There is an imperative for the public sector to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The recent Operational Efficiency Programme Report (OEP May 2009) targets the public sector to reduce the annual cost of its back office and IT operations by over £7 billion within three years, from a 2007-08 baseline of around £34 billion.

This is a very considerable challenge for public sector professionals and private sector solution providers alike.The Operational Efficiency Programme report produced earlier this year challenges all Public Sector professionals involved in back office operations and IT to achieve efficiencies of over £7 billion within 3 years, starting from a 2007-08 baseline of £34 billion. Whilst recognising that each discipline has its own unique issues, common to them all are the underlying processes and systems which must be simplified and standardised in order to generate the necessary efficiencies and cost savings.

In many cases a radical re-examination of the service requirements may lead to a total transformation of the service and its support functions. This may well involve more shared services and outsourcing. Under-pinning all these back-office activities is a level of administration much of which can have common staffing, systems and governance.

Information Technology is the common thread and one of the key enabler of change and efficiency. It can also produce efficiencies within its own operations to reduce costs and energy use. The crisis in public sector finances can only add to the urgency to deliver these significant efficiencies.

There will be a main plenary session where experts from all areas of the Public Sector will share their knowledge and experience with the entire audience. The day will continue with breakout sessions, designed to address the specific interests of both senior strategists and operational/implementation specialists.