| Case Study: Shropshire Council |
On the 1 April 2009 Shropshire County Council merged with Bridgnorth District Council, North Shropshire District Council, Oswestry Borough Council, Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council and South Shropshire District Council to form a single Unitary Authority, Shropshire Council, to deliver services for the whole county. The drive for Shropshire to become a Unitary Authority came from the October 2006 publication of the DCLG White Paper - Strong and Prosperous Communities - which contained an invitation to councils in shire areas to become all-purpose unitary authorities. Shropshire being a two tier county with five districts was an ideal candidate for reorganisation. The reorganisation aims to overcome council duplication and inefficiency, achieve stronger strategic leadership, empower neighbourhoods, improve services and provide value for money.
In May 2007 Shropshire County Council decided to tender for a Property Management System. Following a thorough evaluation of the market the contract was awarded to The Technology Forge. Ian Pugh, Senior Property Information Officer, Shropshire Council, explains how the decision was reached and what implementing tf. facility has meant for Shropshire.
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| TF: |
Where were you before you decided to implement a new system? |
| IP: |
We were in a difficult situation prior to the implementation of tf. facility. We were using two systems from the same company, neither one was capable of doing everything the other did, resulting in the data being maintained separately. The systems were user unfriendly, resulting in poor user acceptance and take up, had poor reliability, and, with weekly updates, were unmanageable. |
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| TF: |
What was your first step? |
| IP: |
Firstly we had several meetings with our supplier. Following the supplier meetings it was then decided it was necessary to procure a new system. |
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| TF: |
Why did you choose TF? |
| IP: |
There were many reasons why we chose TF over their competitors. The product was presented by knowledgeable people who know their subject well; other companies often didn't understand the issues involved. TF offer a good quality product, it is user friendly and comprehensive - it could be years before something needs to be added. TF scored the highest on all the feedback sheets, they offered everything that was required and more. This was supported by excellent references. Key to the sale was tf. director for reporting on property performance indicators. We have every confidence in our chosen solution.
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| TF: |
How has it gone? |
| IP: |
The product has proven to be both solid and stable. There is a very strong working relationship between Shropshire and TF. We are 97% through implementation after only eight months. Shropshire staff have an excellent perception of the system, they can't wait to get their hands on it, and they are already starting to see information in context. |
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| TF: |
How do you know it's going to be a success? |
| IP: |
People have a great attitude towards the system, it's going to be used to drive decisions forward. |
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| TF: |
What is your advice to others? |
| IP: |
The pain of change is not that bad if you choose the right company. When we went to tender we originally thought we needed a web based system. We reviewed web based systems and found whilst they had style there was no substance. When we looked at TF we could see how their technology would deliver. The realisation that it is a W3C compliant system was well accepted by IT.
You also need to be realistic in your plans and timescales, we can't get the data prepared quickly enough. It is important to secure peoples time and resources. |
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| TF: |
Do you have any regrets? |
| IP: |
None. |
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For further information contact:
Louise Smales, Sales & Marketing Coordinator, The Technology Forge
Tel: 01943 855014
Email: louise.smales@technologyforge.com
© The Technology Forge 2009 |
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