3C ICT Shared Service Review

Cambridge City Council (CCC), Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC), and South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC), collectively known as the three partner councils, initiated the 3CT ICT Shared Services review.

This review was prompted by:

• the impending renewal deadline of the 3C ICT Shared Services Agreement,
• findings from independent reports commissioned by the partner councils,
• a consensus by the three partner councils that the 3C ICT service was unable to address all their digital and strategic requirements.

The three partner councils undertook a competitive procurement process to source an experienced consultancy organisation to undertake this review, and Triple Value Impact (TVI) was appointed.

Project Brief

The objectives for the review were to

• Provide a comprehensive assessment of the current ICT services and their performance.
• To understand each partner Council’s strategic requirements and develop options for the future delivery of ICT services. This included evaluating potential partnerships, governance structures, and service delivery models.
• To achieve consensus and alignment by the three partner councils on the preferred option for delivering ICT services.
• To develop the transition and implementation plan to achieve the agreed option.

Our Approach

The TVI review approach sourced information and views from a broad and comprehensive range of sources, including the following.

• ICT User Satisfaction Survey: A survey was conducted across all three partner Councils to assess user experience and satisfaction with the ICT services.
• ICT Member Satisfaction Survey: A targeted survey to capture council members’ views and satisfaction levels with the ICT services.
• ICT Staff Satisfaction Survey: A survey designed to evaluate the perceptions, feedback, and satisfaction of ICT staff within the organisation.
• Interviews and Workshops with the 3C ICT Service Team: Engaging directly with the ICT service team through interviews and collaborative workshops to gain a deeper understanding of operations, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
• Interviews and workshops with stakeholders: Discussions and workshops were held with a diverse and representative group of stakeholders from all three councils, ensuring that the review considered perspectives from all council service areas.
• Technology Review: A detailed assessment of the current technology landscape, including infrastructure, systems, and tools, to identify strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement.

TVI held weekly meetings with senior sponsors within each council and the 3C ICT service to iteratively and collaboratively validate findings and direction and to ensure alignment.  

TVI ensured that we understood each council’s context and strategic priorities and then developed potential future delivery options and direction based on these priorities and the review’s findings. All options were considered, including pros and cons, financial impact, short and long-term strategic alignment, and ability to deliver council objectives. These options were then narrowed down with senior officer and member guidance.

The review enabled senior officers in each council to openly discuss their perceptions, expectations, and causes of dissatisfaction. Where differing views were held and where compromises needed to be achieved in the shared delivery model, these were worked through. The support and direction from senior stakeholders throughout the process were exemplary and provided a strong basis for developing and progressing the shared service.

Contraints

• Digital leadership capabilities. The three partner councils are developing their Digital Strategies and delivery roadmaps. They need additional digital capability and capacity to lead and deliver these requirements and understand commonalities (where the three councils align) or differences between these strategies. The 3C ICT service had very limited digital leadership capability to support this.
• Digital transformation capabilities. The current 3C ICT service had minimal “Digital” capability, with the existing “Digital Team” capability mainly focused on web platform management and development.
• Limited shared digital initiatives. The potential shared opportunities for the three partner councils to collaborate on Digital initiatives were not being realised as the current ICT service is primarily resourced to only deliver an operational ICT service, with a relatively small capacity to support the delivery of the three councils’ digital projects. Projects tended to be progressed on a tactical per council basis rather than looking holistically across the partnership at opportunities for joint working.
• Cost recharging transparency and maturity. The 3C ICT service recharging model was insufficiently developed and updated over the agreement’s term, resulting in cost recharging inequalities and a loss of confidence in the transparency and management of this process.
• Governance. The governance model needed to be reset to give all partners a say in how the service is run and ensure that the 3C ICT service meets council requirements.

Opportunities

• Senior leadership alignment. The review enabled senior officer and member input, guidance, alignment and buy-in across the three Councils. This alignment is an essential component in the success of any shared service model.
• Collaboration opportunities. The three partner Councils have a significant opportunity to collaborate on digital initiatives, whether this is sharing investment costs, programme costs, or resources.
• Effective technology foundations. The shared infrastructure is generally well-managed and current, with little technology debt. Good progress has been made on the “buy once, use three times” approach to shared infrastructure, which provides a cost-effective foundation for digital transformation and shared initiatives.
• Good operational service. The operational service is generally reliable and offers reasonable customer service. There are some areas for improvement, but the service is generally fit for purpose and provides a good foundation for building on and developing 3C ICT’s role within the partner Councils.

Outcome & Benefits

The recommended approach evolves the current 3C ICT service into a “3C Digital” service, which includes increased digital capability and leadership and the effective delivery of the current operational ICT service.

The new 3C Digital model provides a strategic approach to digital transformation across the three partner councils. It will leverage the existing 3C ICT service as a foundation to deliver efficient, reliable, and secure IT solutions while also expanding its scope and capacity to enable innovation, collaboration, and digital leadership.

The revised operating model addresses feedback and requirements from the three partner councils, including a revised governance model, a new CDIO role, and investment in digital capabilities. A transition plan to the new operating model has been developed, which includes success criteria and milestones that will be tracked in the revised governance model.

Members and cabinet governance in all three partner councils have agreed to the recommended option, and the transition plan to the revised model is currently being implemented.

Implementing the recommended option for the three partner councils will yield several significant benefits.

• Improved ICT and digital initiatives alignment across Cambridge City Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, and South Cambridgeshire District Council. This will foster a more cohesive and integrated approach to digital transformation, enabling the councils to achieve their strategic objectives more efficiently.
• Enhanced capacity and capability within the ICT and digital teams. Addressing the identified gaps will benefit the councils by improving service and project delivery. This will provide increased support for council users and managers.
• A more efficient and effective ICT service delivery model that meets the diverse needs of all three councils. This model would leverage shared resources and optimise service delivery processes, ultimately leading to better outcomes for the councils and their stakeholders.

Conclusion

Customer Quotes

“TVI worked really well across the partnership. Aligning the needs of three Councils was a significant challenge and their approach delivered exactly what we needed. They were able to recognise what we did well, what could be improved and the external perspective they offered was a useful additional voice when difficult and complex issues were being worked through.

Their approach to dealing with a wide range of stakeholders helped us move forward – whether that was in technical workshops with Officers, supporting senior leaders with strategy or working with elected Councillors they got the ‘pitch’ just right.”

John Taylor, Corporate Director (People). 
Huntingdonshire District Council

“It was a breath of fresh air working with TVI.  They were adaptable to their audiences, respectful of the three councils’ complex governance requirements, knowledgeable and insightful.  They moved at our pace and worked hard to ensure all partners felt involved and listened to.  I’d have no hesitation in appointing them again.”