Collaborative Contracts Register
Since 2005, NIP has offered a Contract Management solution called the Contracts Register Service (CRS) (www.contractsregister.com).
Designed in 2004 for the Procurement Agency for Essex, in conjunction with SPS Consultancy Services, it is an online service, aimed primarily at Local Government. It is currently being used by 33 local authorities within London, the London Contract and Supplies Group (LCSG) and the Greater London Authority (GLA), as well as other public bodies (view full list).
The CRS allows authorities to easily record details of their contracts, which can then be shared with other nearby authorities to facilitate collaborative working, and is used as an internal management tool. It also provides summary reports within and across authorities’ data, to enable key data to be presented simply and directly to those that need it.
The CRS has been designed to support the ongoing development of the Shared Services Agenda, which it does in many ways, including:
- Tracking and managing the ownership, terms and lifecycle of key contracts.
- Sharing accurate and up-to-date information on current and future contract information amongst the authorities that participate.
- Producing an “Executive Dashboard” for each body, presenting key internal and shared contract stats.
- Supporting the planning and coordination of future contract activity, including alignment.
- Searching and reporting on contracts by category, supplier, value, date, etc, including the local government procurement classification (ProClass).
- Identifying framework and other shared contracts which can be accessed by other authorities.
- Allowing information such as OJEU notices, contract terms, specifications and other supporting documentation to be downloaded.
- Providing alert facilities to enable the contract owner to specify how many months ahead of the contract expiry date an e-mail is sent out, alerting both the contract owner and the department.
An additional module provides an accessible, publicly-available front end to the contract data to meet Government requirements and deal with FOI requests, at no extra effort.
The CRS was developed in conjunction with SPS Consultancy Services. SPS is a specialist consultancy dedicated to supporting its clients in achieving greater efficiency through sustainable cash savings and service delivery improvement. Their approach is not just to do a first class job but to also leave a lasting impression, having delivered full skills and knowledge transfer. Their clients from public and private sector organisations across the UK tell them they value the depth of expertise and insight they bring to solving their complex problems.