Cornwall council is looking at setting up a strategic partnership with the private sector to deliver ICT and other services to itself and external organisations.

The council said this could involve other councils and parts of the public sector, within and outside the county. It also wants to get suppliers' perspectives on other possible markets.

"While we have obviously examined what other local authorities are doing, we are not looking to develop a traditional outsourcing model. Cornwall has never been frightened to be different and we are keen to talk to suppliers about any ideas they have," the council spokeswoman told GGC.

A pre-tender notice in the Official Journal of the European Union says the principal objective of the partnership would be to generate income and jobs by selling services so that Cornwall council and the wider Cornish economy can benefit from capital investment and the "infusion of leading edge management expertise".

How long the council will sign up to the proposed arrangement is one of the areas for preliminary discussions with suppliers, but Cornwall has put a value on the deal at between £20m and £1bn.

"We are interested in hearing from companies that will commit to a major investment in Cornwall and that can bring considerable commercial expertise and change management capability to Cornwall," the spokeswoman said.

The initiative follows Cornwall's £7m deal with Oracle in late 2010 to deliver an enterprise resource planning system, which the council plans to share with other local authorities and public services.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/government-computing-network/2011/mar/10/cornwall-council-seeks-services-partnership