News

OGC extends pioneering Property Benchmarking Service to the wider public sector

Released on 19/02/2009

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has today announced that it is extending its ground breaking Property Benchmarking Service for central Government and making access to the service available across the wider public sector through the establishment of a new framework on the OGC's online Contracts Database.

Launched in 2006, the Property Benchmarking Service has established OGC as a leader in providing public sector asset managers with the tools to measure and report on the business contribution of their real estate assets and services, and the knowledge they need to drive continuous improvement. The service provides an analysis of the efficiency and effectiveness of a building's performance against key indicators. Its use became mandatory from April 2008 across Whitehall for office buildings over 500 sq m and it has already contributed to delivering strong property asset management in central government.

The newly established four year framework, delivered by OGC's supply partners IPD Occupiers, specialists in property performance measurement, will allow the service to continue to develop and expand its scope. This will provide the catalyst for the delivery of further potential savings and greater efficiency across the whole of the public sector.

The data will include all operational property costs, space usage, environmental consumption data and workplace productivity information. It will then be analysed and scored against Government targets and measured against private sector performance.

The service is part of the OGC's High Performing Property initiative, which aims to save up to £1.5 billion annually by 2013. It has already helped managers to target improvements in key buildings and has given Government departments access to performance indicators that challenge environmental performance across all office buildings.

Speaking about the service, Nigel Smith, OGC Chief Executive said:

"The property benchmarking service has already seen success in central Government and by providing access to the wider public sector we hope to spread the best practice and benefits that it can bring. In the current economic climate it is essential that public sector organisations utilise tools and initiatives that can help to guarantee them value for money. This service will do just that.

"From the work the OGC has already done on improving the government estate, we have concluded that improved use of workspace is the most effective way of achieving significant efficiency savings from the public sector's property portfolio. It will also have a beneficial impact on the sustainability performance of the public sector estate."

The new framework can be accessed via http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_1410.asp

Notes to editors:

About the Property Benchmarking Service

The OGC has put in place the methodology for benchmarking the performance of buildings across the central government estate, which became mandatory from April 2008. This is now being rolled out to the wider public sector via the new framework. The methodology allows for the measurement of both efficiency and effectiveness performance against appropriate key performance indicators and their data requirements. It provides:

• a standardised framework to enable public sector entities to measure and manage their own estate performance,  
• a consistent database, which allows performance to be tracked over time and to be compared with equivalent buildings in the IPD Occupiers Dataset; and  
• bespoke reports to participating public sector entities providing both overall results and detailed efficiency and effectiveness analysis for each individual building.

Since 2006 OGC has been rolling out the methodology as a Property Benchmarking Service to central government departments.

About IPD Occupiers

IPD Occupiers is an independent provider of property performance measurement for corporate real estate and facilities management. They provide performance measurement tools, independent benchmarks, and market intelligence for global occupiers across multiple business sectors.

About the OGC

The OGC is an independent office of HM Treasury, established to help Government deliver best value from its spending. The OGC works with central Government departments and other public sector organisations to ensure the achievement of six key goals:

• Delivery of value for money from third party spend;     
• Delivery of projects to time, quality and cost, realising benefits;     
• Getting the best from the Government's £30bn estate;    
• Improving the sustainability of the Government estate and operations, including reducing carbon emissions by 12.5% by 2010-11, through stronger performance management and guidance;    
•  Helping achieve delivery of further Government policy goals, including innovation, equality, and support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs);     
• And driving forward the improvement of central Government capability in procurement, project and programme management, and estates management through the development of people skills, processes and tools.

OGC provides policy standards and guidance on best practice in procurement, projects and estate management, and monitors and challenges departments' performance against these standards, grounded in an evidence base of information and assurance.  It promotes and fosters collaborative procurement across the public sector to deliver better value for money and better public services; and it provides innovative ways to develop Government's commercial and procurement capability, including leadership of the Government Procurement Service.

Media contact:
Michael Dunning, Media Relations Manager, OGC
T: 020 7271 1318
M: 07771 815245
E: michael.dunning@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

Contact details:
OGC Service Desk
Tel: 0845 000 4999
E-mail: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk