case studies phase 2

Shared services – Case studies 2012

4548_AoC_Case studies_Phase2_AW.indd 1 2/16/12 5:17 PM

03 West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges Led by Calderdale College

09 Developing Soft Federation Services Led by Epping Forest College

15 College Qualifi cation Project Led by North Herts College

21 Effi ciency in Recruitment in Colleges (ERIC) National Led by Plumpton College

27 BUSYNESS – Building a South Yorkshire Network to Enable Shared Services Led by Rotherham College

33 Federation of Essex Colleges (FEDEC) Shared Services Led by South Essex College

39 Shire Shared Services Led by Worcester College of Technology

45 Wessex Colleges Federation Led by Yeovil College

Contents


The Partners

West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges


4 | Shared services – Case studies 2012

Areas of FocusThe project took as its starting point a review of the activities of West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges (WYCC), with a view to identifying collaborative ways forward. This led to the development of two focus areas, arising from an initial scoping exercise undertaken by external consultants. These are:

• Joint exam procurement; and• The development of a strategic working relationship with

Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

RationaleWYCC was established 10 years ago as a sub-regional network of Colleges. This partnership has been retained, and its focus has developed to working collectively with partners to improve the skills and training offer in the Leeds City Region in order to drive up the economy of the region. The project has been used to develop models and agreements which build upon the good practice and shared working developed through WYCC in order to respond effi ciently and effectively to the needs of the City Region.

Need to bring employers and providers together

VisionSpecifi cally, the project aimed to identify:

• Quick wins – through which the advantages of shared service activities could be demonstrated; and

• Strategic interventions – through which WYCC can work with regional partners in delivering effective services to learners and employers within its locality.

These collaborations aim to support WYCC members in meeting current and future demands in terms of skill need across the Leeds City Region and offer opportunities for more cost-effective working.

There is a strong (belief) that this will create… effi ciency in the Leeds region


Shared services – Case studies 2012 | 5

ObjectiveThis project assists the Colleges in West Yorkshire to further develop their existing partnership and explore models of formalisation of good practice to secure effi ciencies and service improvements for the Colleges and the Leeds City Region LEP. From the point of view of LEP collaboration, it aims to develop practical and relevant solutions to improve the offer and delivery of skills through framework development. These options will then be developed into delivery models which will scope the structure of the organisation needed for delivery, examine the fi nancial implications and determine the legal and governance issues.The exam procurement strand builds on work that has been undertaken by the AoC Finance Directors’ network, which includes participation by WYCC member Colleges.

ActivitiesThe project included two phases:Phase 1Phase 1 was contracted to external consultants, who were asked to:

• Confi rm the scope and outline of the WYCC ambition for future potential collaborations;

• Test the feasibility of potential collaborations against a number of factors including: governance, fi nance, corporate structure, competitive advantage and market penetration/growth, legal implications, costs and benefi ts;

• Confi rm the range and nature of possible options for WYCC collaborations, both now and for the future;

• Test the possible options and engage WYCC and Colleges to confi rm the preferred option(s); and

• Develop a business case that outlines the commercial rationale, collaborative model merits and high level plan to implement the next stages of the preferred collaborative option(s).

This process led to the identifi cation of two activity areas which were carried forward to Phase 2:

1. A strategic, medium/long term approach, looking at the framework to intervene in a number of areas, developing the existing WYCC structure to engage with the emerging LEP network, with the aim of developing larger scale interventions.

2. Focusing on short term benefi ts on areas of commonality, starting with exam procurement.

Phase 2LEP engagement: This has now become the primary focus for the project. All WYCC member Colleges have signed a Partnership Agreement with the LEP’s Employment and Skills Board (ESB), as part of the Leeds City Region Skills Network, with WYCC’s chair sitting on the ESB. The objectives of the agreement are to:

• drive up skills and employment levels in Leeds City Region particularly in those sectors critical to the growth of the economy;

• increase employer and individuals’ engagement and investment in skills;

• support individuals to gain sustainable employment by improving employability, basic skills (especially maths, English and ESOL) and enterprising attitudes; and

• strengthen joint working between employers, the LEP/ESB, skills networks, Colleges and other skills providers to improve the effectiveness of skills investment.



A project offi cer has been recruited to the project to assist in the developing sustainable working relationships between the partner Colleges as well as supporting emerging developments with the LEP. Activities have included building relationships with employers, running events to promote opportunities in growth areas, such as a “Green Jobs” event and setting up sector focus groups.Exam procurement: Work has been undertaken on looking at joint awarding bodies’ aggregation and price/service negotiation, linked with national work being co-ordinated by AoC, and an Exam Offi cers’ group has now been established for the City Region. In addition, other areas of sharing are still being explored by members of the group including fi nance and human resources.

Model WYCC have a pre-existing collaborative model as a company limited by guarantee with each College Principal being a company director. There is a company secretary appointed by one of the member Colleges and the accounts are audited by external auditors each year. There is a member of staff who works for the consortium to manage and oversee its affairs, the Consortium Manager reports directly to the WYCC board. The formation of the Skills Network has attracted positive recognition and publicity from a number of key fi gures. The project is being used to examine whether the existing structure can be used more effectively in the interests of its member Colleges.

great example of joint working that I hope other LEPS will follow

Geoff Russell, Chief Executive of the Skills Funding Agency

I am pleased to report that further education Colleges are already playing a role with local enterprise partnerships in the north-east and elsewhere. In Yorkshire, the Leeds city region held its fi rst skills conference with the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges and it is now setting up its own skills network

Mark Prisk, Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills



SavingsThe partners project that the from late 2012, annual savings will be made in the following areas, although detailed quantifi cation is not available:

• Marketing £50,000;• Procurement £70,000; and• Effi ciency gains in LEP £100,000.

Outcomes and the FutureThe project has been used to position WYCC for future shared opportunities, shared information and intelligence for the City Region, capturing the economic skills and related data and providing a shared strategic perspective to inform joint planning and College-specifi c planning. Further work is being undertaken on collaboration with the LEP Employment and Skills Board to strengthen the offer on employer engagement activity, through closer working arrangements with other skills providers and identifying good practice.WYCC is also establishing self-sustaining Exam Offi cers’ Network to help drive forward common approaches.

WYCC was instrumental in establishing the Skills Network

EnablersThe following factors have been important in taking forward the project:

• The existing long-term relationship between the Colleges as members of WYCC;

• Initial analysis by an external consultant assisted WYCC members to focus on potential developments;

• Having the resources to engage with strategic partners at a regional level is enabling the co-ordination of the further education offer in an effective manner; and

• National level work on exam procurement has underpinned the local activities in this area of work.

…positive relationships have developed (between ESB and Colleges)



Critical Factors

SummaryThe project has assisted a pre-existing partnership of Colleges to focus on key collaborative areas. The resources available have made a signifi cant impact on the extent to which the Colleges collectively engage with strategic economic developments in the City Region for mutual benefi t.At another level, the project has also illustrated the diffi culties of addressing shared service development (in this case over exam procurement) with a large number of partners in a complex area. In this case, it is clear that not all wins are quick.

