NOA launches campaign to improve public sector outsourcing

The National Outsourcing Association (NOA) has launched a new programme aimed at improving the success of public sector outsourcing.

The programme will commence on Monday 25 April with the launch of the NOA’s inaugural ‘Public Sector Day’, a one-day conference designed to show public sector organisations how to better manage outsourcing relationships and see how outsourcing can help to deliver public services in a more cost-effective manner.

The event will be free to attend for all buyers of outsourcing and features workshops led by NOA specialists.

Attendees will be given access to the NOA’s ‘Outsourcing Life Cycle Model’, a 100+ page framework specially tailored for the public sector that aims to be the definitive guide for outsourcing best practice.

In addition to this, the NOA is making its ‘Outsourcing Maturity Index’ available at the event. The maturity index is a questionnaire which summarises an organisation’s outsourcing maturity level, helping them to assess how well they comply with best practice standards and highlighting specific areas for improvement.

Following on from this initial event, the NOA is planning a number of special interest groups, which will give public sector representatives the opportunity to share recent outsourcing experiences and discuss hot topics such as open-book contracting, price benchmarking and other innovative contracting models.

Kerry Hallard, CEO of the NOA, commented: “We’re fed up with all of the negative media coverage public sector outsourcing has been receiving recently: Cornwall County Council, the NHS and the Ministry of Justice have all been subject to it. As the industry association promoting best practice in outsourcing, it’s always very disappointing to see examples of outsourcing failing in such a manner, especially knowing the benefits outsourcing can deliver when properly implemented and overseen.

“The NOA is here to help rid the public sector of such failures – we’re doing everything we can to support our public sector and ensure it gets the utmost from its outsourcing. Our Public Sector Day will also celebrate the most successful cases of public sector outsourcing in recent years, highlighting the accomplishments so that other government departments and organisations can achieve the same. By embracing the full programme following the event, public sector organisations will be shown how to permanently embed best practice across all of their outsourcing contracts.”