Why Join?
SERVING THE SMART CARD COMMUNITY
Part of the world’s largest network of associations in the smart technology industry
Progress update
Founded in 2006, PSSG has settled into its role as a trade association for those who want to provide security, ID management, and secure electronic delivery systems, services, goods and technologies, directly or indirectly, to the UK Government and other public sector bodies. It is establishing, developing and maintaining supplier member engagement with government at all levels.
It is also continuing to represent those who wish to deliver specialist ICT consultancy, hardware, software and other associated services to the public sector, and to the supporting supply chain. PSSG believes that this is often best achieved by consortia involving larger suppliers - providing credibility and project integration - alongside smaller specialist suppliers that possess the niche skills and equipment needed to deliver complete and effective projects. Tapping into this specialist pool provides benefits all round: it aids the growth and development of the UK small business base, whilst delivering essential skills into public sector projects. Improvement in public sector procurement will benefit all, and this is a primary aim of PSSG.
PSSG has already made its presence felt
PSSG has carried the flag for its members on a number of issues, making the views of its members count in those areas where clients will not/cannot engage with individual suppliers. It is PSSG’s view that independent experts or niche suppliers find it difficult to engage in large government projects and that the current style of agreements carries a significant risk of not delivering Best Practice. It also believes that there is a role for independent client support and expert audit functions in these major projects. PSSG has already lobbied Government in pursuit of more open procurement processes and will continue this dialogue. It has made its views known on the shortcomings of existing framework agreements and is developing approaches to improve its members’ profiles through its charter and web-based supplier list.
PSSG has opened communication channels, understands the procurement mechanisms, has generated an understanding of the problems in government, and has made suggestions for ways of easing the situation. PSSG has used this initial contact with Government to open discussions with CSIA (Security and Information Assurance), the Cabinet Office and other trade associations, either directly or through its members. PSSG has also established links with Intellect, the DfT (at several levels), the IPS Identity Management project, LASSeO, ITSO, SmartConnect, the Welsh Initiative, and has provided input to a number of parliamentary select committees.
Members have used their PSSG status to make contact with:
• DfT (DfT Rail and Concessionary Bus Travel sections)
• ATOC/RSP
• related MPs (including a Government Minister) and Peers
• Scottish Executive (including Transport Scotland)
PSSG members and potential members have contributed to three inquiries by Commons Select Committees:
• Science & Technology Committee on the ID Card Project (completed)
• EFRA Committee on the Rural Payment Agency’s Single Farm Payment Scheme (completed)
• Transport Committee on Ticketing for Public Transport
PSSG has been well received by Central Government, and meetings have been relatively easy to schedule with other significant players in this space. On the other hand, the LA market has proved difficult to engage so far.
Plans for 2007/8
These include:
• running regular discussion meetings for members and other invited guests
• supporting sellers of card-related media, equipment, consultancy and management
• systems to LAs and other public sector bodies
• establishing a series of meetings with selected central government departments: OGC Buying Solutions, OGC (ID Management) and Cabinet Office (eGovernment Unit and CSIA)
• providing input to various government initiatives on behalf of the membership
• sharing commercial opportunities
• commencing discussions with Intellect UK on roles and any potential overlap
• issuing press statements (technical press only), plus lobbying relating to the roll-out of ITSO-compliant systems
The following topics are areas for further engagement with the public sector:
• Support open public sector specifications for goods and services where they can be procured in an open market. This applies particularly where there will be multiple purchasers across the public sector and where multiple suppliers to the public sector will be purchasing goods and services required to fulfil public sector contracts – in other words, it propagates down the supply chain
• Lobby for common formats for the data submitted for qualification of suppliers to the public sector, and for a repository of such information
• Promote SMEs to the public sector. In particular, bring back the mechanism where senior managers in the civil service can issue small contracts without a competitive tendering procedure, and add a requirement for small value tenders to be made available to all-comers FOC. The Supply2Gov email service is relevant here: it should allow free subscription for national geographical reach in certain categories, particularly in ICT, and it should be mandatory for public sector ITTs in those same categories to be reported to the service. The other main issue is in respect of the information about a business that the public sector asks for in its tendered procurement processes. Typically for a large contract this has to be supplied in the prequalification process, but for a smaller contract it has to be supplied with the tender. Selling to local government is the area where PSSG hears regular complaints about having repeatedly to supply the information, each time against a different questionnaire. As a minimum there should be a standard form and a standard format for submitting the information
• Propose supplier statements of capability, with public sector customers required to ensure that the suppliers that they use have in place adequate capability for the contract (this is to reduce the number of cases where existing framework agreements, used to avoid a tender process, give contracts to organisations that are by no means offering best value)
• Promote, for public sector and related ICT projects, in-process technical audit and independent client support alongside scheme development and test
• Gain further seats at the government’s tables:
• Work with Chief Technical Officers
• Work with the transformational govt people
• Work with OGC Buying Solutions to increase its relevance to LAs
• Work with organisations that are representing LAs, trying to coordinate their work, or giving them an opportunity to share information and skills
• Work with PTEs
• Work with Local Authority (LA) organisations to increase awareness of suppliers, particularly to give LA purchasers confidence in using SMEs
• Enter into dialogue with politicians, including Ministers and Shadow Ministers
• Promote a DfT 5 year policy to roll out complete electronic ticketing methods across bus and rail: from smart media in the hands of the customer to settlement based on journey data
• Promote training in ICT procurement and generally in ICT for LAs. The emphasis must be on overall outcomes
• Promote Information Assurance
• Develop the area in which PSSG started, namely citizen service cards for LAs. The only geographical area where this has seriously begun to happen is Scotland, but the continual swapping there between LA management of the local card population and central management of the same has made the market for CMS suppliers more testing.
• In England, post ODPM, it seems that there is almost no progress. Nevertheless, PSSG must continue its support for this area, linked with the central government work on Identity Management.
• Establish and progress links with the Sheffield European Centre of Excellence
• Examine the range of new products for painless ID management. Are they applicable to the public sector’s relationship with citizens, or are they only for the corporate market?
For information on how to become a member of the PSSG, please go to How to Join.
For further information, please contact:
Mick Davies on 01440 712610; mickdavies4ictco@btopenworld.com
|