A marriage of convenience?

Produced by: Socitm Insight

Type: Reports

This report reviews the experiences from partnerships and outsourcing contracts involving the ICT service.

Introduction

Partnership working and major outsourcing contracts represent major parts of local authority strategic thinking. We help your option appraisal process with a detailed analysis of the many different approaches.

The courtship

The courtship process can easily take eighteen months or more. It is a complicated and delicate process involving negotiation and relationship management, internally and externally, and is an essential precursor to achieving success. We look at how the parties can find out what they need to know about one another.

The wedding ceremony and honeymoon

This is an exciting time. Potential suppliers are eager to win a large contract, and everyone wants to publicise a landmark achievement. But just like real weddings and honeymoons, there are trials and tribulations in these 'rites of passage'. We explain what they are, and how to reduce the risk.

'Till death us do part'

'Marry in haste and repent at leisure' goes the old adage. Again, and regrettably so, we find some parallels in the world of outsourcing. But, as in life, there are successes too!

Conclusions

We bring together our advice as a set of checklists to guide actions at each stage of the process from courtship to contract termination.

Last modified: 20th July 2011