High Impact Event Status

Last year Box Arrow took part in Global Entrepreneurship Week. We organised an event called Funding, Facilities and Support for social entrepreneurs in conjunction with The Hub and with UWE Ventures. Great news: the organisers of Global Entrepreneurship Week have identified our event as a High Impact Event! Thanks to everyone who came along and particularly Mariama Njie at UWE Ventures and Helen Ripper at the Hub who made it happen.

Shocking Project Overspend - Rural Payments Agency

Sometimes, even in my less cynical moments, I am still shocked by the failures of some public sector projects. File on Four on BBC Radio 4 recently shone their spotlight on the shameful antics of the UK Rural Payment Agency. Some numbers:

Original IT budget: £54m
Current IT costs: £350m
Fine from the EU for gross inefficiency: £280m
Additional staff costs: £304m including 100x specialists consultants costing approx. £200,000 each, per year, from our friends at Accenture.

Objective of this project is to pay 107,000 farmers between £10,000 and £20,000 annual subsidy.

The chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Edward Leigh, said "it would be frankly easier just to write a cheque for £10-20 000 for each person ... it's tragic."

Listen to the podcast here

I shall post a link to a transcript of the programme when it is available. It's a cracker. Also mentioned is the disaster of the NHS IT system and the late, over budget, not working, national fire service system.