Programme Manager: Alexandra Ostroumoff-Croucher
T: 07879 435756
E: alexandra.ostroumoff-croucher@improvementservice.org.uk
Business Analyst: William McKee
T: 07789 271434
E: william.mckee@improvmentservice.org.uk
Roads Collaboration Event
19th February 2014
Event Summary Report
Purpose of Event
The Roads Collaboration Event explored opportunities for shared service initiatives within the 33 Scottish
Roads Authorities by encouraging delegates to discuss the drivers for change, potential barriers to shared
services, where collaboration is already occurring and the successes and lessons to be learned from
current initiatives. The objective of this engagement was to open a dialogue between authorities to
collectively identify new opportunities for working together to achieve better outcomes within roads
services, supporting the recommendation of the National Roads Maintenance Review Option 30 Report, to
pursue shared services.
As well as discussing internal resource requirements to deliver change, the event also promoted the
resource available from the programme support team within the Improvement Service, available to offer
dedicated support to roads authorities developing collaboration projects. By attending the event and
contributing to the discussion, the programme support team hoped to enable targeted assistance to
connect authorities pursuing similar initiatives in different parts of Scotland.
Delegates
Eighty delegates attended the event from 32 roads authorities. Delegates were wide-ranging and included
representation from Transport Scotland, Local Authority Chief Executives, Heads of Service and Roads
Managers, Regional Transport Partnerships, SCOTS, the Improvement Service and Elected Members.
Please see Appendix D for a list of delegates.
Agenda & Focus of Discussions
The event was opened by Colin Mair of the Improvement Service, who welcomed delegates, encouraging
an open debate on the way forward for shared services among Scotland’s 33 roads authorities. Please see
Appendix C for a copy of the event agenda.
The keynote address was given by Councilor Stephen Hagan of Orkney Islands Council . Councillor
Hagan’s key messages included:

Due to continuing financial pressures, we must optimise the use of all resources to deliver the best
network possible.

COSLA agreed with the conclusions of the Option 30 Report that collaboration was the way forward.
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
Delivery of the recommendations from that report will now be scrutinised at national level and by
Audit Scotland. Progress therefore needs to be demonstrated.

When we discuss sharing we are talking about every aspect of roads maintenance and management:
strategic and operational planning; sharing assets and expertise; collaborating on financing and
procurement; and using joint performance and benchmarking frameworks to drive improvement.

If change is not driven bottom-up by roads authorities, there is a real risk it will end up being driven
by a top-down restructuring.

If we fail to work together now to sustain and maintain the roads network, we will have to pay a lot
more later.
In the afternoon, Minister for Transport & Veterans, Keith Brown addressed delegates on progressing
shared services, focusing on the following key messages:

Scottish Government remains committed to working with local government to improve road
maintenance practice across the country.

Our road network plays a fundamental role in the continued success of key parts of the economy:
connecting cities; housing industry growth; tourism sector growth to name a few.

While we are all doing as much as possible to maintain road conditions, our network is facing
challenging times in the current economic climate.

Public perception of the condition of our roads remains fairly negative.

The current position is unsustainable. We need to work together to change how we maintain our
roads, and we need to take this opportunity and start now.

Demonstrating that our roads are being managed as efficiently and effectively as possible has dual
benefits. It improves the value of spending on our roads and it improves the prospect of securing
additional funding.

This approach was a key recommendation of the Christie Commission which stated that “public
service providers must be required to work much more closely in partnership, to integrate service
provision and thus improve the outcomes they achieve”.

