Strategy implies a long-term view based on fundamental objectives and assumptions.

Change, by its very nature, interferes with long-term strategies and causes disruption and uncertainty.

It is rare for us to be commissioned for strategic work without a fundamental change or challenge being present and it is at these times that clear and impartial thinking is most required, to allow practical and highly focussed options to be developed in the time available.

Our approach is based on sound principles that have underpinned our strategy development work over many years and continue to develop as our knowledge and experience deepens. These principles encompass:

• Alignment of the strategic aspects of the business (people, process, information and knowledge, finance and technology) towards our clients' customers' requirements;
• Continuous improvement, driven from within the business itself. This ensures that aspects that will support any new strategic intent are considered at the earliest opportunity and will continue into the "steady state" that follows any changes;
• Project-based working, identifying and realising business efficiencies and other benefits, achieving clearly defined deliverables within clear budgets and timescales;
• Knowledge transfer, so that our clients increase their own strategic capacity and organisational adaptability in the face of change;
• Independence and objectivity in our advice.

Whatever the strategic requirement, we bring a powerful, flexible and practical set of approaches and methods to the partnership. We are discreet, drawing on our corporate core value of confidentiality. We always seek to improve the capability of the host organisation; working closely with staff at all levels to generate useful and enjoyable opportunities for skills transfer that will provide enduring benefit.

However complex the content, we believe that the strategic method should be simple, encouraging access and buy in from all interested parties. Our multi-disciplinary team can ensure that established and bespoke strategic methods and tools can be consistently applied in a coherent and integrated fashion, ensuring that maximum benefits are achieved in a measurable way. These techniques are varied and specific to individual requirements; however in essence our strategy work will nearly always fall into three discrete phases:

• Analysis and Design: Building on the information available, and helping to create new possibilities from close working with your staff, we use our combined skills and experience to make sense of the existing policies, strategies and knowledge within the environment. This thorough and comprehensive approach and our strong interpersonal skills allow for a smooth transition through to the next stage of Option Generation.
• Option Generation: Possible approaches are many and we are always concerned to make sure that the process employed is closely tailored to the defined needs, culture and available resource. This can include desk exercises, workshops, interviews and other iterative processes.
• Decision and Implementation: We have the experience and sensitivity to play our part in supporting your decision making processes. We can condense complex or difficult issues, usually spread across a number of disciplines, into easily digestible presentations and verbal or written reports. We have senior staff who are able to mentor and assist if and as specific issues arise. In these times of difficult budgetary constraints, effectiveness and efficiency are always key drivers. Our implementation teams can be deployed at short notice on a basis completely scalable to your requirements.

Where our clients consider it appropriate our strong preference is for close collaborative working, from the onset of our involvement and through implementation as required. Wherever possible, we work with internal staff to meet objectives and transfer the best of our abilities through informal and formal methods as we work.

Recent work in the area of strategy and change includes:

• Shared Services feasibility studies and operational support to shared service development. We are active and bring experience in both the Local and Central Government sectors;
• Accommodation Strategies. Analysis and option generation for whole estate strategy in a Criminal Justice organisation;
• Service Rationalisation Strategy. National realignment of services in accordance with the outcome of an NAO report;
• ICT Strategy in Central and Local Government, Blue Light organisations and Agencies;
• National Communication Strategy and implementation in the Health Sector;
• Lean Business Transformation. A national programme, supported by financial modelling and training, within a national Criminal Justice organisation. Other lean programmes include Central Government and Defence;
• National Business Continuity Strategy development, supported by HMT Compliant Business Case, for a major client within the Home Office;
• Records Management Strategy and Audit. We advise on records management strategies, best practice delivery and information security incidents. Recent work includes assistance to a number of Central Government organisations.

The breadth of the strategic services we offer is underlined by our inclusion on both the ICT Strategy and the Business Strategy of the OGC Buying Solutions frameworks, and also on the HMRC Leadership and Change framework. Our expertise in change and other assurance services has also been recognised through our status on a number of OGC Buying Solutions and other organisational change and security frameworks. We are of course available on our company number to talk in more detail about any aspect of this or any other area of our business.