Building Schools for the Future
Martin Lipson, schools programme director, 4ps, on Local Education Partnership procurement.
There is no doubt that for the schools and local authorities embarking on the Building Schools for the Future programme the learning curve is steep.
4ps, with the benefit of years of experience of major projects, helps local authorities to demystify and simplify the often highly complex procurement process. Over the years, since the introduction of Building Schools for the Future in 2004, local authorities and schools have approached 4ps for explanation and training on subjects such as PFI, Output Specifications, Competitive Dialogue, and so forth . We have outlined some of the most frequently asked questions below.
How can we ensure value for money?
Once a local authority has been selected to join the BSF programme it must competitively procure a private sector partner to form a Local Education Partnership (LEP). The use of a standardised procurement process and model contract documents should provide protection to local authorities and ensure that there are periodic opportunities to benchmark value for money.
How can we ensure the programme is a success in our area?
In 4ps’ experience the key to successful projects is strong leadership, together with a strong sense of ownership by a skilled team. It is important that the team has the right skills and confidence to work effectively with the private sector. 4ps provides training to local authorities, head teachers and governors, which aims to raise the skills levels within the team. It is important that the schools are fully involved and aware of developments throughout all stages of the BSF process.
What are the factors that affect delivery of the Building Schools for the Future programme?
A common problem for many local authorities is that the level of staff resource applied to the project is too low. It can be difficult to convince council members and chief executives responsible for a number of high cost, high risk projects that this one needs a bigger procurement budget, and possible recruitment of expensive new staff. 4ps can help support local authorities by using our network of other more experienced authorities to demonstrate the need to get the level of resource right.
Where teams are still being set up or undergoing change, we also offer a “skills audit” to help focus resources where they are most needed.
Perhaps the second most common factor is the shock of just how intensive the procurement process can become. With the new Competitive Dialogue procedure, authority teams now have to take forward bidders into much more detailed territory than previously required. Preparing documents, marketing material, and arrangements for the large number of meetings required is very time consuming. Even authorities with recent experience of PFI projects or other partnership procurement have realised that the scale and scope of the Building Schools for the Future programme is another order of magnitude, and that significantly more time and resource is needed to achieve success.
Managing the delivery of new and improved schools is a huge challenge for local authorities. The long-term contractual commitments involved are underpinned by a need for these authorities to have confidence in the scope of change that is being contracted. The “brief” for the local BSF programme does not stand still, and yet tenders have to be invited from the private sector based on firm expectations. This can be difficult to manage, as some authorities are already finding. However, as the local government project delivery specialist, 4ps supports local authorities throughout the different stages of the programme to support the effective delivery of projects which will make a real difference to the lives of young people across the country.
For more information about 4ps’ BSF Expert Client Programme contact:
Nicola.Milne@4ps.gov.uk or go to http://www.localpartnerships.org.uk/4ps/