All being done with minimal central resources

Need a co-ordinated approach at all times

Critical Factors

Factor Barrier Solution Importance

Leadership & Governance

Leadership Teams need to own this agenda for it to have impact

Need to spend time with Principals and leadership teams to get buy in

Medium

Establishing a common understanding of the aims and benefi ts

An incremental approach and time and resources are needed

High

Culture & Climate

Managing expectations over the potential for effi ciency gains and savings

Feeding in information on what has worked elsewhere, including use of case studies and practical examples

Medium

Process The complexities of examination procurement, as there are important issues of value for money and where resources are expended

Need to fi nd out about what others are doing, and what had been achieved. Activities need to be integrated with national work and other local and regional networks

High


The Partners

Developing Soft Federation Services

This project is led by Epping Forest College with all partners involved in the project having a signifi cant history of collaboration through ACER (the Association of Colleges in the Eastern Region). The responsibility for managing and facilitating this project was given to ACER who has considerable experience of facilitating collaboration among Colleges through a range of activities, including procurement. Partner Colleges involved in the project are of a relatively similar size and are geographically spread across the Eastern region. Therefore key meetings were held at different Colleges within the group on a monthly basis.



Areas of FocusThe project is a feasibility study focused on exploring the potential for developing shared service models within the following areas:

• Human Resources (HR);• Procurement;• Finance; • Payroll and recruitment; • Timetabling; • Health & Safety; and• Sharing expertise.

RationaleIn the current climate Colleges involved in the partnership were keen to build on collaborative activity undertaken in the Eastern Region and explore opportunities for generating effi ciency savings and drive service improvement through sharing. Therefore the project is essentially part of the evolution of collaborative activity among Colleges. ACER are focused on driving improvement and effi ciency among its members and this project provided the group with the opportunity to undertake a feasibility study to explore the potential for sharing a wide range of service areas in order to reduce costs and improve service delivery, thereby enhancing the resilience of partners.

[the project] builds on a successful history of collaboration within the Eastern Region

VisionProject documentation outlines the following vision:

“ That the project can achieve effi ciency savings beyond the scope of the individual Colleges participating. We hope to demonstrate that the benefi ts transform services through a higher quality customer experience from these functions...that this should be achievable without jeopardising individual organisational independence but also to provide a platform for future partnership models that can be adopted elsewhere in the sector”.

[the project aims] to demonstrate that this [effi ciency savings through sharing] should be achievable without jeopardising individual organisational independence



ObjectivesThe project sought to identify the feasibility of Colleges in the project group sharing the various service areas outlined above in order to achieve the following objectives:

• Achieving fi nancial effi ciencies not possible as individual Colleges;

• Retaining organisational independence, regardless of the chosen business model;

• Providing organisational resilience;• Delivering improved systems;• Freeing up time for the participating

Colleges to focus on teaching and learning outcomes; and

• Develop a shared business model across the six Colleges and to deliver a scalable model based on shared services for back offi ce functions.

ActivitiesThe project has incorporated the following activities.

• Functions analysis – mapping, analysis and benchmarking of current responsibilities and processes involved in each service function within each College. This included analysis of staff resources, IT processes, costs and utilisation, thereby enabling a transparent and accurate assessment of each service function across each College;

• Comparative analysis – comparison of each College’s current approaches to each service area;

• Identifying effi ciencies – based on the fi ndings of the earlier activities this involved collaborative activity to identify service areas with the greatest potential to generate effi ciencies for partner Colleges through the adoption of best practice from other partners or the development of shared services; and

Communication of the project needs to be disseminated effectively, so that staff are aware of the project and the possible benefi ts

• Implementation and activity planning – a series of workshops and meetings to explore the ideas generated further, including an assessment of potential collaborative models and share identifi ed areas of good practice in service design, delivery and process.

Partners found the functions analysis and benchmarking and comparative analysis processes particularly benefi cial as it enabled them to gain a real understanding of where they are as an organisation, in terms of what they are doing well and where improvements could be made, as well as providing clear examples of good practice from across the partnership. This has enabled some partners to identify and act on “quick wins” by making relatively minor and inexpensive adjustments to their processes.

“ the aims of this project was to share business models...the toolkits are the backbone of the models, they look at where a College is now and how they can improve their services”



Shared Services ModelThere is no one defi nite business model for taking forward shared services between partners. There is appetite to take forward activity in some of the areas scoped, with different partners interested in taking forward different approaches in different service areas. Therefore the ways in which these are taken forward will differ and will be dependent on partners having resources to do so. In some case this will simply involve a partner College adopting the best College model identifi ed from across the partnership.

SavingsProject documentation suggests that approximately £500,000 of potential savings have been identifi ed across the areas of focus for this project, over three years to 2014. Examples of potential savings include an estimated saving of £240,000 over two years on the contract value of recruitment advertising budgets through sharing between eight Colleges. Other potential, but as yet unquantifi ed, savings could be generated through the range of activity that may be taken forward by partner Colleges. Partners estimate that project costs were recouped through savings generated by the end of 2011.

the approach has enabled a number of quick wins through knowledge and practice exchange between partners

Outcomes and the FutureAs mentioned above partners are looking to take forward different sharing activities over the short, medium and longer term. Examples of this range of activity, include:

• partners are looking to share HR procedures with a view to ensuring all are delivering these in accordance with the most effi cient and effective practice;

• one partner leading on developing a collaborative agreement on sharing occupational health services;

• pooled recruitment advertising budgets have been agreed between a number of partners;

• following the lead of one of the partners a College is planning to outsource its procurement service;

• a number of Colleges are looking to jointly procure legal services;

• two Colleges are looking to share payroll services; and

• one College is re-tendering its outsourced absence management contract in March 2012 and has invited other Colleges to collaborate in this exercise.

A key outcome from the project to date has been the development of Shared Services Toolkits for HR, Finance and Procurement which are essentially “how to guides” which include generic analysis tools for College looking to review services in the context of developing a shared service. Though the project focused on specifi c Colleges in the region the decision was made to extend this to other Colleges in the region. To date three toolkits have been shared with 21 Colleges in the Eastern region and there are plans to share these more widely.



EnablersKey factors in the project’s development have been:

• Partnership dynamics – the Colleges involved in the project are of a similar size and are geographically spread across the Eastern region. As a result issues relating to competition and fear of the motives of larger providers are not an issue for this project;

• Additionality of FE Effi ciency Innovation Fund – this has provided the project with the resources and capacity to enable partners to fully explore the feasibility of sharing a range of services, something they could not have done without this support;

• History of collaboration – having worked together through ACER for a number of years there already was a culture of trust between partners and with ACER;

• Existing independent collaborative infrastructure – the project benefi tted from an established and trusted collaborative infrastructure with a track record in facilitating collaborative working across Colleges in the region.

