Improving Efficiency Within The Fisheries Departments Of The UK
Background
The UK has an important sea fish industry with one of the largest fishing fleets and fish processing industries in Europe. The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) requires UK Fisheries Departments to collect and hold very large, complex sets of data about catches and quotas. Fisheries Departments are increasingly looking to information systems technology to provide business intelligence to meet their objectives and support their operations.
The four Fisheries Departments in the UK are jointly responsible for implementing and enforcing the CFP regulations. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the lead department for fisheries in the UK and it works with its devolved counterparts in RPID (Scotland), DARD (Northern Ireland) and WAG (Wales).
Historically, each UK Department responsible for fisheries matters has evolved its own Information Systems using its own in-house IT resources. This resulted in a certain amount of duplication and data inconsistencies within the local databases. This in turn created compliance difficulties with the consolidated UK reporting and timetabling requirements that emanate from the EC.
A cross Departmental strategic programme of Information System initiatives was needed to take the next step in improving the efficiency and joint working arrangements between the UK Fisheries Departments.
Solution
Sopra Group was first commissioned to undertake a series of short studies into the overall information system requirements in order to establish how effective IT could be in:
- Driving overall efficiency improvements in processes
- Developing joint working practices with UK Fisheries Departments and Agencies.
The resulting business case led to a comprehensive study being commissioned. Using an established methodology that has evolved through practical experience, Sopra Group consultants carried out the study to address the central needs of the respective Fisheries Departments in the UK, taking into account their devolved roles and differing local needs as well as meeting the overarching requirements of the European Union.
The study went through several stages to:
- Establish what the current situation is
- Identify the ideal future state
- Identify what barriers exist to prevent that happening
- Detail what the alternatives are
- Plan how the actual change will be implemented
- Develop realistic costs and timescales
- Identify what controls should be put in place to measure the success.
The work was carried out using structured interviews and group workshops, managed within a fixed time box. The business processes within each business area were mapped by Sopra Group using the process mapping tool Nimbus Control-ES to produce a clear account of the similarities and differences in local procedures and processes.
The graphic representation of processes facilitated the buy in of key staff and immediately created benefits through better understanding between Departments and individuals about valid local differences and opportunities for harmonisation.
Strategically, the study identified three core Information Systems themes that the UK Fisheries Departments should work on jointly, a progressive Technical Architecture to be developed over 3 and 5 years, to support this work and finally an overall Roadmap to enable progress to be measured.
The deliverable from the study was an Information Systems strategy supported by achievable programme of work and governance structure that was formally presented to and ratified by the Heads of the UK Fisheries Department. The programme is now well underway using the overall Roadmap and is delivering the anticipated Information Systems on the specified programme of work.
Benefits
The joint IS Strategy for the UK developed by Sopra Group provided a roadmap which is enabling the Fisheries Departments across the UK to:
- Create and utilise common applications and data warehouse that has enforced data consistency and improved data integrity
- Exploit the development of a secure, cross department data exchange infrastructure that uses XML and DIS technology for high volume data exchange. This was one of the first successful high volume, intra Department application exchanges using the Government Gateway
- Provide enhanced business intelligence to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Departments' operational performance
- Enable sharing of IT resources, reduction of development costs and the convergence of technologies and platforms over a 5 year period
- Once executed the Fisheries Departments will have an information and technology infrastructure to support and enable the implementation of emerging and evolving Fisheries policy and operational enforcement activity.
John Roddin, Head of SFPA Corporate Strategy and Resources
"There is no doubting the significance of the joint Information Systems strategy that has been developed with the help of Sopra Group consultants. Its implementation is bringing a new dimension to intelligence and data gathering, its interpretation, enforcement activities and inter-departmental working co-operation.
Sopra Group has contributed hugely to this in working up the strategy and collaborating with colleagues in taking forward the staged developments. Their enthusiasm and professionalism has gained them respect throughout the Fisheries Departments."
UK Fisheries Department