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Delivering transparency
spotlightonspend makes it easy for a public body to publish
spend and related information so that it can be accessed and
understood by the general public.
Making complex financial information straightforward
Designed with the public in mind spotlightonspend makes complex
financial information straightforward for everyone to access and
interpret. Standardised metrics make comparison possible between
public bodies of differing sizes.
Clear and consistent categorisation
Every public body's financial management system is broadly
similar, but when it comes to delivering meaningful visibility of
spending on goods & services there are significant differences
that mean that it is not possible to make meaningful like-for-like
comparisons (for example by department, cost centre or
subjective).
To overcome the absence of uniform and reliable classification a
sophisticated matching & inference engine is used to match the
supplier record or item description to unique reference datasets
and allocate the supplier to a primary category derived from our
universal taxonomy (called 'The P Code').
The P Code is a hierarchical classification system specific to
the public sector that facilitates the classification of suppliers
of goods & services to enable the comparison of spend data
across the public sector so that, for example (for example) a local
authority could be meaningfully compared to a hospital trust.
Protecting the interests of individuals
To minimise the risk of inadvertent breach of Data Protection
legislation the cleansed and standardised raw data is further
processed to identify payments made to individuals (for example
foster carers and vulnerable adults in local government) or where
national security, personal security or foreign relations might be
compromised.
Intuitive and easy to use
The hosted spotlightonspend web application is intuitive and
easy to use and is accessed by the public through the public bodies
own web site.
How much is spent and with whom
Using spotlightonspend it is quick and easy to discover who’s
doing the supplying in by category and how much is spent with
them.
Machine readable ‘raw data’ download
spotlightonspend enables download of the transactions above £500
in value (£25,000 in central government) before data transformation
has been undertaken by us other than;
- identification and redaction of payments made to
individuals,
- standardisation of the file format (including column headings
and positions).
The raw download files are policy compliant and machine
readable. We take care of publishing the download file and updates
to http://www.data.gov.uk/ on the public
body’s behalf.
Improving relevance, value and accessibility
spotlightonspend is designed to:
- enhance the information published to improve its accessibility,
relevance and value for the intended audience – the general
public.
- cut costs by removing the need to add to the workload of
current staff or increase headcount,
- eliminate the complexity of becoming and staying compliant with
policy,
- reduce the risk of inadvertent breach of the Data Protection
Legislation.
Who’s In
To view our customer list and see which public sector bodies are
leading the way and embracing transparency, please visit:
http://www.spotlightonspend.org.uk/WhosIn.aspx
Powered by Spikes Cavell
Spikes Cavell equips decision makers in the public sector with
the data, online tools & analytical insight they need in order
to transform the way they procure goods & services.
Since 2003 Spikes Cavell’s spend analysis and spend management
solutions have underpinned the efforts of more than 800
organisation’s to deliver cash savings, measure progress and manage
compliance.
Driving the need
Greater transparency is an important policy commitment on the
part of the Coalition Government:
“We are pulling back the curtains to let light into the corridors
of power. By being open and accountable we can start to win
back people’s trust. Openness will not be comfortable for us in
government; but it will enable the public to hold our feet to the
fire. This way lies better government. Transparency is key to our
efficiency drive, and will enable the public to help us to deliver
better value for money in public spending.”
Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office
Website links
http://www.spotlightonspend.org.uk/
http://www.spikescavell.net/
Management Contact Information:
Luke Spikes, CEO, Spikes Cavell,
Tel: +44 (0) 7500 081432
mail: [email protected]
Hayley Wienszczak, Director Marketing & Business
Development, Spikes Cavell
Tel: +44 (0)1635 556970
Email: [email protected]
PR Contact Information:
Vanessa Land, Managing Director, Devonshire Marketing
Tel: +44 (0) 7768 693 779
Email: [email protected]
Kim Lynch, Account Director, Devonshire Marketing
Tel: +44 (0)7779 097758
Email: [email protected]