• Preliminary work to ensure buy-in – ACER undertook a considerable amount of work up-front to ensure that those participating in the project were committed to exploring the potential for shared services across a range of College functions, thereby minimising the likelihood of divergence over this in the future.

commitment by the partners to meet the expectations placed upon them is crucial

roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defi ned and assigned from the outset



Critical Factors

SummaryThis project highlights the importance of a history of collaboration and a lack of competition between partners. It also highlights the importance of an established “independent broker” to drive the project while encouraging open debate and discussion. The processes involved have enabled partners to gain the intelligence that will enable them to drive improvement and generate effi ciencies in their operations. As a result numerous plans for implementation are being developed across various service areas and partner Colleges.Resources received through the Innovation Fund have acted as a driver of the project, enabling partners to explore the feasibility of shared service solutions in a range of service areas, benchmark their approaches and also to develop and strengthen relationships between participants, resulting in a variety of different potential collaborative activity being taken forward.

Colleges are of a similar size and share a similar offer with learners. They are geographically diverse with no direct competition which removes one of the barriers of shared service projects

Critical Factors


Culture & Climate

Differing priorities Each College has their own individual priorities in terms of service areas. As a consequence the project provided partners with the fl exibility to opt-in or out of activity around different service areas

High

Process Timescales and time commitments

Process mapping and scoping the feasibility of shared service options is a time consuming and complex process which requires considerable commitment from all partners. Fulfi lling these time commitments can be challenging to partners. Consequently partners needed an independent dedicated resource to drive the project and a fl exible approach. Planning delivery so that it avoids peak times of year or holiday periods is also important

High

Staff reticence Some staff below senior level posses some reservations over the shared services agenda. Raising awareness, staff engagement and communication are central to addressing this challenge

High


The Partners

College Qualifi cation Project



Areas of FocusThe project aimed to develop new qualifi cations within the three pilot areas of:

• Security (North Hertfordshire);• Hospitality and Catering (Westminster Kingsway); and• Product Design (Walsall).

These are being developed by an awarding body, OCR, in partnership with Colleges that are subject leaders within these sectors.There are seven stages to the qualifi cation development process and this project specifi cally focuses on: concept; design; and development; leaving the establishment of any qualifi cation to be developed commercially. The processes involved are summarised in the fi gure below:

collaborating with College(s) right through the qualifi cations development and launch process

ReviewConcept Design DevelopmentDevelopment AccreditationAccreditation Launch Delivery

EIF funded process Commercialisation/Implementation

RationaleAs a pilot, this project explores the opportunities presented by the Qualifi cations and Credits Framework (QCF) for the further education (FE) sector to work with awarding bodies to develop not just new qualifi cations and units but to use and improve existing ones. One of the objectives of the project is to explore this potential and note both the barriers and solutions to this development and inform future policy. The project also explores alternative models to either those FE Colleges considering becoming an awarding organisation or those who already are, in exploring partnership models with larger awarding organisations.



(OCR) are… assessment experts and the Colleges involved are the subject experts

VisionThe project aims to develop and pilot an innovative way of working to produce a qualifi cations offer for vocational learning involving the leading Colleges within each sector subject area in partnership with a well established awarding body.

ObjectiveThe project identifi ed “partnership points” in the qualifi cation development process where the FE sector can contribute directly, with the aim of:

• keeping costs down with resultant lower fees;

• creating opportunities for re-investment in the sector by making payments to the sector rather than other third parties; and

• developing better qualifi cations in the spirit of “by the sector, for the sector ”.

ActivitiesThe project is built on three strands, one of which (Walsall College) was included in the project shortly after bid submission. The projects are:Security: North Hertfordshire is one of the founders of Bridging the Gap (BtG), an Olympics Legacy project that aims to address the ongoing skills shortage in the security industry by guaranteeing an interview for paid security work at the Games to all participating full time students who are 18 years or older in July 2012. The development of this strand was stopped, due to complications over negotiations between BtG, OCR, and the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Major complicating factors have been the issues and challenges of operating within this sector, primarily regarding malpractice, and OCR subsequently concluded that the risk associated in validating potential centres was too great. Hospitality and Catering: It was originally intended that a full qualifi cation (10 units) was to be developed within this strand and a new learning programme, but this has subsequently been limited to four units following discussions with the Sector Skills Council. The remaining units supported by the College for development are:

• Sustainability at Levels 1 and 2; and • Procurement at Levels 1 and 2.

These are expected to be developed in early 2012.Product Design: OCR have a history of previous involvement with Walsall College and its associated awarding organisation Accredited Skills for Industry (ASFI) through the collaborative development of a new qualifi cation for



product design. Whilst this partnership was originally developed outside of the College Qualifi cations Project, this was brought into the project due to its close alignment with its aims and objectives. This alignment is not just in terms of the collaborative development of a new qualifi cation; but also the joint working between a relatively small local FE awarding organisation with a national awarding organisation leading to organisational synergy. This is seen as having the potential for a new partnership model with other FE sector awarding organisations with potential effi ciency savings.The new qualifi cation has now been fully designed and accredited and is ready to use.

ModelThere is no formal structure to the project. Individual agreements are developed as appropriate between the participating Colleges and OCR for development of the qualifi cations.

SavingsThe project focuses on income generation as well as savings in the form of engaging the FE sector in the qualifi cation development process and rewarding their efforts through direct payment or other fi nancial incentives. These benefi ts are expected to be realised later in the project.

(The project is) about ensuring… qualifi cations are entirely fi t for purpose



Outcomes and the FutureAs noted above, the position of each of the strands at present are:

• Security: not developed due to OCR concerns over centre validation;

• Hospitality and Catering: it is envisaged that the four units will be accredited by Spring 2012; and

• Product Design: full qualifi cation now ready to use. This process has been accelerated since development work had already been undertaken, and Walsall College has its own awarding body.

Where there has been limited development, participating Colleges have reported an insight into working with industry and accreditation bodies.

we will do more work with SIA after the Olympics

EnablersThe following factors have enabled project development:

• Recent encouragement by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills for Colleges to become awarding bodies;

• The shift from qualifi cations towards programmes of learning;

• The recognised need for industry engagement in developing the QCF;

• Restructuring of the role of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) who will have less of a focus on qualifi cations development;

• The Colleges involved were recognised leaders within the sectors that were targeted; and

• The College that had an existing relationship with the awarding body, and which had a small awarding body itself, is furthest ahead in implementation.

we are creating new opportunities



Critical Factors

SummaryThe project sought to demonstrate ways in which Colleges can become more directly involved in the accreditation process – “by the sector for the sector”.The project highlighted the complexities of the relationships and engagements between providers; accrediting bodies; and industry representation in achieving this. Replicability of the approach will therefore be contingent on the engagement of the relevant Colleges with specifi c industry expertise and collaboration with an existing accreditation body.

we’ve learned how to mix and match QCF


Culture & Climate

The restructuring of SSC responsibilities over the project period introduced delays, as they still had a signifi cant role in qualifi cations development over the initial period of the project

The role of external bodies needs to be understood and built into the planning process

High

Process Limited partner resource availability and consequent slippage

Decide very early on the resource requirements and plan more than one slot in advance

Medium

Externalities Industry regulation (e.g. SIA) Need for clear understanding over the nature of, and infl uences over, the industries that are targeted

High


The Partners

Effi ciency in Recruitment in Colleges (ERIC) National

Led by Plumpton College and delivered by FE Sussex (the consortium of Sussex Colleges), this project builds on a substantial history of collaboration between the Sussex based Colleges.



