Purpose

The Immediate Requirement
A contract was awarded to Arreoblue via Consultancy+ (the
‘MSP’) for a period of 5 months for the provision of
professional services to design and implement a data platform and
associated nonfunctional operational processes and
procedures.

The contract is for Arreoblue to act as the lead authority on the
design and implementation of the data platform and associated
nonfunctional operational processes and procedures, whilst
Microland provide resources to enact the design and
deployment.

During the project, it was recognised that whilst the resources
deployed by Microland continued to provide value for money, the
complexity of the project and the depth and breadth of expertise
for this specific task by underestimated.

As a result, Arreoblue was required to support the operational
activities more closely, consuming the time and materials more
quickly than expected.

The Variation
The Contract was awarded through Yorkshire Procurement Organisation
Framework; Managing Consultancy and Professional Services –
1141, a compliant single supplier framework. A variation of this
amount would not have adversely affect the outcome of a procurement
if considered before award and presents minimal legislative
risks.

The original contract pricing is on a Time and Material basis,
owing to the projects need to be delivered in a manner that allows
for evolving project scope. The contract variation would be a fixed
fee for set deliverables, with 20% of the fees held until written
acceptance by LCC. This provides budgetary security and reduce the
risks of ‘scope creep’ or poor-quality outputs.

Benefits
The typical benefits we expect to deliver as a result of this
project are listed below:
• Enhanced Operational Efficiency
• Rationalisation of existing data platforms
• Holistic Data Analysis
• Enhanced Public Services
• Informed Decision-Making
• Reduced Data Management Complexity
• Minimised Security Risks
• Scalability and Flexibility
• Technological Modernisation

The framework is a single supplier framework offering an effective
and efficient route to market. A variation of this size would be
considered low risk, despite the overall contract value.

Risks
The delivery organisation Arreoblue is an SME and assessing
financial standing to a position of confidence is more challenging.
This risk is mitigated somewhat by their strong credit history, the
short engagement period, the termination rights of the contract and
the use of an intermediary organisation, Consultancy+, who are part
of the Reed Group.

Decision

To approve the variation of the contract for
the Data Platform Unification with Consultancy+ (for
Arreoblue’s services)

To delegate authority to sign Data Platform Unification contract
variation to Tom Baker, Chief Information Officer.