National Audit Office launches tool to help public sector manage consultants :: PublicTechnology.net :: e-Government & public sector IT news + job vacancies:

Public bodies will be able to achieve greater value for money from their use of consultants, as the National Audit Office recently launched an online assessment tool.

Both Sir Gus O’Donnell and the Public Accounts Committee have said that improving the way that public bodies use consultants is a top priority. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Public Accounts Committee said earlier this month that over £500 million in efficiency gains are possible across the public sector.

The NAO’s toolkit is based on the approach it used in its December 2006 report. Assessors answer a series of questions about the use of consultants in an online form. The interactive toolkit then responds with an analysis of areas of weakness, provides guidance on how to improve value for money and illustrates what good practice can look like through case studies.

Keith Davis, Head of Efficiency Practice at the NAO, said:
"Consultants can provide valuable expertise to government. But too often departments rush into using consultants before thinking properly about whether resources are available in-house. This toolkit can help all public bodies improve their use of consultants and help realise the £500 million of efficiency gains that are achievable in central government alone."

The toolkit is aimed at procurement or commercial teams, customers/buyers of consultancy, or audit staff. It can be applied to the use of consultants department-wide, or at a project-level and is designed to diagnose areas of weakness and raise awareness of where improvements can be made.

Related links to this article:
National Audit Office
The toolkit is at this link

Enter the 2007 e-Government National Awards
If you're proud of your organisation's web & e-Government services, its ICT project success, the make sure you are nominated, for free, in the e-Government National Awards 2007. Nominations run from 2nd July to 5th October, in 11 categories recognising this year's "best of the best strategies, achievements, teams and individuals in UK e-Government.

Platinum sponsor is KPMG, and also a sponsor is O2.

The Awards are supported by the Government Chief Information Officer (Cabinet Office), the Office of Government Commerce, the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm), and SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers).