Briefly describe the initiative/ project/service; please include your aims and objectives

Information and data governance were often overlooked during procurement planning and typically involved only after specifications and tender packs were prepared. Rather than being seen as helpful, governance was frequently viewed as a barrier that delayed progress, rather than as a function that could improve procurement outcomes. We realised that customers lacked clear information about the support available to them, which resulted in them reaching out to the team too late in the process.

This delay not only reinforced inefficient working habits but also caused frustration among colleagues, as crucial information governance input was provided too late, prolonging procedures. For the organisation, these issues increased the risk of inconsistent due diligence and last-minute contract specifications for individual procurements. Ultimately, this led to a cycle where delayed contact strengthened the perception that information governance does not enhance procurement outcomes. As a result, communities experienced delays in accessing the services or products and missed opportunities to engage the best suppliers. This revealed the challenge of fostering a broader organisational understanding of the importance of information and data governance in procurement, beyond merely including contractual clauses. We worked closely with colleagues from Commercial Services as well as Audit and Assurance across the three organisations we support. This collaboration strengthened as our identified issues were shared across these departments and mutual goals for improvements were identified. Through collaborative workshops, we reviewed current processes and identified key actions to help embed information and data governance into procurement and contract management practices.

Our aim was to create a clear process that embedded good governance at the beginning of procurement planning through to contract termination. This was to ensure our procurements were delivering safe, appropriate, and secure information sharing. This was to be built into the design of procurement and contract management processes to support system wide improvement in practice.

The objectives included:

• Creating standardised, robust minimum information governance questions and assessments for tenders.

• Ensuring consistent contract development advice is both sought and provided early in the process.

• Integrating information governance into contract monitoring to support audit and assurance activities.

• Providing a consistent way to highlight the information governance role and support across various corporate services, reducing missed opportunities for engagement.

• Challenging deeply held beliefs and attitudes that view information governance as an obstacle to progress.

What are the key achievements?

We established our projects key deliverables at the beginning and whilst there are some cultural shifts that are still in progress, we can see clear impacts from the work undertaken to date. Culture change – We have enhanced organisational awareness regarding the importance of information and data governance in procurement processes. This message has been communicated by Commercial Services, Digital Services, Audit and Assurance, fostering consistent messaging and strengthening collaboration among these corporate services to encourage earlier engagement. Each team guides colleagues to the appropriate intranet resources for tailored support.Our partnerships with these departments have led to strong working relationships, enabling advocacy for information governance across service areas. Additionally, we have expanded this effort through our support of Contract Manager champions networks throughout the organisation. These networks provide a valuable forum for contract managers to engage directly with information governance leads and exchange expertise. This participation is ongoing and will continue to challenge some of the negative attitudes towards information governance that have emerged from past experiences of delayed requests for support.

Process & Practice Change – We have developed a minimum information governance question set for tenders, establishing clear criteria in close collaboration with our procurement colleagues. This set defines the baseline standard for due diligence, with the flexibility to incorporate additional requirements on a case-by-case basis where projects present specific risks or involve elements such as Artificial Intelligence. These measures have contributed to a more uniform approach to procurement, ensure that minimum standards are integrated into procurement templates, and reinforce our commitment to safeguarding public service data. This also further supports the embedding of the Procurement Act requirements through consistent, open and fair processes.To facilitate effective implementation and ongoing adherence to these changes, we have worked closely with our Commercial and Legal Services teams to form communities of practice. Regular meetings with our counterparts enable us to share best practices and collaboratively address emerging or ongoing challenges. This approach not only enhances the skillsets of our governance leads in related areas but also fosters strong, productive working relationships.

The impact of these changes:

• The collaboration between Commercial Services leads, Legal services, Assurance leads, and governance leads has been strengthened through our recent activities. Regular communication about organisational matters helps us prevent delays and ensures procurement processes run smoothly.

• Our data is now better protected—thanks to minimum standards and improved partnerships, we play a greater role in selecting safe and secure suppliers. This approach has resulted in thorough due diligence, particularly for items like body worn cameras.

• Contract managers receive stronger support—by participating in champions networks, we help increase awareness of the importance of information governance in contracts. Along with our intranet resources, this empowers colleagues to confidently manage efficient, high-quality public procurement that protects residents’ data and information.

• Enhanced visibility in contract and commercial management activities has led to a deeper appreciation for the role of information governance in contract management. This understanding is expected to develop further as standard tools and established forums become part of routine business practice.

How Innovative is your initiative?

The information governance requirements remain unchanged; however, we have facilitated greater understanding and navigation of these requirements for colleagues outside the information and data governance team. Rather than developing internal guidance and directing other teams to follow it as a straightforward solution, we chose to implement a change initiative aimed at improving organisational collaboration across all teams. To achieve this, we engaged with various services to assess their needs and worked jointly to develop effective solutions, integrating mutual requirements into each other’s workflows. This process is ongoing, with some teams further along in adopting these new approaches. Nevertheless, robust networks have been established between services to prioritise collaborative procurement, thereby fostering continued growth in this area.

Additionally, this initiative has paved the way for future system enhancements as best practices evolve. Rather than limiting guidance to information governance, we will collaborate with Assurance leads to incorporate information governance into standard contract management procedures, ensuring that such practices are integral to contract management rather than treated as supplementary tasks.

What are the key learning points?

The primary challenge encountered in this project was time management. Collaboration required us to extend beyond our respective areas of expertise, resulting in products taking significantly longer to develop than initially anticipated. This necessitated clear communication to manage delivery expectations and helped project members understand the importance of iterative refinement. Our work coincided with the launch of the Procurement Act, which both facilitated and complicated our efforts. The substantial changes in practice prompted ongoing updates to processes and procedures. However, the extensive workload related to the Procurement Act reduced our colleagues’ capacity for engagement. As a result, we adapted to their availability and planned multiple iterations of products and guidance, incorporating feedback as they were able to participate.

To support replication, we have distributed the core outputs—including questions, guidance, and annex documents—to our Information Governance Network, enabling them to evaluate these resources for their own practices. All guidance materials are available for sharing, and our cross-service collaboration process can be adopted by any organisation seeking to implement similar work.