Areas of FocusThis project is focused on developing shared software that will enable participating Colleges to manage the recruitment of part-time or temporary teaching and support staff in accordance with their requirements, thereby removing their reliance on recruitment agencies to carry out this function.

RationalePresently any Colleges using agencies to recruit temporary teaching staff are required to pay for a minimum of half a day of time, regardless of the length of teaching requirement, which may often be for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Furthermore the agency retention fee for a member of staff required to teach for 1 hour can account for 77% of the fee paid. Consequently removing partner Colleges’ reliance on agencies can generate signifi cant savings for these organisations. The software developed through the project will also place the onus on potential temporary staff to drive their own calendar of availability which Colleges can then check against their needs, thereby reducing the administrative burden on partners. The direct sourcing of temporary staff by partner Colleges will also serve to ensure the quality of teaching as will require staff to comply with the Quality Assurance arrangements of any particular College, something which is not guaranteed through agency based recruitment.

[ERIC] is about developing a more responsive and effi cient system with reduced costs

a focused project with a single objective



VisionThe project’s vision can be summarised as:

using new technology to transform part-time recruitment practice...providing sustained effi ciency savings and value for money improvement by removing all fees paid to agency staffi ng organisations.

Once established partners plan to roll out the system nationally by offering it to Colleges from across the FE sector.

ObjectivesKey project objectives can be summarised as:

• Removing the use of expensive external specialist agencies to supply part-time staff;

• Establish a responsive solution for the recruitment of part-time staff;

• Reduced expenditure, administration time and procedures.

ActivitiesThe project has been designed as a 2 phase process involving the following stages before full implementation:

1. System scoping and design – establishing partners requirements; agreeing and establishing system requirements, content, parameters and processes; designing screen formats; and reviewing and refi ning all of the above in collaboration.

2. System Pilot – piloting the system with four partner Colleges over 1 year to ensure that it is entirely fi t for purpose before roll out across Sussex and the wider FE sector and beyond in the academic year 2012-2013.

Shared Services ModelThe current proposed model is that of a not for profi t company limited by guarantee.



SavingsThe ERIC National Feasibility Report outlines the following projected annual cost savings for the four pilot Colleges.

College Annual post-project savings

A £ 31,936

B £ 49,871

C £ 12,500

D £ 50,601

Total savings £ 144,959

The baseline for calculating the projected savings is the additional cost of using recruitment agencies in the year 2010/11, compared to direct recruitment by the participating Colleges through the use of ERIC in 2012/13. Therefore if the shared service costs remain below this benchmark, they have the potential to generate year on year savings.It should be noted that the distribution of projected savings differs signifi cantly between partners depending on their use of temporary staff.

Outcomes and the FutureAll partners are committed to the project and intend to implement the system following its piloting and refi nement. ERIC has clear potential to drive improvement while reducing costs and enabling the development of a pool of part-time staff ready for deployment within any locality or sub-region in which Colleges sign up to the service. Once fi nalised the system will be able to be rolled out nationally across the FE sector and possibly beyond, and project leads are developing plans to drive this process.

[ERIC] is specifi cally geared to enable sector wide replication and implementation



there is interest in the approach from beyond the [FE] sector


• The nature of the shared service being developed – is non-threatening to any partners or their staff and as such cultural and personal barriers have been considerably less of an issue than in other shared service projects;

• Strategic commitment and regular engagement of Principals and staff – this has ensured that the project has been focused, driven and remained on target;

• Additionality of FE Effi ciency Innovation Fund – has provided additional resources and capacity to enable partners to build on their existing collaborative activity and take this project forward to drive effi ciencies and roll out the project nationally;

• History of collaboration – as a result of the long term relationship between partners there is a strong culture of trust and a degree of consensus in terms of the direction of travel for the institutions involved;

• Existing collaborative infrastructure – the presence of FE Sussex provided an existing collaborative organisation with a track record of collectively working with and on behalf of partner Colleges.

funding has been crucial to the project...enabled us to extend the scope of the project beyond the local

the project has had to deal with a lot less issues than other shared service projects...challenges have largely focused on design practicalities rather than other issues



Critical Factors

SummaryAn innovative project that clearly has the potential to be rolled out across the FE sector and beyond, thereby changing the practice and costs associated with recruiting temporary and part-time staff. This project illustrates the importance of both a history of collaboration and an existing collaborative infrastructure in identifying and driving shared service opportunities. This is a project that poses no perceived threat to organisational independence or sovereignty and as such it has encountered less personal and cultural challenges and barriers to implementation.

all partners have expressed their intention to implement [ERIC] fully

Critical Factors


Culture & Climate

Strategic commitment

Establish partner buy-in well in advance to enable cultural embedding of cooperation and commitment to the project

Medium/High

Process Timescales Developing the system and ensuring that it is entirely fi t for purpose for all partners is a time intensive process. Suffi cient time and feedback processes must be incorporated within the process

Medium

Systems specifi cation

It is essential that a clear system specifi cation is agreed before commissioning software as post-design modifi cations are costly

High

Intellectual property

Intellectual property ownership cannot be taken for granted and must be written into procurement documentation and contracts

High

Externalities Legal Costs Considerable legal advice is required when developing any new shared service or system. Where possible this advice should be shared across the sector

Medium/High


The Partners

BUSYNESS – Building a South Yorkshire Network to Enable Shared Services

Partners involved in this project have a common history with South Yorkshire Colleges having collaborated together for over 15 years. Through such collaboration partners share regional bandwidth through a common ICT network (the Yorkshire and Humber Metropolitan Area Network) which this project is seeking to utilise.



Areas of FocusThis project is focused on ICT to support business continuity and disaster recovery. BUSYNESS aims to develop the fi rst Further Education led private cloud capable of delivering disaster recovery and business continuity services across a number of Colleges.

RationaleThe project builds and extends the scope of on an existing project which had secured funding from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service to explore the potential for a consolidated disaster recovery service across South Yorkshire Colleges involved in this partnership. Overall the project seeks to ensure that partners have disaster recovery and back up services that are entirely fi t for purpose and to reduce the fi nancial investment required to develop and maintain these services through collaboration. By sharing cloud storage, licences and skills sets, maintenance and support it is anticipated that the approach will signifi cantly reduce the costs for each member institution. Partners feel they are particularly well placed to develop the fi rst approach of this kind within FE due to the prior existence of an existing shared infrastructure through the shared Metropolitan Area Network. The Network has been operational for over 10 years and network managers and each partner College have collaboratively developed its capabilities and resilience over this period. This is an emerging technology, which partners see as a crucial step which could ultimately facilitate greater sharing of services, should partners wish to proceed further with this agenda.

