Mystery Shopper Web Chat with Stephen Allott - Wednesday 19th December 2012

In recent weeks, Informed Solutions’ Chief Executive Elizabeth Vega has worked with the Cabinet Office and Intellect to better understand and profile the Cabinet Office’s Mystery Shopper service and how it can support SMEs.  The attached flyer is a collaboration between the Cabinet Office, Intellect and Informed Solutions and it serves to introduce the service and demonstrate just how effective and helpful it is to SMEs trying to do business with government.

Stephen Allott, the Cabinet Office’s Crown Representative for SMEs actively supports the Mystery Shopper service and will be running a Web Chat on Wednesday, 19 December from 3-4pm.  He will be explaining the service and would like to invite all SMEs to attend his Web Chat, as well as help us spread the good word. 

Stephen has tweeted about this (below) and it would be great if other SMEs could re-tweet and share with contacts and colleagues:

Stephen Allott (@SMECrownRep), 14/12/2012 17:12, “Join my #mysteryshopper webchat on 19 Dec at 3pm and share your #sme procurement experiences cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/myster… - spread the word!”

Stephen wants to hear about SMEs’ experiences of using Mystery Shopper and bidding for public sector contracts.

SMEs can get involved in the Cabinet Office’s Web Chat by:

• tweeting us now using the hashtag #MysteryShopper
• posting questions or observations on our Web Chat page from 11am on Wednesday 19 December
• taking part in our online poll and telling us how you find out about government contract opportunities

The link to the Web Chat page is www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/mystery-shopper-live-chat.

Stephen Allott will be answering as many questions as possible between 3-4pm on Wednesday.

The Mystery Shopper scheme offers an anonymous way for suppliers to report any problems or issues with the way a public sector contract has been run.  The Cabinet Office will investigate and, regardless of whether it’s a local authority or a central government department, take action as necessary.

Have a quick look at the attached flyer as it will help introduce you to Mystery Shopper.  The latest stats demonstrate that the service has so far received 285 cases, of which 228 have been closed, with 75% of them resulting in a positive outcome.  For example, a current or planned procurement was changed or the supplier gained a better understanding of the procurement process.

See more about the Cabinet office Crown Rep for SMEs....

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/crown-representative-smes-stephen-allott

Elizabeth Vega, CEO of Informed Solutions elected as SME Vice-Chair for Intellect’s Public Sector Council

Informed Solutions is delighted to announce that its CEO, Elizabeth Vega, has been elected as the SME Vice-Chair for Intellect’s Public Sector Council (PSC).

In recent years, Elizabeth has been an active champion for SME engagement in the public sector and has worked for and with: multi-national corporations; national and public sector bodies; academia; and SMEs from start-ups to high performing mid-tier companies.  Elizabeth believes her experience can make a real difference to how the PSC influences government and how members work together. 

Elizabeth comments:

“I would like to start by sincerely thanking fellow Council members for electing me as their SME Vice-Chair.  Working with the PSC and the other two newly elected Vice-Chairs, I hope to influence and encourage government’s efforts to work in new ways and engage with the full spectrum of suppliers available within the UK marketplace.  Public sector services will benefit from access to new skills, talent and capability, and it will help government energise and innovate after what has been an extended period of institutional level restructure.  Government working with and through SMEs will facilitate delivering the savings that the public purse needs, whilst also creating new employment and market opportunities for the UK economy. It’s a win-win scenario for government and business.

As the CEO of an organisation with a proven pedigree in delivering innovative, award-winning technology projects, I understand first-hand the key challenges both suppliers and government face in managing costs/value; successfully delivering against challenging requirements; and achieving this within sustainable business parameters.

Over the next 12 months, I hope to work with PSC to focus on encouraging suppliers of all sizes to become a collaborative, quality and value conscious community that strengthens government confidence in public sector IT.

Furthermore, I would like to work with the government to “rightsize”, simplify and make lean procurement, particularly in ways that support it in achieving the aspiration of 25% spend with SMEs. I have put forward a number of practical suggestions for how this can be achieved, which have gained traction within government over the last 2 years, and I would like to build on this work in collaboration with other PSC members.”

