Transparency data
FCO Government Major Projects Portfolio data, September 2017 (csv)
Updated 4 July 2018
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| Project Name | Echo 2 Programme | Technology Overhaul |
|---|---|---|
| Department | FCO | FCO |
| IPA Delivery Confidence Assessment (A Delivery Confidence Assessment of the project at a fixed point in time, using a five-point scale, Red – Amber/Red – Amber – Amber/Green – Green; definitions in the MPA Annual Report) | Amber/Red | Amber/Green |
| Description / Aims | Echo 2 Programme is a telecommunications infrastructure programme which will procure Connectivity plus Voice and Video services for the British Council, DFID, and FCO (hereafter referred to collectively as 'the partners'), spanning over 550 offices in over 170 countries. The current contract for these services is held by Vodafone and is due to expire for DFID and FCO in March 2018, and March 2019 for the British Council. Expiration of existing contracts for each partner organisation makes the procurements obligatory - retendering allows partners to harness new technology and thereby yield higher performance networks at lower costs The internal IT strategies of each partner organisation require more consistent and higher performing networks to enable transformation. There is also a cross-department 1HMG insistence to reduce operating costs, have better control, transparency, and assurance with regards to ongoing value for money. There is also a need for flexibility to change services in line with changing business practises, which the current contract does not permit. Key benefits include reducing ICT costs via a combined partner purchase power approach, providing Official commodity services and flexibility by disaggregation of service contracts, adopting new technologies and contributing significantly to the One HMG overseas initiative (involving progress towards Co-location, regionalisation, consolidation, collaboration and harmonisation) as well as partner sustainability targets. | • Transformation: The FCO has committed through its corporate objectives to: “Transform the FCO’s ‘Official’ technology and deliver the flexible, reliable and modern tools our staff need to do their jobs” whilst “harnessing digital technology to transform the way that they work”. Tech Overhaul is the transformation programme engineered to meet these objectives by: • Providing reliable, resilient and easy to use technology across our global network • Enabling mobile and flexible working at ‘Official’ where possible, ‘Official-Sensitive’ where necessary • Providing customer interaction and service provisions which are digital by default, delivering information and knowledge management capabilities, encouraging innovation and collaboration |
| Departmental commentary on actions planned or taken on the IPA RAG rating. | The original OBC for the ECHO2 Programme was approved on 17th January 2017 by HM Treasury following earlier departmental approvals. Since the OBC was approved there have been a number of changes in approach. Whilst these are not substantive, the programme undertook an Accounting Officer to be satisfied that the Echo2 programme is within the approved OBC scope, and continuing to meet the four accounting officer standards of regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility. The Accounting Officer Assessment was approved in November 2017. This is a complex multi-faceted governance arrangement due to the cross-government joint-partnership aspect of the programme. Governance structures were reviewed by the IPA in June 2017 and a revised structure was signed off by the Programme Board and Steering Group in July 2017. Due to the joint-partnership nature of this programme, the stakeholder community is also quite complex - however, the environment is stable in particular since the revised governance was agreed in July 2017. Stakeholder engagement is generally good with a number of stakeholder gorups including engagement at a senior executive level via the Steering Group. Whilst Echo2 will operate in a complex international delivery environment, the programme will conduct proofs of concept and roll-out on an incremental basis. This project is to replace the underlying Voice and Video and Connectivity infrastructure for DfID, FCO and British Council. This will enable each partner to harness new and improved technologies, underpinning technical transformation strategies. This is not a departmental policy initiative for any of the key partners and therefore the risk of political impact is low. The programme anticipates, from market engagement exercise, that there will be reductions in like for like service costs. Such reductions are likely to be offset by greatly increasing bandwidth requirements over the lifetime of the new contract. As we progress, the relevant FBCs will require HMT approval to test the VFM