Building the IT foundations for robust and resilient Fire Service operations
Requirement With many components of its IT services reaching end of life, and an IT delivery model which did not meet the business needs, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (ESFRS) required a fundamental overhaul of its internal IT arrangements to support mission-critical services and create a more strategic and responsive business-led IT approach to the significant challenges inherent in making communities safer. We, together with strategic partners Spirit Public Sector, were engaged to support the specification and procurement of a long-term IT managed service partner and contract to help fix and strengthen the IT environment and deliver future IT improvements to enable service transformation.
Delivery Advised and supported by the joint Acuity/Spirit team from the outset, ESFRS embarked on one of its largest ever transformation programmes. Our work spanned the full spectrum of programme activities including:
Early business requirements scoping and planning.
Programme design and management.
A detailed specification based on significant engagement with all directorates and departments.
A competitive dialogue OJEU procurement.
Team design and implementation.
Our team worked with the Programme SRO to scope out a clear roadmap for changing the shape of IT service delivery. Together we identified an approach to embed IT-supported strategic objectives which could be maximised to deliver operational efficiencies. This scoping activity allowed the organisation to mobilise an IT transformation programme tasked with the outsourcing of major parts of the IT service to a third party.
The specification of the outsourced service allowed ESFRS to identify key business requirements and translate these into IT requirements for the next 4-5 years. Our team designed and facilitated a range of workshops to inform a specification which described the roadmap for IT infrastructure and platforms, anticipating changes in working and the need to adopt new technology.
Working closely with the ESFRS IT and procurement departments, we designed and led the procurement for a new IT managed service provider. Our team focused upon structuring a procurement that allowed ESFRS to obtain best value and fit for purpose technology. This was supported by a robust but flexible contract that could evolve as the business requirements changed over time. This flexibility was a key feature in ensuring technology could continue always to support back office and frontline service delivery.
Result The programme culminated in a successful award for a managed service IT contract to an external supplier in line with the agreed timescales. Our team played a key client-side role from programme inception through procurement into contract award, and beyond into subsequent transition planning. We helped the programme team to work with the new supplier to implement the plan, and start to build the internal client function responsible for ensuring successful delivery of the new service.
The programme has delivered fundamental improvements in how the IT service supports the organisation and is widely acknowledged within the organisation as a success. ESFRS now has stable, resilient, and responsive IT services which support the core priorities of making communities safer and protecting the safety and well-being of its workforce.