Informed

Informed is a truly independent professional services and specialist systems integration practice.  We deliver exceptional value by providing clients with simple, high performing solutions to complex business problems, particularly where place, location or geography is important (www.Informed.com).

For more information about our services contact us on:

Tel: 020 3042 2000 / 0161 942 2000 or email David.Chapman@Informed.com.

For regular Informed news and event updates without the spam, please follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Local Government Boundary Reviews in England Go Digital

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) has partnered with Informed Solutions to launch its local area consultation portal.  Based on the InformedCONSULT platform, the cloud-based portal transforms how the Commission engages with the public on electoral boundary reviews, delivering interactive street-level mapping and allowing users to review and comment on changes in their local areas.

Alan Cogbill, Chief Executive of the LGBCE explained: “The portal represents a breakthrough in the way we consult and manage public engagement.  Councillors, parishes, community organisations and members of the public will all be able to make their case to the Commission in a way that’s accessible and extremely easy to use.

The portal makes it easier for local residents to look at our proposals at a level of detail that suits them and it will help them make the most effective case to the Commission if they want to challenge or support recommendations. It significantly increases the reach of the Commission’s consultation process in a cost effective way.”  

InformedCONSULT (Informed Solutions’ Consultation and Collaboration Platform) provides a secure, public portal that uses intuitive mapping, gazetteer and the latest web technologies to guide the public quickly and easily through the consultation process.  The secure service also supports the Commission meeting its statutory legal and audit requirements.

Seth Finegan, Informed Solutions’ Director of Consultancy Services said: “We are pleased that our platform continues to be seen as the ideal solution for modernising complex, area-based public consultation processes. Providing an interactive online service encourages greater public engagement and high quality responses; whilst reducing the administrative burden on the LGBCE. In very practical terms, the consultation portal offers exceptional levels of flexibility and value for money.”

To view the LGBCE consultation portal, please go to: https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk.

Informed

Informed is a truly independent professional services and specialist systems integration practice.  We deliver exceptional value by providing clients with simple, high performing solutions to complex business problems, particularly where place or location is important (www.Informed.com).

The Informed Solutions Consultation and Collaboration Platform is available through secure public cloud and the UK Government CloudStore (http://gcloud.civilservice.gov.uk/cloudstore).

For more information about our services contact us on:

Tel: 020 3042 2000 / 0161 942 2000 or email Paul.Collins@Informed.com.

For regular Informed news and event updates without the spam, please follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

LGBCE

The Commission is responsible for undertaking reviews of local authority electoral arrangements, including reviews of the number, names and boundaries of its wards or electoral divisions (county, borough or district council). The Commission consults publicly during the review process and welcomes the views of councils, community groups and members of the public as it draws up initial recommendations and before it puts forward final recommendations. It carries out around 25 electoral reviews each year, with each review lasting around 52-62 weeks and involving three phases of public consultation.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Informed CEO Elizabeth Vega Running for Intellect Public Sector Council

Informed Solutions’ CEO, Elizabeth Vega, is running for one of six SME places on Intellect’s Public Sector Council.  Please find below a statement from Elizabeth to fellow Intellect members, regarding her candidacy.  Votes can be cast by nominated Intellect representatives by clicking here.

“You may be aware that Intellect is currently holding an election for six SME CEOs to join its Public Sector Council.  I have put myself forward for one of the positions, and would very much appreciate your support and your vote, if you are so inclined.

The biography and campaign statement that I have submitted to Intellect are attached here; however, the 100 word limits were fairly restrictive, so I thought it would be useful to provide a little more background below.

For several years now, I have actively campaigned for public sector IT procurement to right size contracts and facilitate greater direct engagement with SMEs.  I feel passionately that the key to the recovery and growth of the UK economy is through establishing a healthy and thriving ‘mid tier’ in all sectors, including the ICT marketplace.  My efforts to champion these views within Government have included holding a number of meetings with Members of Parliament, the Government Procurement Service and the Cabinet Office, as well as making written representations to the Prime Minister.  My efforts have received encouraging responses from both 10 Downing Street’s Direct Communications Unit and the Cabinet Office.  I would welcome the opportunity to progress these agendas as an SME CEO representative on Intellect’s Public Sector Council.  My efforts have been measured, polite and sustained and have generated widespread encouragement and been a positive force in encouraging greater public/private sector collaboration towards a faster UK economic recovery.

