Events

Working Assets Conference

Released on 26/06/2006

Working Assets Conference

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Timms, delivered the keynote speech at the Property Asset Management Conference in London, on Monday, June 26, 2006.

This inaugural Government asset management conference - on the theme, Working Assets - was organised by the Office of Government Commerce, in conjunction with Public Service Partnership, and launched OGC's Property Asset Management programme and benchmarking project.

The Government's Civil Estate represents a considerable asset, covering 13 million square metres of floor space, with an annual running cost estimated at £6 billion.

Even modest improvements in performance of the estate have the potential to deliver significant efficiency savings and to generate substantial capital receipts through the disposal of surplus assets.

Mr Timms reaffirmed the importance of this initiative to the Government's drive for greater efficiency and improved delivery of its business.

Bridget Hardy said "Effective management of property assets can not only reduce significantly the amount of capital invested and the amount spent annually on running property, but because services are actually delivered in and through property, it has a direct impact on the quality of the service and the experience of the customer. It has the power to make substantial improvements both in the efficiency and the effectiveness of public services."

The June 26 conference was an event that was appropriate to anyone involved in any way with property asset management and efficiency in the public sector. The 340+ delegates from central government, the wider public sector, suppliers and service providers showed the wide level of interest in the subject.

Leaders and contributors to this important work spoke about the progress being made on developing and implementing improved Government property asset management, and 18 separate workshop events were held on subjects from creating value to the skills required.

The Working Assets conference was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, in the heart of Westminster, in London.

Working Assets - Conference Agenda

8:30am - 9:30am: Registration

9:30am: Plenary session

Chair's opening remarks - Mike Burt, Director of Government Relocation and Asset Management (GRAM), OGC

Keynote speech - Stephen Timms, Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Bridget Hardy, Head of Government Asset Management (GRAM), OGC

Professor Steven Male, Leeds University

Christopher Hedley, IPD Occupiers

11:20am - Block of four breakout sessions. 1A-1D

Short presentations leading to a Q & A session involving all members of the panel.

Tim Lloyd, Consilian

Keith Jones, Performent Consulting

Professor Steven Male, Professor of Construction Management, School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds

Bridget Hardy, Head of Government Asset Management (GRAM), OGC, Government Asset Management (GRAM), OGC

Jeremy King, Director of Estates, Court Service

Tom Lloyd-Smith, DEFRA

Scott Spencer, DEFRA

The National Audit Office was here to present the key messages from its report 'Getting the best from public sector office accommodation'. This is not a traditional National Audit Office report for Parliament. It is, instead, a report to Government, designed to contribute to current thinking around how best to use, and manage, public sector office space.

Rather than a forensic examination of the current situation, it is forward looking, exploring what it might be possible to achieve by drawing on examples of best practice in the public and private sectors, as well as the latest developments in the market, and how the public sector might best respond and realise emerging opportunities.

As such, it complements the NAO's programme of work examining and supporting the drive towards improved public sector efficiency.

Matthew Symes, Concerto Consulting

Hugh O'Farrell, Manager, Cross-Government and Efficiency Studies, NAO

Professor Keith Alexander from the University of Salford's Centre for Facilities Management (CFM) has been working with OGC to assess the potential for change within the FM supplier community and how government can become a smarter client. This includes a service better aligned to the Asset Management agenda.

This session heard the conclusions drawn from his research and options for the future.

Professor Keith Alexander, Centre for Facilities Management, Salford University

1:20pm - Block of 7 breakout sessions. 2A - 2G

2A: Masterclass: What every business leader should know about Strategic Asset Management skills

Asset management requires an understanding of asset liabilities, and developing their worth to maximise their contribution to business delivery. Effective management for the contemporary public sector leader entails marrying a cohesive business strategy with both wider community and regeneration considerations.

This workshop discusses a holistic approach to effective property asset management, and offers insight into the strategic skills required by public sector managers.

David Jenkins, Managing Director, Tribal Group Plc

Gareth Robertson, Director, Tribal Group Plc

Richard Beamish, Chief Executive, Asset Skills

2B: Skills & Competences For Developing Property Asset Managers

What makes a good asset manager? Is it experience, technical knowledge, appreciation of the bigger picture, or just the ability to communicate?

This session examined the range of the skills required to be effective as a property asset manager within the public sector. We looked at strategic working, performance measurement and management and some of the important softer skills that often are just as essential as technical ability, but in many organisations totally neglected.

David Bentley, Head of Asset Management, CIPFA/IPF

Mike Britch, Managing Director, NPS Property Consultants

2C: Realisable Benefits To The Exchequer Through Asset Management

There are many financial benefits to be gained from astute asset management by Local Authorities. These are highly important but there are also many operational, employment, social and environmental benefits to be taken into account in judging the worth of the financial gains to be made, rather than just their quantum.

