Governments are compelled – and in some cases mandated – to conduct efficiency reforms and deliver improved "value for money." From the Gershon Review in the United Kingdom and the President's Management Agenda in the United States, to reform initiatives around the world, governments want to improve employee productivity, reduce IT complexity, and align service outcomes with policy goals.

Encouraged by successful use of the shared services model in the private sector, governments are looking to adopt a similar model for the public sector – seeking not only financial benefits, but also political and social value. Cost savings from shared services can help governments build new hospitals and schools, fund critical social services, or maintain roadways – all of which contribute to the greater good of society and help deliver on the promises of elected officials.

Shared Services: A Working Model

Many governments are moving along a continuum, or maturity model, of shared services – from standardization, to centralization, to internal shared services, to shared outcomes.

As an example of shared outcomes, consider an SAP customer – a state government revenue agency – that is leveraging SAP capabilities to manage different service lines of business. Through shared services:

• A custodial mother can notify the state child support-enforcement division that her non-custodial ex-husband has not paid child support.
• The state assigns a case worker who verifies the claim, and then interacts with the tax division to either garnish the ex-husbands wages or take a portion of his tax refund as payment.
• The shared outcomes:
  • The custodial mother gets her child-support payments on a timely basis, which fulfills the mission and achieves the targeted outcome for the child support enforcement division.
  • The tax division ensures its targeted outcome, maximizing the non-custodial father's compliance to his tax obligations and his obligation to "pay his fair share."

In this example, two different service lines of business achieve improved outcomes, which translate to higher public value, or improved societal benefits. Political value is also enhanced, as elected officials can promote the successful outcomes as examples of government "making a difference with what they have," showing transparency, and meeting mission goals.

For more information on how governments are successfully using SAP solutions in a shared services model, read about SAP customers and shared services.