SCF Consult End of Term Report

Over the past 4 years, SCF Consult has supported 24 clients across the public sector, from local authorities and government departments to universities and NHS trusts. Through a single supplier framework, SCF has been able to foster longer term relationships with these clients, delivering over £40m of consultancy services.

In the first generation of SCF Consult, our partner in the South East and London, Mace, have demonstrated expertise across the breadth of public services, providing support such as project managers, architects, structural engineers and more. They have also provided end to end services to support funding applications for Sports England and Salix. Having a clear understanding of public sector drivers and values helps us consistently deliver high performance to our SCF Consult clients.

9/10

Client satisfaction score on our timeliness delivery on all commissions

9.3/10

Our collaboration rating with clients

Integrated Teams Driving Success

Hampshire County Council (HCC) and Mace have formed a strong partnership within the council’s highly regarded Property Services team. Via SCF Consult, Mace staff support the core HCC multi-disciplinary team by taking on delivery roles in project management, quantity surveying, building surveying, and design. This collaboration ensures that HCC can maintain a high-quality and agile service for the community it serves. This integrated team works together within HCC’s offices, utilising HCC’s operating systems.

HCC and Mace also engage in shared recruitment and training, linked appraisals, and collective KPIs and targets. This creates a seamless environment where it is often difficult to distinguish between HCC and Mace employees during daily operations.

This approach allows HCC to manage an extensive programme with precision and confidence whilst also supporting partner organizations. It also enables HCC to quickly build scalable teams to respond to changing needs, new priority programmes, or new funding opportunities such as SALIX.

Importance of mitigating delays

Mace and a London Borough Authority have enjoyed a long relationship working together over the past two decades.

In 2023, a London Borough Authority approached Mace to procure project management consultancy services for series of projects across its estate. The council was under pressure to deliver and required Mace to deploy resource to support these works at pace.

Through direct appointment through the SCF Consult framework, Mace were able to second a project manager in less than four weeks, well ahead of a more traditional tendered route.

Timely support for operational need

Mace has been working with Southampton City Council since 2023 on a series of schools across its estate to provide facilities for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND). These works required both refurbishment and new build services.

With SCF Frameworks covering both consultancy and construction services, Mace were able to cut the time it took to procure a strong contractor to deliver these upgrades. Through SCF Construct, Southampton City Council appointed Morgan Sindall at pace as this contractor. Mace therefore worked closely with Morgan Sindall early to collaboratively de-risk the programme and logistics providing a seamless service as the project transitioned from pre-construction to construction.

Our strategic advisory service support clients to create projects that support their strategic aims and we utilise our expertise to ensure projects and programmes are deliverable. We combine our strategic advisory team and our delivery team with handpicked consultant partners to ensure the client is getting the best team for each project. We bring local knowledge of delivery with global expertise to ensure the best advice to client always with a focus on the benefits for local community outcomes.

For instance, we’ve worked closely with Portsmouth City Council to support delivery across some of its most impactful programmes, from renovating Hilsea Lido to delivering residential accommodation.

Our experts work in partnership with our clients through SCF Consult to unlock project excellence.

Ian HarrisonOperational Director, Mace

Looking ahead

The government have set a clear goal: growth. Achieving this in part falls upon the public sector to unlock development, support local economies, and deliver outstanding projects that benefit local people.

Our sector stands ready to rise to this goal, but it is not without its challenges. Growth at the pace set by the government requires access to industry-leading expertise, which often means looking to external organisations for help. These services must be procured quickly and cost-effectively, as well as in compliance with the Procurement Act and other legislation.

Despite these challenges, we are committed to delivering significant value for public sector clients across a range of services. This commitment is a testament to the strategic relationships we have built over the years. Our partnerships have grown and evolved, providing resilience against uncertainty and enabling us to meet expected pipeline targets and values.

Our latest generation of SCF Consult offers greater flexibility for our public sector clients in the South of England. We are looking to build on our 29% SME spend over the next four years, focusing our efforts on utilising the Local Supply Chain (LSC) portal. Working collaboratively with SMEs, we can improve our efficiencies, responsiveness and value for public sector projects, enabling us to create impactful and sustainable developments whilst supporting local businesses.

With Mace and Corstorphine & Wright on board, we are ready to deliver comprehensive consultancy services for the public sector.