Government Property Agency (GPA)
The Disconnect
Helping the Government Property Agency buy better
Meet Stephen Nelson. Head of IT Delivery at the Government Property Agency (GPA); set up in 2018 to change how property is managed, and how civil servants work.
The GPA’s goal was to establish consistency from one government building to the next, so that civil servants could effortlessly access systems and tech in any government building.
But, with limited capacity in the Digital, Data and Technology team, and no tech supplier or product contracts in place, Stephen and his team were spending too long running procurement exercises. They were struggling to implement more than a couple of projects per year.
With a large cross-governmental network of buildings to cater for, Stephen and his colleagues needed robust, scalable architecture and infrastructure. And they needed to mobilise quickly.
The Fix
When Stephen got in touch, we recognised an immediate opportunity to streamline and aggregate the procurement process and implement strategic contracts.
With access to a supplier network and our experience in government technology services, we knew we could deliver the people, processes and playbooks the GPA needed to accelerate.
“Swift Strategies understood our business objectives straight away.”
We started by reviewing the IT architecture, working with the GPA to change the procurement methodology and improve communications to encourage collaboration between teams.
We delivered a ‘benefits realisation’ paper to highlight the financial advantages of strategic contracts and then helped implement contracts for:
Internet Connectivity (Wide Area Network (WAN))
Shared network including Gov WiFi
Audio Visual design and implementation
Room booking system
Mobile telephony coverage
IT Service Management
We determined that the stability and availability of the WAN posed a significant risk, so working with the GPA commercial team, we agreed a ‘taxi-rank’ approach with contracts awarded to two separate companies.
In the event of a network issue or failure, there would already be another network provider in place.
We also recommended operation manuals for each IT service and product so that new Project Managers knew exactly what services they needed for a new building, as well as how and where to procure them.
Then, to streamline BAU, we helped the GPA understand their Project Management Office (PMO) capabilities and implement cost and contract tracking. When spend or user numbers reached a certain threshold, the Project Manager would be notified of a potential contract or tender renewal.
The Output
The GPA now has a robust set of contracts to support scalable delivery, with strong and strategic relationships. Which means they can respond quickly to urgent situations (like setting up emergency ministerial facilities following the death of the Queen) because they can draw upon existing contracts at a moment’s notice. Relationships with service providers are further strengthened by regular reviews which in turn, helps the GPA manage risks and plan for the future.
Detailed operation manuals help new Project Managers can hit the ground running, and robust processes ensure that BAU and ongoing building management is just as slick as the implementation of new projects. The GPA now has great supplier relationships with suppliers delivering, vastly improved speed to market and significant, demonstrable cost savings as a result.
Stephen and his team are now in a strong position to deliver the GPA’s cross-governmental buildings and occupancy strategy and to accelerate the improvement of even more government buildings.
The GPA were so happy with our delivery, they asked us to continue to provide services and act as a trusted advisor and delivery partner to their Data, IT architecture and Service Management teams. And when the GPA urgently needed additional capacity and capabilities to deliver, we can scale, and deliver, quickly.
Grappling with a complex IT infrastructure project? We can help you accelerate delivery.
Email us on info@swiftstrategies.co.uk or call us on 020 4576 0275.