The project will enable data to be expediently stored and available for retrieval anywhere within South Yorkshire

[the project] represents a cost saving for the sector and creates a collaborative approach which institutions both large and small can benefi t from



VisionPartners identify the project vision as:

“ Creating the fi rst Further Education private cloud delivering shared disaster recovery and business continuity services. Through building knowledge and experience, there will be signifi cant benefi ts for large and small Colleges having equality of access to disaster recovery services, and will act as a unique exemplar to other institutions in the collaborative use of cloud services. It will provide a transferable footprint that AoC and partners can showcase to all Colleges and educational institutions beyond the life of the project... [it will] enable data to be expediently stored and available for retrieval anywhere within South Yorkshire, crucially paving the way for future innovations in location independent learning and shared education initiatives using cloud computing”.

ObjectivesKey project objectives, include:

• the design and re-engineering of existing practices;

• the creation of transferable skill sets at strategic and operational levels;

• less overall power requirements across partners Colleges, contributing to sustainability targets;

• lower cost for disaster recovery and business continuity services will be reduced;

• improved disaster recovery and business continuity services for smaller Colleges;

• enabling data to be available for retrieval anywhere within South Yorkshire.

ActivitiesPartners initially sought to build on existing collaborative agreements and previous discussions driven through joint working on the Metropolitan Area Network, by jointly exploring and identifying how software licences and hardware can be jointly procured across several organisations and the likely barriers they would encounter. Following this process partners undertook a detailed information gathering and process mapping exercise which identifi ed each College’s existing approaches to disaster recovery and business continuity. Partners then mapped these approaches against their requirements of the new system before holding initial discussions with market leading suppliers in the fi eld of cloud computing and disaster recovery services in order to facilitate honest open and transparent discussions on the possibilities of developing the desired service and the likely cost implications. Following these discussions partners undertook a procurement exercise to purchase the necessary hardware and this is now in place with connectivity established between two Colleges. Partners hope to begin piloting the system in February and March 2012. This process is summarised in the diagram on the next page.



Shared Services ModelPartners have not yet fi nalised the shared services model having decided to focus on ensuring the system is fully functioning in practice before dealing with formally clarifying issues of ownership.

SavingsThe project has already generated £5,000 of savings through the joint purchasing of the necessary hardware.Partners hope to achieve 20% savings on disaster recovery and business continuity spend in year one following the full implementation of the service, with the ability to release additional savings in year two onwards by utilising the private cloud to provide additional services. Partners need to pilot the system and undertake further cost analysis work before more detailed cost savings can be developed.

Outcomes and the FutureThe initial system is in place between two Colleges and the next step will be to prove it works in practice and to refi ne the system to ensure that it is entirely fi t for purpose. To that end the project will continue to test the transfer of data between two institutions and the ability to restore data.

At present partners face a particular challenge in partitioning each instructions data while simultaneously allowing the full connectivity which is necessary. However, partners are aiming to have this issue resolved and the service fully piloted and ready for full operational by the end of June 2012. At present another of the partner Colleges already has the necessary infrastructure in place to join the service once it goes live, whereas the remaining fi ve partners would be required to purchase the necessary hardware. Partners also have ambitions to roll out the service more widely in the future.

The project seeks to resolve the well recognised institutional problem of disaster recovery and backup services without increasing the required fi nancial investment

At present partners face a particular

Piloting the System

Initial exploration

of issues and

barriers

Information gathering

and process mapping

Requirements scoping

Supplier discussions

Cost benefi t

analysisPiloting the Procurement



The project builds on existing collaborative agreements and identifi es how shared procurement of licences and hardware across multiple organisations can be addressed


• History of collaboration – as a result of the long term relationship between partners there is a strong culture of trust and a degree of consensus in terms of the direction of travel for the institutions involved. Partners also have specifi c experience of working together around shared ICT solutions;

• Existing collaborative infrastructure – the presence of the Metropolitan Area Network means that partners have an existing shared infrastructure on which the project can build;

• Evolution of the project – this project sought to build on a pre-existing direction of travel for collaboration between the partners involved. As a consequence partners had already taken those important fi rst steps in their shared services journey before securing AoC funding.

there is a history of collaboration in developing systems for the partnership

The project builds on existing collaborative agreements and identifi es how shared procurement of licences and hardware across multiple organisations can be addressed

partners trust each other, that’s very important



Critical Factors

SummaryThis project highlights the benefi t of a collaborative history and infrastructure to developing a shared services solution among Colleges. By developing through a process of evolution projects such as this, minimise the challenges posed by cultural issues and a lack of trust between partners. BUSYNESS has already resulted in some quantifi able small scale savings as a result of shared purchasing and there is scope for further savings and collaborative

activity should the system be fully implemented following its piloting in early 2012.

“ the project is an evolution of this partnership... a natural step to realise the potential of the collaborative network we established some years ago”

Critical Factors


Process Timescales Procuring the necessary hardware and software, developing the system and ensuring that it is entirely fi t for purpose for all partners is a time intensive process. Suffi cient time and feedback processes must be incorporated within the process from the outset and partners should ensure that suffi cient time is allocated to potential purchases which require procurement via tendering processes

Medium/High

Alignment of software

Partner Colleges possess different software and hardware resulting in compatibility challenges. As a consequence an agnostic solution has been introduced to cope with these differing systems

Medium/High

Technical issues with the service

Ensuring that each partner’s data is portioned and inaccessible to others while allowing full connectivity has proved problematic. Partners will continue to refi ne the system to overcome this challenge

High

Staff skills Some staff have lacked the skills required to install or confi gure new or existing hardware or software, resulting in the need to external support and staff training. A review of skill sets should be carried out before undertaking such a project in order to identify any potential skills gaps

Medium

Partner commitment

The project has experienced differing levels of partner participation throughout. The establishment of a memorandum of understanding committing resources up front would have been benefi cial to avoiding this issue

High

Strategic commitment

The project has been driven by IT Managers, who are subsequently dependent on Principal buy-in before they can fully commit to the solutions they have played a role in developing. This can present a challenge, and ongoing communication is essential to ensuring this does not adversely affect the project

Medium

Externalities Timescales The time of year and timescales involved in such a project need to be carefully considered to ensure partners have the capacity to participate. The project has adopted a fl exible approach and have utilised numerous means of communicating with key stakeholders in order to address this challenge

Medium/High


The Partners

Federation of Essex Colleges (FEDEC) Shared Services



Area of FocusThe project was broad-ranging, exploring the feasibility of shared service options across a range of activities for FEDEC members. While FEDEC has 12 members, the initial focus for the work was to be on three Colleges, South Essex, Colchester Institute and Writtle. Writtle subsequently scaled down their involvement, although Chelmsford has become more actively involved.The initial priorities were the functional areas of Finance and Payroll, Marketing, Human Resources and Procurement. Information and Communications Technology systems were included on the basis of their capacity and potential to support development of these areas through shared services.

