ADD2514 Robot Office- Performance Reporting System

1.1. The GLA OPS system has been successfully applied to several recently launched Regeneration & Economic Development (RED) programmes which has created an effective and efficient solution to the management of GLA project grant applications, contract management and project delivery. However, a number of older programmes and related projects are not held within the OPS environment and require ongoing performance management reporting for both external and internal audiences. The option of adding these legacy projects to OPS has been explored and considered too costly, estimated at £50,000 for development work by external consultants and additional officer time in transferring/formatting historical data from legacy projects into the OPS environment.

1.2. These legacy programmes/projects are currently reporting through a Single Monitoring Report Form (SMRF) which requires repeated manual collation of data for reporting requirements (LEAP, MHCLG/CLOG, Unit Plan, Budget and Performance reporting). Robot Office will replace the need for manual entry and automate the process reducing repetitive work and improving accuracy and help improve performance monitoring and replace the need for separate systems for monthly and quarterly monitoring. The Robot Office will complement the functions of OPS and create an end to end performance monitoring solution.

1.3. The investment into the application over the 3-year contract (reporting period remaining for existing programmes) to the GLA as outlined below;

1.4. Robot Office costs £550 per month over three years, and initial development costs of £5,025= £24,825. The request for £30,000 will provide capacity for ongoing improvements and enhancements over the duration of the 3-year contract.

2.1. The investment will enable:

• a more seamless transfer of data between delivery partners and the GLA;

• reduce errors and improved quality in data capture;

• contribute to the quality assurance needs of LEAP programmes;

• better data management across all LEAP programmes;

• minimise repetitive data entry for GLA staff; and

• potentially provide data that can be linked to OPS data to centralise a single reporting process on LEAP programme performance

3.1. Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the Mayor and GLA are subject to the public sector equality duty and must have due regard to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not; and foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2. The Robot Office Team will consider those with protected characteristics when developing the application and as a minimum we will require the system to meet WCAG 2.0 level A accessibility and any future development will comply with this requirement.

4.1. The Robot Office solution was vetted by the Technology Technical Design Board and Change Advisory Board in September 2020 and approval given to proceed as this application meets the GLA’s technical criteria and the LEAP programme Board in January 2021 and approved to proceed.

4.2. The Robot Office application is a bespoke tool designed for a very specific task developed and supported by the Robot Office Company, should this company cease to operate the service and support will not be available. To mitigate this risk, we will enter into the contract on a monthly service cost to reduce our initial upfront investment. The proposed business change will require adjustment and training for members of staff or our partners. This will be provided by the PMO to all users. Any feedback on lessons learnt will be used to mitigate this to improve the experience.

Link to Mayoral Strategies and priorities

4.3. This investment will contribute to work of the Good Growth Directorate which is responsible for regeneration, enterprise, growth, capital projects and the implementation of the Mayor's Economic Development strategy

Conflict of Interest

4.4. No conflicts of interest have been identified for any officers involved in the development of this proposal or drafting or clearance of this decision form.

5.1. Approval is being sought for the endorsement of expenditure of £30,000 towards the Robot Office solution. Funding for this application will come from the available budget contained within the Skills for Londoners programme revenue budget to span three financial years as detailed in the table below.

5.2 The expenditure covers development cost of £5,025 with £3,500 payable upfront. There will also be monthly support costs of £550 over the 3-year period with the remaining £5,175 available to deploy for refinements, improvements and miscellaneous expenditure should they be incurred. To reduce financial risk and secure value for money, a clause will be included in the contract to ensure milestones are met before payment is released.