APPENDIX 2
Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Home Office
AIRWAVE BUSINESS
BENEFITS
A number of organisations have set out to define
how the process of benefits management should be approached and
in defining the Airwave business benefit approach, such information
has been taken into account.
References include the Cabinet Office publication,
"Successful IT: Modernising Government in Action", the
IBIS "Benefits Management Policy", the IBIS operational
guide, "Framework for the Realisation of Whole System Benefits"
and the Programme Management publication, "Managing Successful
Programmes".
Work on benefits realisation completed by certain
forces in addition to the preliminary work carried out by the
earlier PSRCP Business Benefits Sub-group has also informed the
Airwave business benefit approach. Potential benefits have been
identified from:
— PSRCP Business Benefits Analysis.
A Working Group was established in August 1997
to investigate and report on the potential benefits of the PSRC
Service identified in the original Strategy and Business Case.
The Group was asked to identify real and potential benefits and
risks arising from the functionality on offer. The following benefits
were included in the report:
— Multimedia communications device
(telephony);
— Point to point radio contact;
— Mobile data (PNC access);
— Mobile data (other database access);
— Activity based costings (AVLS, MDT);
— Information availability;
— PSRCP Business Benefit Analysis (2).
Further analysis was completed in 1998. In contrast
to the initial work, a phased, stepping stone approach to higher
level, more strategic issues was adopted. The report made assumptions
about what might be achievable in the immediate future, in the
medium term, and then in the longer term. Three case studies were
used as the vehicles to study and explain the issues raised.
The first of the papers concentrated on time
spent by operational officers in police stations. Data was collected
in Thames Valley Police, and analysed to show what proportion
of an officer's time was currently spent in police stations. The
data was sub-divided to show which of the tasks undertaken in
police stations would be impacted upon by PSRCP, and those tasks
which would not.
Paper two discussed the issue of joint or shared
control rooms or communication centres. TETRA technology would
enable sharing of control functions far more easily than the current
technology. This functionality, coupled with CAD (computer aided
despatch) systems, and integration of radio and telephony, means
that organisations can go as far down this route as they wish,
whether that be merely sharing the same accommodation, or full
integration of roles. The important point is that all options
will be available, and can be considered.
Paper three discussed vehicle procedures. The
report divided vehicle procedures into three areas, automatic
cameras, vehicle-related criminal intelligence and the transmission
of vehicle and driver details via mobile data. This paper took
the most futuristic approach, and speculated on how police and
other agencies' actions might be different in the future, with
a national communications infrastructure, and common systems designed
under the National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS).
It was acknowledged in the paper that PSRCP would not necessarily
bring about the changes. It would require strong management and
vision to reap the full benefits that were presented.
The paper concludes ". . . perhaps the
two most important attractions of PSRCS are that it provides a
level of flexibility to do things that may not otherwise be possible,
and to do significantly more of the things that police forces
do now, and are of proven value."
— Benefits documentation provided by
police forces including: Cumbria, Derbyshire, Essex, Suffolk,
Thames Valley, West Mercia and the Metropolitan Police.
The Cleveland, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Constabularies have each established a project to look at the
sharing of control room and despatch services with the Fire and
Ambulance Services. Whilst these projects have not been brought
about as a direct result of Airwave, where relevant they will
be considered as part of the Airwave business benefits work programme.
Project information is also being shared with
organisations which have a common interest, such as the Home Office
task force headed by Sir David O'Dowd which is examining measures
that will increase the time spent on patrol by the police.
The Steering Group overseeing PITO's benefits
work represents the various national stakeholders ie the Treasury,
Home Office, Association of Police Authorities (APA), Association
of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Association of Chief Police Officers
in Scotland (ACPOS), Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC),
the National Audit Office (NAO), the Superintendents Association,
Unison and PITO. The Steering Group has responsibility for project
direction and strategy and is responsible for final sign-off of
project deliverables.
There are two working groups consisting of representatives
from a cross section of police forces:
— Business Benefits Group which has
agreed a set of high level or strategic business objectives derived
from Ministerial, ACPO and force objectives and has identified
potential benefits from Airwave technology enablers.
— Operational Guidance Group which
is developing interim guidance on operational procedures which
will be subject to review by the Police User Group (PUG) prior
to final sign-off.
Two Business Benefit consultants, one from Cranfield
University and one with experience in other government departments
have confirmed that the project approach is sound and have not
recommended any additional measures.
The project has considered the whole range of
benefits available to users from localised benefits achievable
within a specific, dedicated area such as the force control room;
through to national benefits achievable across force boundaries
and through working with other emergency services.
It has examined the technology enablers to determine
what benefits are achievable from the core service and from the
various Airwave applications, either individually or jointly.
At the same time, the business drivers and organisational objectives
have been considered in order to determine how these might best
be achieved with the available technology.
Finally, since Airwave is primarily a carrier
for other systems and services and has the potential to maximise
benefits through the provision of remote access to other applications,
the project has considered those benefits that might be accrued
through the delivery of remote access to "linked systems".
It will not be possible to measure benefits
in every force, therefore forces have been invited to participate
and 11-15 will be selected as a representative sample. The Superintendents
Association has offered assistance in selecting forces as they
are currently engaged in work of a similar nature. Baseline values
and measurement methodologies will be recorded to ensure that
future measurements compare like with like. Target levels will
be set and agreed with the force in order to reflect anticipated
achievement. Progress made in realising benefits can then be compared
to the original target as well as the baseline. Results will also
be used to support forces in bringing about change by sharing
information and experience and will hopefully improve the future
performance of Airwave. Where possible, metrics for the measurement
of benefits will be based on existing national and local Best
Value, Key Performance Indicators and other force statistics including:
— BVPIs, as captured by HMI;
— Data recorded on HR system;
— Data recorded on force Command &
Control system; and
— Telephone call logging systems;
— Project representatives will capture
data from a representative cross section of users via activity
analysis, user satisfaction surveys and interviews;
— The level of improvement of benefits
in different forces will be compared to identify trends and recommend
where practices could be adapted to take increased advantage of
Airwave.
The Airwave team will visit participating forces
both before and after Airwave implementation to carry out a detailed
assessment of their working practices and procedures. The team
will examine how the recommended business changes might affect
operations and performance and report conclusions, making further
recommendations to maximise benefits. Once recommended changes
have been successfully piloted, the Best Practice guidance will
be updated and will be published.
The Business Benefits database has been created
to capture the data on benefits and to track and generate reports
on measurement and achievement. A record will be maintained for
every benefit identified, providing profile details such as the
areas of business affected, the actions and operational changes
required to achieve them, the person or organisation responsible
for making the benefit happen and external factors likely to impact
the achievement of benefits. Data from the representative sample
of forces will be inserted. The database may be used as a tool
to affect benefit realisation in the remaining forces.
The process of Airwave Benefits Realisation
project will be reviewed and evaluated. Lessons can be learned
that provide useful information for the management of future projects
and the integration of benefits realisation into other programme
or project management processes.
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