RationaleThe project is designed to assess the optimal model for providing Shared Services to FEDEC, with the potential to offer these services to a broader market once it has been successfully established.

“ The extension of shared services … will be achieved best through approaches which are concurrently systematic, fl exible and visionary”

VisionThe Project identifi ed its broad aim as being to “assess the optimal model for providing shared services to FEDEC”.Full provision of a shared services function is intended to come after a sequence of activities, as Colleges move from exploration of feasibility to implementation, the conversion of business plans into models and processes.

ObjectiveThe objectives for the Project were:

• To widen participation in shared services to a broader market, with the intention of moving beyond education providers and involving the NOVA Partnership (a training provider partnership that includes South Essex College); and

• To achieve signifi cant savings within a three year horizon, estimated by the project manager to be of the order of 30% on backroom services.

The opportunity of developing collaboration which produces excellence and a distinctive pattern of operation and provision, with high value-added and reputation.



ActivitiesFEDEC members identifi ed the following functions as having the potential to be shared as Phase 1 of the project:

• Procurement; • Marketing;• Human Resources; and • Finance.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) was added at a later stage, although investigation concluded that there was not a business case for including this strand, although ICT is an important component of the other strands.Consultants were assigned to each of these areas, with the exception of Procurement, in order to determine the scope for sharing of services as well as the extent of re-engineering of business processes required to make sharing possible. Marketing and procurement were reviewed by South Essex College and Colchester Institute.The Project has been managed on behalf of the Colleges and FEDEC’s Shared Services Working Group by an external consultancy, who in turn engaged the consultants undertaking the feasibility studies. Partners initially narrowed the project’s Phase 1 focus to involve only three Colleges (South Essex College, Colchester Institute and Writtle College), which was subsequently reduced to two with Writtle’s withdrawal from active participation, although Chelmsford later participated more actively in the procurement strand. In addition, Colchester Institute limited its participation in the Human Resources and Marketing strands.The current position on the active strands is therefore:

• Procurement - Includes Colchester, South Essex

& Chelmsford; - Signifi cant savings have already

been made; - A Partnership Agreement has been

established with a Procurement Manager working across the three Colleges;

- There is some interest to actively participate in this agreement from other Colleges.

• Marketing - South Essex have reviewed marketing

and now the proposal is that similar work be undertaken with other FEDEC Colleges, with the intention of developing a group wide implementation strategy. It is an active area of investigation and currently at feasibility stage only at present.

• Human Resources - South Essex has undertaken

initial work; - Systems are being reviewed across

FEDEC and other Colleges in the group - Findings have been presented to wider

FEDEC group, with shared licensing of systems investigated.

• Finance - South Essex and Colchester Institute

leading on collaborative working, with interest from Chelmsford;

- Reviewing systems; - Feasibility Plan completed; - Recommended system involving

shared specialist staff to be set up for early 2012.

Health and Safety issues are now being considered as a new strand of activity to be explored.



ModelThe Project reviewed a number of approaches, comprising:

• a corporate, stand alone central body purchasing services and leasing or selling these to participating Colleges;

• an inter-College approach, involving shared specialist staff. Although a shared set of activities, this would possibly require one College to act as the lead body;

• informal joint initiatives, for activities which were neither constant nor recurring.For some partners the ultimate goal is a Shared Services Consortium within FEDEC, where participating Colleges are the shareholders and share cost, however, there remains some distance to travel.

SavingsThe project has achieved signifi cant savings in South Essex College and Colchester Institute, at an early stage:

• Procurement - Savings were achieved immediately

through being able to reduce staff costs by £40,000;

- Other savings through joint procurement activities between most notably on energy costs, have already saved £242,000, with an additional £495,000 anticipated over the next year, primarily from print hardware, waste management, and communications; and

• Human Resources - Software solutions for Managed

Recruitment are anticipated to achieve £50,000 savings over the coming year.

More extensive savings are anticipated as other Colleges participate in the procurement vehicle.

…the approach to shared services can begin to emphasise the potential for revenue generation, as has happened signifi cantly in other areas of the UK

Outcomes and the Future“ The success of shared services change management will be measured by the following outcomes: Disruption to the organisation… is kept to a minimum; People… are guided through the change to the shared services organisation; and The right kind of leadership (is) established”

The priorities for Phase Two depend on a set of decisions being made by FEDEC over development of the project. The priorities include:

• Developing the Procurement strand; • Developing business cases across the

other strands of activity; • Widening participation in the fi rst

round of shared service areas; • Identifying new areas for Feasibility

Studies; • Development of a vision for FEDEC

which emphasises shared services but is also a message about excellence, branding and the future potential to create an “Essex System”; and

• Incorporating new intelligence and legal opinion about VAT Liability and the characteristics and advantages of Constitutional and Corporate Models.



EnablersThe key enablers for the project have been:

• A pre-existing federation that provided a basis for joint working;

• The involvement of external assistance in project management and in undertaking feasibility studies, in order to provide momentum to the project;

• Active leadership by a small number of Colleges who have taken clear and unambiguous ownership over developing strands, notably in procurement;

• The implementation of a systematic approach, based on an initial assessment of current practice and the capturing of measurable outcomes in terms of cost and savings; and

• A fl exible approach that has allowed for differing levels of participation across FEDEC’s membership, so that those most committed to development can actively take interventions forward, demonstrating the potential gains to be achieved.

Flexibility (is) demonstrated through having different modes of engagement for Colleges: allowing Colleges to feel comfortable with rather than constrained by participation



Critical Factors

SummaryThe project set itself an ambitious set of objectives across a wide range of partners and activity areas. The implementation of project activity is therefore incremental, as one would expect in a project of this scale. The initial successes, notably in procurement, have been achieved where a small number of Colleges have worked closely together in an area of shared interest. This collaborative working can demonstrate benefi ts to a wider stakeholder audience, and ultimately increase participation and savings.

…a shared service should not be rolled out with a ‘big bang’ approach, where the entire scope is implemented at once, but rather is divided up into different phases with different capabilities and functions implemented at each phase



The time to get the concept of sharing across and bringing Colleges together. Also needs to acknowledge the scheduling of Governors’ meetings

Establish pilot and working groups well in advance of project to enable cultural embedding of cooperation. Plan project meetings to include Governors

Medium/High

The withdrawal of some Colleges from participation creates imbalance and temporary loss of momentum

Attempt to build in systems that encourage continuing participation of stakeholders even if this is at a lower level than originally anticipated

Medium

Culture & Climate

Across the external consultants there were issues of access to key College staff and also of awareness by staff of the project aims.

Ensure that an effective communications plan is embedded within the project, so that stakeholders at all levels are aware of its processes and aims

High

Process Time slippage When writing the project plan there is a need to allow for catch-up time even if this appears to be against the ethos of a smooth and effi ciently delivered project

High


The Partners

Shire Shared Services

While leaders from each of the Colleges regularly network there is a limited background of collaborative working across all partner organisations.



