Impact Evaluation - the Tell Us Once example

1. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Impact Evaluation- the Tell Us Once example eGovMoNet Meeting 8th-9th April 2010

2. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Outline • What is Tell Us Once? • What are we trying to achieve? • Our high level approach

3. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Tell Us Once

4. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Benefits to… • Citizens - time and cost savings in notifying government and improved experience from reduced avoidable contact. • Staff – from providing improved services and job satisfaction. • Local Government – improved use of resources, reduced fraud, reduced write off’s of overpayments, and reduced administrative costs. • Central Government – more efficient use of resources including reduced overpayments and hence write offs and administration recovery costs.

5. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Our Proposals – designed to avoid… “There is a demonstrated, systemic tendency for project appraisers to be overly optimistic. This is a worldwide phenomenon that affects both the private and public sectors…appraisers tend to overstate benefits, and underestimate timings and costs.” HM Treasury Forecasts are “highly, systematically and significantly misleading (inflated). The result is large benefit shortfalls”.Flyvbjerg

6. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Our Proposals – designed to avoid… “Business cases were found to be particularly strong on the assessment of costs and benefits to the lead department; however the identification and quantification of external benefits i.e. to users or other departments, was less strong, resulting in business cases that often understated benefits and provided an incomplete base for tracking future third-party benefits through to realisation.” Cabinet Office “project success appears to equate to achieving an acceptable level of failure or minimising lost benefits.” KPMG

7. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Our Proposals – designed to avoid… • “Not all computing projects fail – only most of them. Now and • again serendipity sees a company or government department • buying and implementing a system that does as much as half • of what was originally intended.” • Collins and Bicknell, 1998 • “even when technically successful, ICT projects do not often deliver the financial and other benefits they promise. It is the remarkable ubiquity of the failure of ICT projects – particularly large ICT projects – and the large sums of money that can disappear as a result that should be of most concern” • Gauld and Goldfinch, 2006

8. Tell Us Once Because your time matters So: Our approach has been designed to achieve… • Robust and realistic forecasts in the Business Case – to build confidence on the part of stakeholders that we can and will deliver on our promise. • All forms of value created are recognised. • The optimal amount of benefits are realised – both planned (quantified and unquantified) and emergent benefits. • Adequate feedback is obtained to meet our accountability requirements, provide insight and inform service design.

9. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Our approach is built on these ‘Stakes in the Ground’ • It encompasses benefits to the citizen, to staff, and to • Government/the taxpayer. • Encompasses both planned and unplanned benefits. • It goes beyond passive tracking to active engagement to provide insight on what difference TUO is making. • “Everyone on the programme is a benefits manager.” • “All feedback is good feedback.”

10. Tell Us Once Because your time matters ‘Stakes in the Ground’ continued… • Deciding how to realise savings is a local responsibility, shared between business managers and their respective finance departments - and we also need to ensure we haven’t created an unfunded pressure. • It should be fun! Realistic in our planning, enthusiastic in implementation

11. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Key elements of our Approach • Benefits materials provided as part of the Implementation process – Toolkit currently under development and being tested in Fife, Merthyr and the early adopters. • A menu-based approach flexed to meet local requirements. • Utilising the Regional Account Managers and Implementation Teams. • Using National and Regional Programme events. • Establishing a Regional TUO ‘Champions’ User Group. • Web-based ‘Community of Practice’ – with open reporting of benefits realised. • Specific provision for ‘areas for improvement’ on Benefits reports.

12. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Our ‘High level’ Proposals continued… • Utilise multiple ‘value lens’ – measures, indicators, stories, case studies and ‘evidence events’. • Accessing existing national sources of data. • Coordinating our benefits work with the programme’s Analysis and PMO reporting (inc. take up) functions. • Using website analytics where available. • Reality checks - liaising with I&DeA and existing groups with an interest in Local Authority performance.

13. Tell Us Once Because your time matters The Benefits Management ‘Toolkit’… • Business Case template • High level benefits maps • Key Benefits Evidence Log – with sample metrics • Customer Survey • Staff Survey • Reporting template Under development with the early adopters and informed by experience to date

14. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Our ‘High level’ Proposals continued… Data to populate the Key Benefits Evidence Log

15. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Supported by a suite of metrics or multiple ‘value lens’ Data to populate the Key Benefits Evidence Log

16. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Benefits Realisation Evidence Report At completion of Implementation And 6 months into live running Signed off by: The Project Manager The Implementation Manager The Account Manager • Benefits to: • Citizens • Staff • Govt Efficiency • Govt Effectiveness Areas for improvement

17. Tell Us Once Because your time matters Thank You