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PSBA News and Update

Awards
The PSBA Network has been nominated for the forthcoming e-Government National Awards 2010. The e-Government Awards is the UK's most closely watched public sector technology competition. They provide a unique benchmark of quality in eleven categories, covering current IT innovation and best practice technology implementation at all levels of government.

PSBA has been submitted for the following awards with finalists being announced in January 2011.

• E-Government Excellence: Shared Services
• E-Government Excellence: Innovation in strategy on a national level

Publictechnology.net has published short excerpts on all those shortlisted for the e-Gov Awards and added Finalists in ‘Innovation in strategy on a national level’, click here for more information.

The PSBA Network was shortlisted for the Public Sector Project of the Year in the 2010 UK IT Industry Awards (hosted by BCS/Chartered Institute for IT and IT publication, Computing). The UK IT Industry Awards are a benchmark for excellence throughout the computer industry. The Awards focus on the contribution of individuals, projects, organisations and technologies that have excelled in the use, development and deployment of IT in the past 12 months. It is a key achievement to be shortlisted but unfortunately this time we were unsuccessful. Congratulations to St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for winning this award!

PSBA in the News
Below are details of articles where PSBA has been mentioned during the last few months:

PSBA Users in Gwent successfully bid for £4.16m Invest to Save funding from the Welsh Assembly to spread the cost of change for seven organisations in the Gwent Neighbourhood Network. This strategic regional network involves collaboration by key stakeholders in Local Government, Health, Education and the emergency services and is chaired by Steve Harding of Aneurin Bevan Health Board.

Invest-to-save fund
The Fund is a key enabler and supports Welsh Assembly Government funded public service organisations in transforming the way they work so that they become more efficient and continue to provide quality public services for the citizens of Wales.

As part of the measures to achieve a greater strategic approach to delivering efficiencies, the Fund has been reviewed with the Efficiency and Innovation Board to align the Fund with the work of the Board.

There are already a great many examples of working across the public services in Wales which not only add value, save money but importantly deliver good quality services. Through the Invest-to-save Fund we are looking for this approach to be more widely adopted and for new exciting models of service delivery to be developed.

Investments made from the Fund are fully repayable, but there are no interest charges and there is flexibility on the payback period. This approach ensures that the Fund is sustainable and available for investment in new projects in the future.

Up to £20 million is available in 2010-11. Recent investments include support for the continued roll-out of the Public Sector Broadband and xchangewales initiatives to the wider public service in Wales. Both these initiatives offer considerable benefits, not least a combined annual efficiency saving of £5 million.

To read more on this article, please click here.

£7.3 million invest-to-save funding in public sector services will cut costs by £14 million a year. A £7.3 million investment that is expected to save the public sector £14 million a year and some £64 million over the longer term was announced by the Finance Minister Jane Hutt.

In setting its Draft Budget last week and its local government settlement that was unveiled this week, the Welsh Assembly Government has drawn on the work of the summits to focus on frontline services to support jobs and protect the vulnerable.

First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones said:
"All public sector organisations are facing a challenge in delivering for jobs, delivering for the most vulnerable in our society. Public service leaders are now looking at specific ways to work together more efficiently and innovatively to deliver improved services despite tighter budgets."

"I am pleased to say that there are many areas where this is already happening. One example is the rollout of a single public sector broadband network that will typically save organisations 20% of their broadband costs."

To read more on this article, please click here.

The Millennium Stadium of PSN: Building the PSBA Network - Over the coming years public sector networks (PSNs) and public multi sector networks, will play a significant role in local government cost-cutting initiatives. For many organisations though, the design, build and management of a PSN is unchartered territory; yet there is one exception to this rule, already delivering the efficiency, cost and productivity benefits of shared services...

The PSBA (Public Sector Broadband Aggregation) Network, first conceived by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2004, has been a trailblazer in the shared services arena. Designed to meet the specific needs of the Welsh public sector, support the delivery of improved services, and enable greater economic efficiency and inter-agency productivity, the PSBA is the national information and communications backbone of Wales.

As the UK’s first PSN, its successful implementation has attracted worldwide acclaim. Many public sector organisations are now looking to the PSBA as a model framework for adopting shared services.

To view this article in full click here.