Areas of FocusThe project is focused on the following three areas:

• The Virtual learning environment (VLE);• Continuous professional development (CPD);• Procurement of goods and services.

the areas chosen are relatively easy to share

partners had different views on what was interesting for them

RationaleIn order to drive improvement, respond to budget pressures and protect as many front-line services as possible the Shire Shared Services project sought to enable partners to build on their linkages and explore the potential for partners to move towards greater collaboration and the sharing of back offi ce functions and expertise.

VisionThe creation of a membership organisation that promotes openness, co-operation and sharing of costs and expertise between member Colleges, and allows them to deliver services at a lower cost than would have been possible by them working independently. By bringing partner Colleges closer together, it is hoped that Shire Shared Services will become a champion for the values and benefi ts of further education across Worcester and Herefordshire.

a gradual exploration of the integration of services in a phased manner, allowing members to move on as confi dence in the sharing of expertise and of services is increased



driving improvement was the main thrust of the project

ObjectivesPartners have identifi ed the following anticipated benefi ts for partner institutions:

• A membership organisation within which to realise the effi ciency gains inherent in sharing services;

• A shared vision and business case to guide future activities;

• Reduced expenditure in each of the areas of focus;

• Reduced ‘time to market’ for VLE developments.

• Sharing and development of best practice in the areas of focus.

it’s about sharing costs and expertise

ActivitiesSubstantial discussions have been held regarding the nature of the services to be shared. Some partners are reluctant to move towards a fully formal shared services model. Therefore an incremental approach has been adopted through which partners will initially adopt an informal approach with sharing activities initially focused on less threatening CPD, VLE and the procurement of some goods and services. Attitudes, barriers and opportunities for collaboration and cost savings through shared CDP and VLE have been explored with all partners. Implementation activity is now being taken forward within these two workstreams. Scoping activity is still being undertaken within the procurement workstream, with activity focusing on determining savings that could be generated through shared IT purchasing and other high value areas of expenditure.

ModelPartners have agreed a more informal approach based on trust with VLE and CPD services to be delivered and exchanged between partners onan in-kind basis. It is hoped that the adoption of such a fl exible approach will represent an important fi rst step in the implementation of a long term shared services journey among partners.



keen to develop a structure that partners are able to dip in and out of at will rather than a more formal process or structure

SavingsThe Business Case for the project highlights the following potential cost savings to July 2014:

• £60,000 saved per annum through joint purchasing;

• £20,000 saved per annum through joint development of VLEs;

• £15,000 saved per annum through reduced duplication of CPD.

not just about the money...being able to trade skills will be very valuable to our College

Outcomes and the FutureThe proposed approach has been designed to enable partners to build on current informal partnership arrangements by initially moving towards a slightly more formal ‘membership’ structure, through which they will be able to trial the sharing of services in the three areas described above. It is anticipated that this approach will build mutual confi dence in collaborative working and the sharing of services which in turn may lead to the gradual integration of services in a phased manner.

process has caused us to refl ect on our strategic approach moving forward

In terms of implementation partners are sharing 30 VLE courses from January 2012 and three major shared CPD events are being run between January 2012 and July 2012. While partners are clearly committed to the sharing of CPD and VLE activities, in particular, the future and extension of sharing to further functions and through more formal structures remains uncertain.

get on pretty well and working together eased the process




• Additionality of FE Effi ciency Innovation Fund – the provision of funding to enable partners to “dip their toe in the water” and explore the shared services agenda.

• Flexible approach – the adoption of a fl exible, pragmatic and incremental approach to sharing that has ensured that partners concerned about sharing through formal federal structures remain engaged and committed to exploring the potential of shared services.

• External support – The utilisation of external support. In particular the use of an ex-Principal of one the Colleges who is independent of the partner organisations but has the “personal respect” of each Principal was identifi ed as particularly valuable.

• Existing relationships – The pre-existence of an informal discussion network of Principals of the participating College’s.

external expertise is essential to enable partners to more readily identify benefi ts and move from generalisations to practicalities



Critical Factors

SummaryThis project highlights the importance of lead times in building relationships and trust and the need for a fl exible and pragmatic approach where partners may share different priorities and desires. As a number of partners are presently reluctant to move towards a formal shared services model, this project and the shared services journey is being taken forward on an incremental basis with partners initially exploring shared services through more informal structures and processes.

hopefully it will wet the appetite for further sharing in the future



Lack of Governor involvement

It has been proposed that Governors should be provided with guidance on how to challenge and drive this agenda

High

Culture & Climate

Trust issues Some partners are nervous about the motivations of partners and the potential threat to their autonomy. Partners have sought to build trust and have adopted an incremental approach to sharing to address this

Process Time commitment

Smaller Colleges in particular have capacity issues. Utilising external consultants has been one way the group has sought to address this

High

Number of partners involved

It has been suggested that starting a shared services journey should involve less partners

Medium/ High

Externalities Sector Climate Some partners may be more focused on addressing funding cuts through other means. Need to ensure that the benefi ts and potential of this approach are communicated effectively

High


The Partners

Wessex Colleges Federation

These Colleges cover a relatively wide geographical area and while the Colleges involved in this partnership do not have a shared history of collaboration there are previous linkages which the project has sought to build on, with Principals from three of the Colleges having previously worked together.



Areas of FocusThe project has focused on a wide range of activities. This has included exploring and testing contractually based federation models for services across the following fi ve workstreams:

• New income streams – including exploring the development of a single partnership approach to marketing, Higher Education provision; international students and engaging the top twenty commercial organisations in the region;

• Learner facing activity – including exploring opportunities for cost and effi ciency improvements through shared assessment, examinations, travel and transport, libraries and teacher deployment;

• Non-learner facing (back offi ce) activity – including HR, payroll and fi nance, MIS, IT support, training, health & safety, catering, registration and legal;

• Employability – increasing the employability of students; and

• Standards – raising standards of teaching and learning across the region.

RationaleThe Wessex Colleges Federation project seeks to enhance the resilience of all partner Colleges by exploring a multifaceted approach to shared services which simultaneously seeks to drive growth and open up new opportunities while reducing ineffi ciencies and driving improvement in existing services. Therefore, while decreasing resources is a context common to all Colleges, the need to realise effi ciencies through reduced costs is only one of the drivers of activity being taken forward within this project, with partners seeking to explore the potential for growth and development through the greater critical mass that sharing offers.

VisionThe project Business Case outlines the following target end state for the Wessex Federation project:

• shared and coordinated strategic thinking and innovation across the Colleges;

• shared or jointly outsourced support services potentially saving up to £1M a year;

[the project is about] Shared and coordinated strategic thinking and innovation across the Wessex Colleges



• a regional centre of excellence for embedding the very highest standards of teaching and learning whilst driving out all forms of ‘satisfactory’;

• Highly effective and cross College use of emerging learning technologies;

• Development of ‘world class’ student employability based on comprehensive and insightful ‘destination’ data;

• New and sustainable Wessex-wide income streams from international students, higher education and the targeting of the largest employers across the region;

• Joining up vital learner facing areas to achieve major quality and capacity improvements and in other cases realising major savings; and

• Maximum use of self serve and customer enabling to reduce or avoid unnecessary activity.

