NWIEP had the Dragon Factor!
15 February 2010
It was Wednesday 10th February and Wigan Council Chamber was
filled with tension. Most of the 'pitchers' had stayed right
until the end to hear whether or not they had been
successful. Bosses were on the end of phones waiting to find
out if their pet project that would save the region millions of
pounds in efficiencies would get funding…
The North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NWIEP)
had £3.7million to give to projects that could generate cashable
efficiencies in the North West and show positive outcomes for the
user and the public. Over eighty projects had entered for the
funding ranging from saving the world with new energy sources to
cheaper ways to wash fire engines. Twenty made it through the
five heats (Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Carlisle and
Warrington) to the final held in Wigan Town Hall.
The panel of 'Dragons'¹, led by Gillain Bishop, Chief Executive
of NWIEP, watched short presentations and grilled the 'pitchers' on
the complexities of their project in front of an audience of all
the other hopefuls. Not caving under the pressure, the
enthusiasm of the 'pitchers' for their projects was visible as they
defended themselves staunchly.
As with all competitions some were unsuccessful, but the list of
successful projects² included the Ministry of Food project which
will rescue damaged or misshapen food which would otherwise go
straight to the landfill and send it to homelessness charities and
war-stricken areas. Collaborate Cumbria was another
successful project which will reduce the time public sector
employees spend travelling long distances to meetings by setting up
video conferencing facilities.
Overall nearly £3million was given out and the day proved to be
an excellent opportunity for public sector workers from different
organisations and areas who are all committed to providing a
better, cheaper service to share ideas and make new
connections. Already different splinter groups are working
together on new ideas…maybe we'll see them again in the next round
of NWIEP's got the Dragon Factor!
Click here to see pictures of the
day!
For more information on NWIEP or NWIEP's got the Dragon Factor
please contact Alexia Mitton, a.mitton@wigan.gov.uk.
NOTES
1. The panel of five judges comprised of: Gillian Bishop,
Chief Executive of NWIEP; Cllr Don Lawrenson,Fylde Council; Mike
Chambers, Head of Local Government, Information and Analysis,
Government Office North West; David Dunn, Head of Public Sector
Policy, Co-operative Bank; and, Martin Preston, Deputy Chief
Executive of Voluntary Sector North West.
2. The full list of successful projects is:
Unified Intelligent Desktop
Ministry of Food
Voltage Optimisation of the Greater Manchester Police
Saving Water, Saving Money
SwiTch
Association of Greater Manchester Authorities Community Equipment
Services
Collaborate Cumbria
Customer First - Live Contact
Travelling One Stop Shop
Cage Soccer and Climbing Wall Programme
Shared Buildings
RESPECT Enhancement
Anti-Social Behaviour Management