Business Case

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Financial Model - Assumptions and Commentary

Thursday, 18 November 2004

This document is part of WP2-05 and accompanies the Financial Model, which is presented as a spreadsheet. It highlights a number of assumptions and considerations that should be well understood before using the spreadsheet model. It can also be used for reference when inputting data to the model.

WordAssumptions and Commentary - Financial Model (339.00kb)

Business Models WP2-05v2.0

Tuesday, 4 May 2004

An understanding of the current situation and guidance on how smart card technology might be utilised.

WordWP2-05 - Business Models v2.0 Release (868.50kb)

The National Smart Card Project (NSCP) has covered considerable ground in developing a greater understanding of the possibilities presented by smart card technology and how it might be utilised by local authorities for the benefit of their citizens.  The over-arching conclusion that must be drawn from the work undertaken within the NSCP is that there is not a standard model for all local authorities to adopt for the instigation of multi-application citizen card schemes.  That is not to undermine the potential benefits of the technology, but more to emphasise the breadth of opportunities that it has to offer.  This document is intended to give decision makers both an understanding of the current situation and guidance on how smart card technology might be utilised for sustainable citizen benefit now and in the future.

The background to the approach taken to business models is that smart cards offer the local authority sector:

  • An opportunity to build closer relationships with citizens and to offer them new and enhanced experiences;
  • A delivery tool for electronic government and the joining up of services;
  • A catalyst for process review; promoting rationalisation; greater process security and better service delivery;
  • An opportunity to develop mutually beneficial relationships with other public and private sector bodies.

The NSCP has also done much to raise the profile of smart cards.  Over and above the software outputs developed within the project, there is considerable movement in the market place to adapt and tailor products to the needs of the local authority sector. 

However, the picture is not fixed and the learning process will continue for some time, certainly until standardisation processes are completed. 

Citizen smart card implementations require considerable planning in order to maximise both the benefits of the technology and the business process improvements that any change programme requires.  The card is not a single answer in itself - it must be considered with other technologies and aligned to the delivery of services to the citizen.

That said, the convergence between the multi-application card concept and the realisation that secure authentication can be most economically delivered by means of a local authority issued citizen card, suggests that adopters of the technology are no longer buying into a vision, but a practical solution for the near future.

The sustainability of the business model is based upon these two congruous objectives - the shorter-term operational delivery of existing services in a new way, within a strategic programme for the provision and development of electronic government.

Financial Report WP2-04v2.0

Tuesday, 4 May 2004

Financial Report on Implementation / Set-up Costs

WordWP2-04 Financial reportv 2.0 Release (2.10mb)

This document sets out the basic costs of an "entry level" local authority instigated multi-application smart card scheme. It is designed to inform local government decision makers and strategists of the cost involved for initiating a local scheme to the point that a single card can be issued to citizens for access to a "typical" range of local services. The selection of card applications is intended to be indicative rather than prescriptive, and is based upon information gathered from consultation and research conducted within the National Smart Card Project.

While providing ranges of costs, it indicates that the low figures are becoming achievable, especially as the market is adapting to provide for the specific needs of the local authority sector. It also gives an indication of costs for bureau services and details how these and fuller 'managed service' offers might present an alternative to "in-house" scheme operation.

Financial Model WP2-03v1.0

Tuesday, 4 May 2004

This spreadsheet allows you to estimate the cost of introducing and maintaining a multi-application smartcard over a 5 year period. The spreadsheet has a number of worksheets which feed into this Summary worksheet.

ExcelWP2-03 NSCP Financial Model V1.0 Release (162.50kb)

Business Case WP2-01v3.0

Tuesday, 4 May 2004

Business Case including Social, Political & Commercial Considerations

WordWP2-01 Business case v3.0 Release (813.00kb)

Smart cards have, for some time, offered a potential way of improving the delivery of services in a number of sectors.  With the advent of widely available, lower priced, high capability cards, this potential is now beginning to be realised.  Analysis of existing deployments shows that large schemes have both the capacity to address service delivery issues, and the potential to do this in a way that the investment can be recouped over a time period which makes schemes sustainable. 

The drivers for a local authority instigated multi-application scheme are extensive, as are the potential applications, services and uses for a local citizen card.  While there are a number of models that might be adopted in terms of configuration, for schemes to become a reality in the near future, it is apparent that local authorities must play a pivotal role to ensure that their own strategic objectives are to be met. 

The importance of engaging with the technology now is made imperative by the ongoing implementation of electronic government, with its citizen focus and attendant CRM capabilities, that provides both a platform and a genuine requirement for a multiple entry point identification and authentication device.

While existing deployments provide some persuasive evidence that effective multi-application schemes are realisable, they also show that the full benefit of multi-application aspects of a scheme will only be achieved if complex issues relating to scheme organisation and governance can be resolved.  Indeed, these are even more emphasised in a local authority environment.  Education campus and central government ID card schemes benefit from the control that they can exert over the behaviour of the population.  To a lesser extent this is also true of the Octopus transit scheme (see section 3.1), which has the advantage of operating in a sector vital to a relatively small geographical area.  Local authority instigated schemes need to achieve a difficult balance in securing a sustainable application mix and ensuring citizen take up. 

The key attributes of a card scheme (outlined at Table 1) are important in that they can help guide how the objectives for an implementation project might be framed.  While there are implications for the generic business case, they also emphasise that decision makers must have a clear vision of how a scheme will achieve the sometimes diverse objectives of the providers of services and facilities that are available on a multi-application card.