Operational Efficiency Programme

Published : 29 July 2008

The third phase of the efficiency drives which began with Gershon in 2004, the Operational Efficiency Programme has five strands of activity -

• Back office / IT
• Collaborative procurement
• Asset management / sales
• Property
• Local incentives / empowerment

We are particularly interested in the third and the comment made that "...The stock of public sector assets in the UK is currently valued at £818 billion. This figure is a conservative estimate of  the importanc eof public sector assets to the national economy given that it probably under values certiain asset types, in particular intangibles such as intellectual property" (SONA emphasis).

In the month when John Gray published his third annual survey of local authorities' compliance (or rather non-compliance) to the Public Sector Information (PSI) Directive's requirement to establish basic asset register, this is a striking note of faith by central Government in the value of PSI.

But helping public bodies to allow the private sector to realise latent asset value - and, importantly, incentivising them to do so - is the challenge. There is no compulsion beyond good public service citizenship to help the private sector re-use IP assets - therefore we feel there must be some incentisation.

More anon over the coming months.