ICT Managed Service – friend or foe? Conversation number 3

The BSF ICT managed service has had a lot of mixed press of late. We discuss why this is and what can be done to ensure you get the managed service you want.

Stating the obvious in BSF

Have just been penning some thoughts on what a local authority and those about to embark on a BSF procurement should think about. This might seem like motherhood and apple pie, but surprisingly often forgotten in my humble experience!

• Be clear what you want
• Its OK to change your mind, but do communicate this with the bidders
• If it isn’t written down it wont happen – (and hasn’t been budgeted for)
• Don’t just send ICT folks to ICT meetings
• Let your thinking evolve during dialogue but remember to reflect the changes in the output spec
• Dont accept a locked down managed service ..it doesnt have to be
• Don’t re-buy what you already have
• Remember, bidders like to sell what they have sold before.
• All bidders can answer the docs well, look for evidence during dialogue of what they write.

Driving Innovataion – Part 1

ICT within BSF should drive innovation and transformation, sadly this is not always the case.

The easy option is just to fill a school full of products from the ICT supplier’s catalog without much thought for integration, teaching or learning. However, this is not only poor value but a massive missed opportunity to use ICT to transform the lives and aspirations of our young people.

So what is ICT innovation and how can it drive transformation?

Innovation is concerned with applying new ideas, technologies and methods to a particular problem. Furthermore innovation can be further enhanced by taking ideas, technologies and methodologies from other sectors / markets and integrating them into the subject area. In other words cross pollination.

This type of approach can bring about exciting results and help engage young people. For example using the kind of business intelligence technology that is employed by Amazon, such as ‘people who bought this’ recommendations and their star rating system, could so easily be applied to content and target a student’s learning style and preferences, thereby assisting with Personalised Learning.

Key Points for Developing Innovation within BSF

• Local Authorities need to evolve their thinking and specifications during the engagement process – outdated output specs are too often the norm.
• Local Authorities should challenge bidders to specifically identify funding / kpi’s for innovation within their bids – good intentions don’t get delivered
• Once a ICT partner has been selected an Innovation Framework should be created
• Students, Parents and Teachers should be actively encouraged to engage with the innovation process
• The ICT solution must be designed to evolve and embrace innovation, both small and large

Part 2 – The Nuffield Innovation Framework – coming soon