I would like to work with Intellect’s PSC to continue this work and help achieve real change for UK SMEs within the IT sector, while assisting UK Government in delivering its IT strategy in more innovative and cost effective ways.  Having led Informed Solutions for 20 years so that it successfully gained a place on various public sector procurement frameworks and then delivered numerous large, award winning public sector IT programmes and projects, I believe I have a sound and valuable contribution to make.  This contribution is based on having many years’ highly relevant experience as the CEO of an SME who successfully contracts directly with Government.  I can offer practical suggestions for how Government can increase direct engagement with SMEs and achieve optimum value for money and performance from its IT contracts.  I would welcome the opportunity to share these ideas and to take action to further the aims of the PSC.

If you do feel inclined to vote for me for one of the six positions, please ask your nominated Intellect representative to complete this form.  The election will close at 11:59pm on Tuesday 15 May.

Thank you in advance for your support”.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Informed Provides Advanced Land Remediation Solution to Sellafield Ltd

Informed Solutions and our partner Environmental Resources Management (ERM) are delighted to have been selected by Sellafield Ltd to deliver the new Land Quality Data Management System in support of Sellafield Ltd’s land quality and remediation programme.

Sellafield Ltd is responsible for reprocessing nuclear material, decommissioning facilities, and nuclear waste management including the UK’s largest groundwater and land monitoring programme covering an estimated 13 million cubic metres of land holdings.

The new Land Quality System is based on Informed’s proven and high performing Data Integration and Advanced Analytics Platform, and will replace 7 separate existing systems currently operated by Sellafield Ltd.  Some 40 years of archive records will be harmonised into a central, accessible and consistent data asset.  Records will also be assigned location coordinates to facilitate a more complete understanding of land quality at the Sellafield Ltd site, including the local geography of site contaminants.

The system will be a critical tool for Sellafield Ltd’s Land Quality Team, and used by them to plan and measure progress towards the goal of land remediation at the Sellafield Ltd site.  Fundamental to facilitating Sellafield Ltd’s ‘end state’ objectives for the site, the Land Quality System will improve existing and future land data, and provide a more efficient, consistent, intuitive and reliable site-wide picture.  Access to integrated, consistent and complete information will also underpin business decisions driving the wider land remediation programme.

Dr Katherine Eilbeck, Head of the Land Quality Team at Sellafield Ltd commented: “My team is impressed with the understanding demonstrated by Informed and ERM when tendering for this work, by the capabilities of the Data Integration and Advanced Analytics Platform, and by the real world examples of similar assignments they have successfully undertaken.  We recognise that we have set ourselves challenging objectives but also know we have picked good innovation and subject matter specialist partners.  This is an exciting programme and we are genuinely looking forward to working in close partnership with Informed and ERM, to deliver our new Land Quality System.”

Informed’s Director of Programmes, Justin Hassall, commented: “Sellafield Ltd have the largest concentration of nuclear expertise in Europe and an important responsibility to current and future generations to ensure the continued safety of the Sellafield Ltd site.  The Informed team and I recognise that it is a privilege and a major responsibility to be awarded this engagement.  We are totally committed to helping Sellafield Ltd achieve their challenging objectives and welcome the invitation to work alongside their specialists; facilitating and assuring, to the highest standard, the integrity of land quality, environmental monitoring and remediation operations.”

For more information on Informed’s Data Integration and Advanced Analytics Platform, please contact us on 020 3042 2000 / 0161 942 2000 or email David.Chapman@Informed.com.

About Informed

Informed is a truly independent professional services and specialist systems integration practice.  We deliver exceptional value by providing clients with simple, high performing solutions to complex business problems, particularly where place, location or geography is important (www.Informed.com).

For regular Informed news and event updates without the Spam, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About ERM

Environmental Resources Management (ERM) is a leading global provider of environmental, health, safety, risk, and social consulting services (www.erm.com).

About Sellafield Ltd

Sellafield Ltd is the company responsible for safely delivering decommissioning, reprocessing and nuclear waste management on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning at the Sellafield Ltd site (www.sellafieldsites.com).

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.