VIEWPOINTS

Small is beautiful – how specialist consulting firms are working collaboratively to help the public sector

By Esther Harris

UK

In the new age of austerity, is consultancy as we know it over? Certainly the days of massive contracts being awarded to high-salaried ‘Big Firm’ consultants are gone. But Government still needs significant support to deliver critical public service iniatives– perhaps now more than ever. To help, a new breed of specialist firms is emerging. They know the public sector inside out, are niche experts in critical areas, and can work flexibly and cost-effectively. They are small firms whom, by working in consortia, manage to offer the breadth of service required by Government, as well as a vital ‘value for money’ guarantee.

A new style of provider

Project and programme management firm Moorhouse leads one of the new style consortiums. Made up of thirteen companies, the Moorhouse Consortium was launched in January this year to enable Government clients to buy them via the new government procurement portal managed by Buying Solutions, the Management Consultancy and Accounting Services (MCAS) framework. Consultant Mark Warren explains what this type of collaborative working can do for Government and how the group came together.

“We know from experience that our clients require a breadth of skills for their projects – but every purchasing decision is under intense scrutiny,” tells Mark. “As a stand alone company, we could never be ‘all things’ to our customers – nor would we try to be – but we created the Moorhouse Consortium so, as a team, we can help our clients buy a cost effective solution that allows them to deliver their big projects and programmes and hit public service targets.”

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About the Author Esther Harris Author Esther Harris is a freelance PR consultant in the UK. She has worked with public sector service providers and management consultancies for the last 12 years. Email: estherpr@mac.com