Budgets are tough – it’s hard enough running the day-to-day. What happens when a big new project comes along?
It has become usual to outsource most departmental budgets to contractors or consultants. That way, business carried on as usual and no specialist staff are required for managing the project. It’s also fairly common to bring in a ‘customer friend’ to supervise the selection and performance of the main contractor. But what happens when the customer friend takes on a life of its own? Many public-sector disaster of the past decade have been caused by exactly that: A customer friend is selected, does not ‘connect’ with the host organisation, but instead starts telling both the contractor and the authority, how things will be done.
We like to think that we are more sensitive. Certainly we are forceful when we see risks that are not evident to the authority – but we recognise that every project to build new capability is part of a wider change programme to make that capability work. We work with the lightest touch. By taking time to understand the needs and strategy of the authority we can reduce the time and money spent on the procurement of the main contractor by as much as 75%. By integrating requirements management, programme management and strategic procurement activities, we can ensure that your programme is bought to the very best conclusion. And that conclusion is defined by the authority, rather than any arbitrary goals set by third parties.
Byford Consulting does not do this on our own. We partner with the very best resources available to configure a team that exactly meets the needs of the authority.
> What level of public-sector experience sits behind Stablebridge’s success?