criteria. A lack of permanent civil servant resources was particular concern raised by the IPA in July 2017. Since then a civil servant (currently MPLA) has filled the Programme Director position and more interim resources have been recruited to fill the resource gaps. The programme has defined each of the roles and regularly assesses the viability for in-sourcing dependant on the longevity of the role both to deliver the programme and also into specific BAU roles to ensure continuity. Programme timelines remain challenging; two of the partners will have commenced their contract exit period before the new procurements have completed; whilst there is a 2.5 year contract run off period, experience from across Government suggests that Exit/Transition very often takes longer than originally envisaged. | We have continued to focus on embedding the necessary transformational changes ahead by offering a suite of products and a range of accessible delivery methods and ensuring beharvioural change is championed by FCO Directors and driven across the organisation. Work has continued on moving to the Cloud. Cloud capabilities are being delivered in phases in order to maximise early benefits realisation. Pilot acitivity is underway including Cloud based e-mail and One Drive. This testing is helping to inform the processes and policies in the run up to full deployment. |
| Project - Start Date (Latest approved start date) | 01/09/2015 | 01/11/2015 |
| Project - End Date (Latest approved end date) | 31/03/2020 | 31/12/2018 |
| Departmental narrative on schedule, including any deviation from planned schedule (if necessary) | Following an IPA assessment, it was deemed prudent to re-evaluate the programme plan and procurement approach. As a result of this, there is now a revised timeline and financial forecast. The timelines and finances are in the process of being formally re-baselined. The Programme is in the Project Delivery stage and both procurements have now commenced. The re-assessment of the OBC has completed and an Accounting Officer Assessment has taken place which has approved that the Echo2 Progamme remains within its approved scope. The assessment also ensured that the programme is achieving Accounting Officer standards of regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility. The analysis has largely verified what was proposed in the original OBC with some minor improvements. Both procurements (Voice & Video / Connectivity) are now in progress. The Voice & Video ITT was issued on the 18th December 2018 and the Connectivity Selection Questionnaire was published on 08th December 2018. The Connectivity ITT is on-track to be published on 23rd February 2018. The Voice & Video ITT will close on 23rd February 2018. Negotiations with Vodafone, to ensure satisfactory continuity of service, are reaching a conclusion. Previous concerns regarding the dependencies between the Vodafone negotiations and the re-procurements have been resolved. Programme timescales also remain challenging; the primary risks are; 1. Two of the partners will have commenced their contract exit period before the new procuremnets have completed. 2. Whilst there is a 2.5 year contract run off period, experience from across Government suggests that Exit/Transition very often takes longer than originally envisaged. Strategic Risks have also been signed-off by the Echo2 Steering Group and are being continuously managed Until such time as the procurements has progressed further and transition planning matured it is felt prudent to keep the RAG Rating as Amber. | Deployment of Devices on the current infrastructure started in July. The Programme is expected to complete overseas deployment in September 2018. |
| 2017/18 TOTAL Baseline £m (including Non-Government costs) | £2 | £51.70 |
| 2017/18 TOTAL Forecast £m (including Non-Government costs) | £2.40 | £58.00 |
| 2017/2018 Variance %age | 3% | 12% |
| Whole Life Cost TOTAL Baseline £m (including Non-Government costs) | £171.40 | £120.00 |
| Departmental narrative on budget/forecast variance for 2017/18 (if variance is more than 5%) | Budget variance less than 5% | Deployment started later than planned which has meant a reprofiling of approx £17m from 2017/18 to 2018/19. This does not impact the overall cost of the Programme. |
| Departmental Narrative on Budgeted Whole Life Costs | There is no change in forecasted whole-life costs. Once the procurements are completed the programme will have a revised view on whole-life costs. | The Full Business Case part 2, agreed by HMT and Cabinet Office in April 2017 approved the increase of budget to £120m, which was due to final contract prices being higher than originally anticipated. Current forecast puts the total at £122m (including Costed Risk of £4.1m). The programme is working to reduce this pressure over the coming months, including reducing the costed risk pot. |