It has become trite to say that the Government's Building
Schools for the Future Programme is more than "bricks and mortar".
What is less widely recognised is that the provision of the ICT
Managed Service under the BSF Programme is more than "boxes and
wires".
Under the standard form ICT Services Contract, the LEP has, in
addition to its obligations to provide new kit and refresh it over
the course of five years, obligations to provide change management
services and, in many schemes, the provision of a managed learning
environment.
Local Authorities embarking on a BSF project should ensure that
they undertake a rigorous test of the ICT contractors' ability to
provide these change management services during the BSF
procurement. In many respects, it is these services which will
provide the educational transformation which is so key to the step
change in educational attainment which is the overall goal of the
BSF programme.
Once the capability of the ICT contractor has been tested as
part of the dialogue, Local Authorities will need to work with
bidders to structure the ICT Services Contract appropriately. The
current standard form provided by Partnerships for Schools does not
currently provide for some of the more transformational aspects of
many BSF ICT solutions on the market, including early provision of
central services, provision of services to non-sample schools, use
of legacy equipment in the managed service, refresh of equipment
and provision of services to an Authority's whole scheme through
one contract. These matters can be incorporated into the contract,
but Local Authorities should be clear as to what they want from
their ICT solution as early as possible to avoid extra time and
cost during the procurement process. Local Authorities which
already provide a managed learning environment or wide area network
will also need to consider whether this is something that they wish
to continue providing themselves, or whether they would prefer to
have the Local Education Partnership provide all of these services.
In these circumstances, further amendments may be required to the
standard legal agreement.
With many innovative solutions for transformational services
being proposed by many of the major players in the BSF ICT market,
Local Authorities may wish to consider whether or not there are
additional key performance indicators which could be incorporated
in the contract to properly assess the ICT contractors' performance
against the Authority's educational transformation goals. These
should not be set unrealistically high, but should be worked up
during the procurement to ensure that Local Authorities are
obtaining a value for money solution which fulfils their
objectives.
Of course, while ensuring that enough focus is given to the
transformational aspects of the programme, Local Authorities must
not lose sight of the fact that good equipment will assist in
providing the desired transformational outcome. It is therefore
important to assess the solution as a whole, taking into account
both the device and kit strategy proposed and the change management
programme which is advocated, and this will require a joined up
approach within the Local Authority's project team, from
educational, ICT, technical and financial advisors through to
in-house members of the team responsible for these aspects of the
overall project.
In summary, while it is the technicians on the ground with the
screwdrivers that come to mind when you think of ICT, in the
context of the educational transformational goals of BSF, Local
Authorities should be aware that it is the people teaching the
teachers and students how to use the equipment and software that is
installed that are arguably more important to the success of the
programme as a whole, in much the same way that many argue that the
ICT provision is more important than the building and refurbishment
of schools in the BSF programme.
It may be that the effectiveness of these change management
services and the impact that they have on teachers and pupils will
be what determines whether a Local Authority's BSF Project is a
success and this should not be ignored during the procurement
process.
Mark Henderson is an experienced solicitor in Trowers &
Hamlins' Public Sector Commercial department. He has advised local
authorities in Australia and the United Kingdom on major projects
and commercial dealings since his admission in 2004. In particular,
he has advised over 10 local authorities across a number of waves
in relation to their participation in the BSF programme, on matters
including the Competitive Dialogue, ICT, Facilities Management and
Governing Body Agreements.