A national model collating when technology needs updating or will become obsolete enables the National Police Chiefs' Council to make crucial funding decisions.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) needed a way to develop and maintain a clear understanding of UK policing's national digital, data and technology (DDaT) landscape so that it could make better informed investment decisions on an ongoing basis.
A defined mechanism would help the NPCC stay abreast of when national capabilities need updating or will become obsolete, enabling requirements for infrastructure and technology supporting live services to be gathered, assessed, prioritised and agreed.
Priorities agreed collectively could then be fed into the Home Office process that allocates national funds, prioritising investment where it is most needed and ensuring finances are used as effectively and efficiently as possible for the benefit of operational policing.
ACE worked with the NPCC's Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee (DDaTCC) to inform, shape and test a National Prioritisation Model (NPM) solution design.
This is designed to run alongside existing annual planning and financial lifecycles for the NPCC and other stakeholders across the policing landscape but can also accommodate ad hoc requirements or urgent proposals identified throughout the year.
It also allows for innovations to be considered alongside existing services for investment - balancing the maintenance and development of what is used today with what else is available.
Two supporting tools that are critical for effective operation were also developed. These are a requirements assessment criteria form and a dashboard that provides an overall summary of insights from requirements captured through the NPM and provides assessment scores against core areas, to assist in prioritisation decisions.
Using the NPM will mean operational policing has a better understanding of submitted requirements, and where they are in the delivery lifecycle.
It will also help build stronger consensus across policing about collective DDaT priorities and the most effective and efficient way to address them.
