Newham LBC will run a project that is aiming to demonstrate the benefits of customer relationship management as part of the CRM National Programme, one of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's National Projects for local e-government, it was announced on Wednesday. The next phase of activity in the programme will involve proving, qualitatively and quantitatively, the direct benefits of CRM for the citizen and council. According to a statement, this is intended to assist the "significant" number of local authorities that have not yet addressed CRM.
The work will focus on identifying the benefits and providing tools that allow councils to calculate the return on investment for their CRM system. There will also be an evaluation the value of CRM systems to the councils that have already implemented.
The CRM Programme will also aim to implement appropriate support networks to help councils work together in implementing CRM. This will enable them to seek advice from other councils who "have been there and done that".
Newham is scheduled to publish a report on the project in early December.
Mark Bassham, CRM National Programme Manager, said: "Since we started the programme in January 2003 we have seen 200 councils plan and implement CRM and have worked directly with 254 English councils to produce tools to make implementing CRM easier. But we would like to talk to councils that have not yet addressed CRM."
"The 2005 Local e-Government deadline is getting near, and councils need to understand that CRM is an essential building block to delivering electronic services. By showing these councils, in facts and figures, the direct benefits of CRM for their bottom lines, we hope to encourage further rollout and timely implementation."
Quelle: ZDNet.co.uk, 19.08.2004
