Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs)

Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) is

The nine regional improvement and efficiency partnerships are English public sector organisations that support councils and their partners to become more efficient, innovative and engaged with citizens. Unlike some other improvement bodies the RIEPs are notable for having strong governance from networks of councils within each region, this recognises that the local government sector is best placed to lead its own improvement and ensures that the RIEP offer targets the defined needs of the sector. The RIEPs bring new capacity to local government and accelerate the drive for greater improvement and efficiency.

The nine RIEPs were created in April 2008 with a three-year funding package of £185 million from Communities and Local Government. The RIEPs were established following December 2007’s National Improvement and Efficiency Strategy for Local Government, which was produced jointly by the Local Government Group (then called the Local Government Association) and Communities and Local Government. The strategy acknowledged that improvement architecture needed to be better coordinated and closer to the front line in order to be more effective. The RIEPs, made up of networks of councils, were the vehicle for delivering this through using their devolved funding, spreading knowledge and good practice and navigating councils through the maze of improvement support.

The RIEPs have all done different things to reflect the needs, priorities and make-up of each region, but there are a number of core functions that are common to all. These are to:

• act as a hub to coordinate and focus resources on supporting councils and partners to deliver excellent local area agreement (LAA) outcomes

• support improvement and help local authorities to accelerate and add to their efficiency savings

• support councils in their response to the economic downturn

• identify and share good practice and stimulate innovation

• establish strong partnerships and networks to address performance issues.

In general the RIEPs have focussed on critical areas where improving efficiency and performance has the largest impact. Many of the biggest savings have been made in procurement through facilitating consortia and developing improved frameworks, usually housed in procurement hubs, and by using other mechanisms to reduce prices, for example by developing fair pricing tools or setting up eAuctions. Another key area where RIEPs have been instrumental in driving cashable efficiencies is business transformation and shared services. RIEPs have supported many transformation projects and have also invested heavily in providing training to ensure skills remain in the sector. The Local Productivity Programme recently mapped over 200 examples of shared services, many of which were supported by the RIEPs. Most of the RIEPs have also run successful programmes supporting improvements in children’s services, adult social care and economic regeneration.

...
Wikipedia