This workshop explored:

Tony Smith, Real Estate Director, Deloitte

Vicky Smith, Director, Deloitte

Peter Jones, Assistant Director Property & Major Projects, Birmingham City Council

2D: Workplace Productivity Measurement - What aspects of design influence productivity?

Tim Allen, Associate Director, Workplace Change Management, DEGW

2E: Effective Disposals - Making the most of Surplus Assets

Public sector values are facing increased pressures to further identify and dispose of surplus assets in order to meet with challenging capital receipts and efficiency targets. This session examined the drivers and requirements behind the initiative, highlighted the most relevant best practice guidance and included many practical techniques and examples of how effective disposals could be achieved in practice.

Elizabeth Carter, GVA Grimley

Judith Atkinson, GVA Grimley

2F: Moving From Creating "Real Estate Solutions" to Creating " Asset Value"

This session explained, with the use of use case studies, how to release public sector asset value by combining private sector funds to create added market value for both parties. Decision making was shared between the public and private sector partners of such special purpose vehicles. The business plan could be flexible over time to accommodate changing needs whether they be the occupier or the needs of urban regeneration.

Gary Yardley, King Sturge

Angus McIntosh, Partner & Head of Reaearch, King Sturge

2G: 21st Century Solutions for Infrastructure and Asset Management

This session examined the value of real time data collection and new techniques of determining maintenance schedules according to individual criticalities for each asset and discuss the practice of Knowledge Based Asset Integrity (KBAI)

Andrew Martin, Asset Services Manager, WSP Group

Paul Scott, Managing Director, Knowledge Based Management Ltd

2:40pm - Block of seven breakout sessions. 3A-3G

3A: Lessons learned from the private sector: The role of the property manager in providing asset services to businesses

The workshop considered how the asset manager can raise the value of their contribution, and is able to contribute effectively to the strategic planning process.

Using case studies, we reviewed past lessons and considered the interface between the occupier and investor. We explained the private sector's 'new' focus on customer service and how that would benefit the public sector.

Colin Knott FRICS, Partnering & Consultancy Group, Colliers CRE

Donald Meldrum BSc MRICS, Partnering & Consultancy Group, Colliers CRE

Ian Hack BSc FRICS, Director, Asset & Property Management Department, Colliers CRE

Marcus Freed

Olivia Lumley

Over the past six years, local authorities in England have increasingly focused on the efficient and effective use of their property assets. This session explored the lessons from local government on the key success factors in driving the efficient use of assets that would be relevant to central government, drawing on the experience of two leading local authorities.

Dave Page, Deputy Chief Executive, Leeds City Council

Mike Harries, Head of Property Management, Dorset County Council

Nigel Mason, Director, York Consulting

3C: Economic & Financial Appraisals: What Have They To Do With The Business Case?

The economic and financial appraisal of a project should not be confused simply with the application of a complex financial model and the calculation of discounted costs and values. Instead, it is an integrated process that informs decision-making and should, if applied correctly, properly support the business of government.

What is the process and how can it be applied to best effect?"

Philip McArthur, Partner, Strategic Consulting, Drivers Jonas

Buildings can add value to their users when their client and project teams

(a) understanding the required outcomes of the proposed buildings use,

(b) understand the values of the organisation and its people,

(c) review the positive and negative impacts of design features in already completed and occupied buildings of a similar kind.

To this end, Constructing Excellence has launched an industry driven project to bring together brief making, evidence based design and continuous evaluation in use, for a range of building types, in order to generate a virtuous spiral of sharing what we know and making it work.

Don Ward, Chief Operating Officer, Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment

Malcolm Dodds, Research Director, Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment

The session focused on the importance of public sector assets and their contribution to the government's agenda of regeneration & growth. We looked at the scale of assets across England, how data is being captured and how public agencies are already working together for mutual benefit. But how can we do more to use assets effectively and make them 'work harder' for the public sector? We examined the barriers and the opportunities surrounding surplus public sector land.

Tim Roxburgh, Senior Regeneration Manager, English Partnerships

Katie Buckhaven, English Partnerships

Dhananjai Dhananjai, English Partnerships

A look at the latest trends in private finance initiatives (PFI) with particular reference to delivering property and facilities in the most efficient and effective manner and unlocking the value of property assets - covering recent successes, issues and likely future developments.

Mike Schraer, Managing Director, Commercial Strategy, Land Securities Trillium

Alan Couzens, Project Director, Partnerships UK

David Richardson, Divisional Director, Health, IIC (Investors in the Community)

Paul Stephen, Partner, Deloitte

3G: IT Enabled Asset Management

ATRIUM property provides a physical, legal and functional view of your property assets. This enables organisations to have full control of the property portfolio enabling asset managers to improve service delivery and reduce property costs. This seminar provides real life examples of how IT solutions can assist delivering this vision.

Terry Pitt, Project Manager, M-Squared

Mike Jones, Network Rail

Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission

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