Action needs to be taken now and the Road Collaboration Board, through its expert advice, provides
an opportunity to ensure best road practice and experience is implemented and promoted across
Scotland.
Summary of Presentations
Five presentations were delivered during the course of the day. The following summarises the key themes
and discussion points. Please contact the Programme Manager for a copy of presentation slides.
Colin Mair: Roads Collaboration Board – Sharing as Default?
Colin Mair, Chief Executive of the Improvement Service and Chair of the Roads Collaboration Board, gave
an overview of the history of the Roads Collaboration Programme, including the key recommendations
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from the National Roads Maintenance Review and the Options 30 Report, that roads authorities should
pursue shared services. The key message was that the mindset in roads authorities must shift to sharing
and collaborative working as being the default position. Mr. Mair stressed that it is accepted at present
that one must demonstrate the benefits of sharing first to make a case for collaboration, while it is not
necessary to demonstrate why ‘going it alone’ is the best option. He concluded that if we are to
successfully deliver shared services, there must be more recognition that we should be aiming to share as
the desirable status quo. To achieve this, authorities must buy-into a different change management
approach, to agree to set up the necessary governance arrangements in the first instance prior to
developing specific initiatives and a business case for sharing services.
Alexandra Ostroumoff-Croucher: Roads Collaboration Programme Overview
Alexandra Ostroumoff-Croucher, the Roads Collaboration Programme Manager, discussed the activities of
the programme team since its creation in December 2012, focusing on the stakeholder engagement
undertaken, an online customer survey developed to understand the level of collaboration at present
among roads authorities, a review of current data sets and research into perceived procurement barriers
to setting up shared services. The overarching message was that delegates were being given the
opportunity at the event to help shape the design of the support programme over the coming 2 years by
proposing specific initiatives to take forward and identifying added-value support requirements. Mrs.
Croucher ended by confirming that all local authorities would be visited in the coming months individually
to agree support requirements and discuss opportunities further.
Stephen Phillips: Removing Procurment & Legal Barriers
Stephen Phillips, Head of the Public Sector Team at legal firm Burness Paull, led a presentation aimed at
removing misconceptions that there are significant legal barriers in place preventing the sharing of
services. Mr. Phillips’ presentation considered several examples of European cases where sharing has been
proven to be not only possible, but relatively uncomplicated. The key message from the presentation was
that there are very few barriers to sharing, and that setting up either a joint committee or a legal entity
such as a joint board or limited liability partnership offer potential to share services. A summary of
research will be made available to all local authorities in the coming weeks.
Matthew Lugg: HMEP Shared Services Toolkit
Matthew Lugg, consultant at HMEP, provided an overview of the HMPE Shared Services Toolkit, which is a
free-to-all guide available online to advise and support organisations developing collaborative approaches
to service delivery. The key message from the presentation was that there is a wealth of support and case
studies available that are applicable to roads authorities in Scotland, and there are clear lessons to be
learned from initiatives being developed in England and Wales.
Ewan Wallace: Sharing within Roads Services in Scotland – the Current Landscape
Ewan Wallace, Chair of SCOTS, began by discussing the strengths and positive relationship within SCOTS,
stressing that collaborative working is already at the heart of the organization, but that there is
opportunity to do more, both in terms of RAMPS and more broadly in terms of working with the
programme team to develop and deliver specific initiatives. Mr. Wallace then gave an overview of the
information learned from the online survey on the current levels of collaboration among roads authorities.
The key message from this was that there is substantial sharing already taking place on an informal basis,
but that this has often been slow to develop. Additionally authorities advised there are limited resources
and the necessary skill set to deliver robust business cases and support change.
Seminars
In the afternoon, a series of ‘breakout’ seminars were held with delegates, to give them an opportunity to
engage with their colleagues and members of the programme team on what they felt were potential
opportunities for developing shared services, and where they felt there may be barriers. Six different
seminars were delivered, with delegates being given an opportunity to attend two each. What follows is a
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brief summary of the seminars. Please see Appendix A for a verbatim capture of seminar discussions and
outputs.
Reducing Costs Through Sharing
The aim of this session was to discuss the excellent progress achieved by Scottish Councils on roads Asset
Management Plans, considering what the plans are saying and what we need to do now. Delegates
considered how collaborative working could contribute to reducing costs and ensuring that investment in
our transport infrastructure is effective. The planned review by Audit Scotland this autumn was discussed
with agreement that sharing in this area could be seen as a genuine opportunity to deliver on
recommendations from the National Roads Maintenance Review.
Sharing Skills & Expertise
The aim of this session was to explore opportunities where roads authorities share human resource,
particularly specialist skillsets which may not be available in every authority currently. The group discussed
the practicalities of sharing and particular areas where a lack of specialist skills is a particular issue, to
identify potential initiatives that could be developed and delivered with the support of the programme
team.
Sharing Geographically & Non-geo Options
This session looked at opportunities to share services based on geographical location, where proximity to
another authority makes the sharing of assets most practical. The group also looked at existing initiatives
to consider if there is opportunity to broaden partnerships and the benefits of doing so. Additionally,
delegates were asked to explore ideas for sharing within a non-geographical partnership, where an
authority not your immediate neighbour may offer a beneficial arrangement to share.
Overcoming Perceived Legal Barriers
This session built on the morning presentation given by Stephen Phillips, allowing delegates to discuss
perceived legal barriers to sharing further, and arrive at potential solutions to overcome these barriers.
Central to the discussion was the need for further engagement with local authority legal teams to ensure a
common understanding of what is possible.
The politics of Sharing
Elected Member Session: The aim of this session was to encourage elected members to discuss their views
on sharing within roads services, to tease out some of the key concerns and potential political issues that
could act as a barrier to progressing with shared initiatives. Facilitators sought to encourage members to
assess the benefits of sharing for their communities and build an understanding of opportunities
collaborating may offer.
Officer Session: Following engagement with members at the first session, officers were then invited to
continue the discussion on the themes covered. Delegates were asked to consider the political barriers to
sharing and how communication management and benefits management could be utilised to build greater
political support for change.
Developing a Scottish Roads Collaboration Toolkit
The purpose of this session was to gain insight from potential users of a Scottish Roads Collaboration
Toolkit to help shape the design and functionality of the product. Specific areas delegates were asked to
discuss included: Relevance, User Requirements (functionality), Format / Accessibility, Design, Content,
Maintaining Relevance, Facilitation.
Digital Voting – Testing Delegate Perceptions
Twice during the course of the event (once in the early morning, and again at the end of the event),
delegates were asked to answer some questions on their views of shared services within roads by using an
anonymous digital voting pad. The same set of questions was repeated in the afternoon to test changing
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perceptions following delivery of the event’s key messages. Please see Appendix B for further illustration of
voting results.
The Digital Voting identified the following attitudes and perceptions:
1.
Delivering Roads Services
2.

At the start of the day three fifths of delegates agreed there is a better way to manage the road
network than via the current 32 Roads Authorities and a Trunk Road Authority. This rose to
over four fifths of delegates by the end of the day.

A little over half of the delegates did not agree that RAMPS can be resourced and funded by
Local Authorities. This rose to two thirds by the end of the day.
Sharing as a Potential Solution
3.

Four fifths of delegates believe sharing unlocks better efficiencies than individual changes or
individual restructuring.

There were mixed views on the political buy-in for sharing with more than half of the delegates
skeptical about how strongly it exists at the moment.

One of the largest changes was views regarding legal and procurement technicalities preventing
shared services. At the beginning of the day two thirds of delegates believed that Legal and
Procurement technicalities prevent shared services. By the end of the day, after the evidence
presented by Stephen Phillips of Burness Paul, this number reduced significantly to just one
third.

Over two thirds of delegates believed sharing facilitates better strategic decision-making.

Almost all delegates agreed that sharing makes better use of staff skills and development
opportunities.
Support from the Roads Collaboration Programme

The main areas or support requested from the Roads Collaboration Programme were overcoming
obstacles (political, legal, procurement etc.), identifying opportunities to progress and sourcing
and/or improving data.
Next Steps
The programme team will continue to engage with the 33 roads authorities to further develop the
programme of support available over the next two years. Specific actions that will be addressed following
this initial event include:
1.
Further engagement with SCOTS to foster a partnership to support the delivery of collaborative
projects and shared services. The option of creating a working group within SCOTS with a remit to
support authorities pursuing shared services will be discussed. Further collaboration opportunities in
relation to RAMPS will also be considered.
2.
Further analysis will be carried out on the online survey returns to build a summary of current status
and opportunities for each local authority. The programme team will arrange one-to-one meetings
with each authority to discuss the summary and agree next steps, addressing individual authority
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priorities, objectives and concerns, and where they feel support from the programme team would
add the most value.
3.
Further engagement with elected members will be sought with a series of 3 or 4 events scheduled in
the coming months to build on the key messages discussed at the roads event, with the aim of
continuing to remove either real or perceived political barriers to setting up shared services within
roads services.
4.
Burness Paull will continue to be engaged by the Improvement Service. A summary research report
inclusive of a list of potential governance models, and the pros and cons of each is anticipated in
April 2014, and this will be shared with all roads authorities. Additionally an event will be arranged
for Stephen Phillips to engage SOLAR to further discuss any perceived barriers to the sharing of
services.
5.
A ‘How To Guide’, outlining the key steps to setting up a Joint Committee will be prepared and
distributed to all local authorities to support roads services to push ahead with setting up a
governance ‘umbrella’ in the first instance prior to pursuing the specifics of business casing
particular collaborative projects, as per the recommendation from Burness Paull.
6.
Three existing collaborative partnerships in roads services will be approached to discuss the option
of setting up a governance arrangement now prior to further development of business cases
exploring specific collaborative projects. This will act as a pilot piece of work to demonstrate what
can be achieved. Following the anticipated success of this pilot, and the lessons learned, it is hoped
further collaborative joint committees will be established across other roads authorities.
7.
Following opportunities identified by delegates during seminars, a shortlist of potential collaborative
initiatives will be drawn up and assessed in terms of the benefits they offer, risks, achievability and
desirability. While the focus will be on setting up governance arrangements first, work will continue
in parallel exploring individual opportunities and project.
8.
Three initial ‘quick win’ projects will be developed for approval by the Roads Programme Board as
follows:
a.
Decriminalized Parking Enforcement Project: This project will pursue collaboration among
local authorities not currently delivering DPE. This could include back office function and
frontline staff.
b.
Ayrshire Roads Alliance Minor Works Procurement Framework Project: This project will
seek to create a business case for the development and expansion of the framework to all 32
local authority roads services.
c.
Roads Collaboration Portal Project: This project will consider the design, capability and
facilitation of an online portal that would connect officers across the 33 roads authorities,
allowing them to communicate regarding collaboration activities, access data to inform
evidence-based decision-making in terms of identifying opportunities for sharing, and access
a range of tools to support the design and delivery of shared services.
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