ObjectivesThe ultimate objectives of this project are to develop:

• High quality and employable students;• New income and savings;• Energised staff who feel secure and

excited about the future;• Senior staff who recognise the benefi ts

of mutual support, knowledge transfer and innovation;

• A national and international reputation for high standards and innovation; and

• Employers know they get a world class offer that helps them build business profi tability.

ActivitiesThe project has incorporated the following core activities:

• Exploratory meetings within each of the fi ve partner Colleges, which involved discussing and agreeing partner expectations and vision for the future, core objectives and the scope of the project;

• Functions and process mapping activity focused on mapping and analysing current approaches, processes and resources for each of the fi ve key areas of focus described above;

• Planning and “mobilisation” workshops to analyse evidence, discuss and identify options and agree the way forward; and

• Development of a business case and prioritised actions and opportunities.

Following agreement of the Outline Business Case partners are currently establishing a series of workstream blueprints which will outline the way forward and are expected to be completed by February 2012.

Shared Services ModelsGiven the wide scope of services and activities being considered for sharing within this project a single federal structure between the fi ve partners is likely to be too rigid an approach. Consequently, partners require and are seeking to take forward a more agile and fl exible federation which involves a range of shared services models which have been tailored specifi cally to the requirements of partners for each service or activity. Such an approach will enable partners to opt into sharing the services and functions that they feel are most appropriate for their own circumstances.



While shared services models have been explored throughout the project these will not be agreed until discussions are held on the service blueprints that are currently being produced.However, while the models to be utilised across the partnership are yet to be agreed two of the partner Colleges are in the process of moving towards a statutory soft federation through which they will share their management team but retain their separate governing bodies. Partners suggest that this has occurred as a result of discussions held and relationships developed through this project.

The ultimate solution will involve a range of elements of federation tailored to the specifi c requirements of each challenge

SavingsAs described in the “activities” section above, partners still have to fi nalise the detail of the specifi c activities to be taken forward and shared services solutions to be implemented. Therefore full savings projections have not yet been calculated. However, project partners have provided the following projections:

• Savings to date – £260,000;• Total savings due by end of 2011/12

– £550,000; and• Additional savings by the end of 2012/12

– £1,024,000.

It should be noted that a number of the cost savings are based on a uniform 10% saving on the total current cost of activities/services rather than specifi c detailed fi nancial modelling which partners will undertake in the future.

Outcomes and the Future Partners have identifi ed a series of long term, medium term and immediate activities to take forward the shared services agenda. At present some immediate activities focusing on the exchange of best practice and sharing smaller scale contracts are being taken forward around HR, procurement and exams. In addition partners are also currently facilitating the sharing of the expertise of their advanced practitioners in order to drive improvement in provision with activity also ongoing around the coordination of employer engagement activities and employability skills. However, detailed planning and development activity is still ongoing around more complex medium and longer term activities. Therefore the full scope of the outcomes from this project is still to be determined.

activities around quality improvement, sharing best practice, employer engagement and HE are moving on at pace




• Strategic level buy-in – Principals have played an important role driving this project with partners suggesting that their initial buy-in and ongoing commitment has been a key enabler to the project’s development;

• Geographic spread of partners – the fact that the Colleges are relatively geographically spread means there is less direct competition between the Colleges in this partnership than can be present among Colleges in closer proximity. This has enabled partners to develop a culture of trust more rapidly than may have otherwise been the case;

• Professional linkages – three of the Principals have experience of working together in the same institution and this eases some of the personal challenges that can often negatively affect shared services projects;

• Additionality of FE Effi ciency Innovation Fund – partners see the Fund as a real catalyst behind the project, giving them the resources and a framework in which to explore sharing a range of services. Consequently partners suggest that it is unlikely that such activity have happened otherwise due to the lack of any historical collaboration between the partners. This funding enabled the project to be driven by a dedicated resource through a paid external consultant which gave the additional capacity and focused resource that is essential to ensuring any project maintains its momentum.

we have had full buy-in and commitment from all Principals upfront

the geographical spread of partners means that competition is less of an issue than it would be elsewhere

AoC funding was the catalyst for the project...it wouldn’t have happened otherwise...it gave us the capacity to do it

we are trying to be very ambitious but challenges come with that


The Shared Services TeamAssociation of CollegesEmail: [email protected] ‘Shared Services’ under ‘Policy and Advice’ at www.aoc.co.uk/en/policy-and-advice/shared-services

For further information: i


Critical Factors

SummaryThis project highlights the importance of a dedicated resource to drive the project and upfront commitment from the leaders of partner Colleges. It also highlights the fact that working with Colleges across a wider geography can prove benefi cial to exploring and developing shared services as this can minimise the barriers and challenges caused by competition and subsequent issues of trust. The Innovation Fund intervention has acted as an important catalyst for the project and has facilitated the development and strengthening relationships between participants, resulting in some spin-off collaborative activity that is being taken forward by

partners separate to the overall group. The development of a soft federation between two of the partner Colleges is the clearest example of this.

Critical FactorsFactor Barrier Solution Importance

Culture & Climate

Differing levels of priority

Each College has their own individual priorities in terms of the service areas they are looking to share as well as the important that they place on developing shared services. For example, some partners have recently generated signifi cant back offi ce savings and as such the need to drive this agenda is not as pressing as for those that have not already done this. As a consequence the project has provided partners with the fl exibility to opt-in or out of activity around different service areas

High

Process Timescales and time commitments

Undertaking such a feasibility study and developing plans for activity moving forward is an incredibly time consuming and complex process which requires considerable commitment and dedicated resources. Consequently partners needed an independent dedicated resource to drive the project and a fl exible approach

High

Scope of the project

The wide scope of the project added signifi cantly to the workload and resource required to take the project forward. Consequently the scope of activity has been refi ned throughout the project

Medium/High

Externalities Partner Commitments

Partners are tied into existing contracts which prevent them from taking forward the optimal shared services solution. Partners have had to be fl exible in their approach by refi ning the scope of the project and providing opportunities to opt in or out of planned activity

Medium


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Tel: 020 7034 9900Fax: 020 7034 9950

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Association of Colleges2-5 Stedham PlaceLondonWC1A 1HUTelephone: 020 7034 9900Facsimile: 020 7034 9950Email: [email protected]

Or visit our web sitewww.aoc.co.uk/en/policy-and-advice/shared-services

Designed by Bentley Hollandwww.bentleyholland.co.uk

With thanks to all project partners who contributed to the development of these case studies and Lesley Templeman Project Manager – Shared Services Efficiency Projects at the AoC.
