A recent report by the Audit Commission study (published 30 July) finds councilors complaining that they receive lengthy reports that don’t contain the information they need. Less than 5 per cent of councils have excellent quality data and 65 per cent face problems sharing data externally.
With tough financial times ahead, councils say they know they need to act now to improve the quality of their data. Nine out of ten councils say they think good quality information is a top priority.
Steve Bundred, Chief Executive of the Audit Commission, said:
‘Giving decision makers the information they need will help councils make savings while improving services. This is all the more critical in recessionary times’
The report also finds that almost 80 per cent of councils say that a lack of in-depth analysis is a major problem. But their analysts spend around twice as much time on producing routine reports as on value-added analysis.
Previous Audit Commission studies have consistently shown that councils have failed to capitalise on the power of information. Most recently, one report said that only 20 per cent of finance directors had all the information to manage their councils’ estates properly.
The Claritum print procurement platform manages the end-to-end processes involved in procuring, managing and paying for print for a number of public sector clients. It enables buyers, managers and suppliers to collaborate in a single platform. This enables the software to capture and report on vast amounts of information whether it relates to costs, service levels, adherence to best practice guidelines or a whole host of other information.
Dependent on requirements, a best practice workflow can be configured to suit an organisation’s needs. This may change over time. As such every action by every authorised user can be tracked, monitored and reported on.
This level of control provides management with the basis for high quality, granular management information.