Click here for more details and Booking Form

3. Understanding Alternative Delivery Models including GOC's, Mutualisation and Intrapreneurship

Venue: LONDON – DWF LLP, Capital House, 85 King William Street, London EC4
Up coming workshop dates:
16th May, 2013
26th June, 2013
24th July, 2013

Barony in partnership with DWF who are part of Public Sector Mutuals with The Co-operative are offering a one day public workshop to assist you understand and deal with these challenges in order to help you consider alternative delivery models. We have designed the workshop which will help policy makers and managers to understand the options to help empower public sector workers to become their own boss with the objective of delivering better services.

The course is designed for leaders faced with developing alternative models of service provision under the Mutualisation agenda so that they understand the key issues of leadership and the important decisions to be taken.

The first part provides a general introduction to Alternative Delivery Models including Mutualisation and what organisations will have to consider in understanding and developing a GOC or mutual. The second part informs staff Intrapreneurs of the issues to be considered before engaging in discussions around mutualisation or other organisational arrangements such as GOCs as a step towards mutualisation.

Click here for more details, plus Booking Form and Payment via PayPal facility.