Wokingham Borough Council has signed what’s been described as an “innovative partnership” with Northgate Public Services.

The five year, £8.5 million, contract, will see the services company manage the Council’s ICT, and focus on a range of issues including improving customer service, reducing cost, and improving ICT governance.

A two year extension is also an option under the terms of contract.

A relationship already exists between the two organisations, and it’s claimed Northgate’s experience in local government will enable “rapid improvement while managing risk through a phased approach to transformation”.

“Transformation is integral to delivering the efficiencies that the Council has pledged to make,” commented Graham Ebers, general manager of business services at Wokingham Borough Council said. “We believe that our partnership with Northgate will not only provide us with a stable and secure platform on which to operate, but will also be pivotal in enabling our residents to get wider access to improved service delivery by maximising our use of new technologies.”

Ian Blackhurst, managing director at Northgate Public Services said local authorities and public services in general face “challenging times”.

“Now more than ever, we need to focus on delivering better services for less. How organisations manage their people, processes and cost to provide this is an essential part of any forward looking strategy,” he added. “We are delighted that our relationship with Wokingham Council has now entered this exciting new phase and we look forward to working with it in serving the residents of Wokingham with efficient and effective services.”

Source: http://www.publictechnology.net/sector/local-gov/wokingham-signs-five-year-ict-partnership