FAQ's

The Framework for Multi-Agency Environments (FAME) National Project is an e-Government project funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as part of the national strategy for local e-government.

FAME has developed a framework for use by local authorities and their partners to support the implementation of multi-agency working. The new products from the current phase aim to provide an updated toolkit emphasising a regional approach to delivering multi-service, multi-agency and multi-authority partnerships.

The current work is made up of 3 strands. The deliverables for each strand are as follows:

• Engagement and capacity building - working with regional networks, national agencies/projects and government departments

• Regional Reference implementation - to produce a new set of products including Regional Roadmap, Regional Business Case and Regional Demonstrator

• Project Management and Governance

"Local e-Government offers a chance to breathe new life into local democracy and to transform local services. e-Government is central to our ambitions to reform and modernise all our public services and local e-Government is an integral part of the overall UK Online programme to realise the benefits of the internet for all our citizens." Source: The National Strategy for Local e-Government

The FAME project was originally one of 23 National Projects for Local e-government commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). The aim of these projects was to assist in the delivery of the ?National Strategy for Local e-Government? as well as build on the White Paper ?Strong Local Leadership - Quality Public Services?, which outlines a vision for improved local services into the new millennium (based on partnerships between central and local government).

The Framework for Multi-Agency Environments (FAME) was launched in April 2003. It has developed a framework for multi-agency information sharing and working that helps improve the provision of efficient, effective and holistic multi-agency services. The work is being taken forward in the NE of England under the auspices of North East Connects (the regional e-government partnership) and the Regional Centre for Excellence. The other partners are Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council (the accountable body).

FAME provides:

• A nationally applicable, vendor-independent, framework toolkit (including a regional demonstrator) which is;

• Adaptable and scalable at the regional and sub-regional level allowing it to be applied to the full range of service situations in multi-agency working (multi-service, multi-agency and multi-authority) and;

• Supports the exploitation of existing and emerging technologies to provide efficient and effective multi-agency working (in an approach which is sustainable and incremental)

The National Projects initiatives commissioned by ODPM are designed to help local authorities and public partnerships to accelerate the implementation of e-Government modernisation.

The FAME project is a critical component in improving the provision of services through effective and appropriate information sharing between local authorities, local authority service providers and other government agencies. The current lack of an agreed framework for the exchange of information between public services agencies poses major difficulties, delays and inefficiencies in most situations.

Multi-agency working is crucial to many of the Governments recent initiatives.  For example the Children?s Bill emphasised the importance of co-operation between agencies.  It placed "a new duty on agencies to cooperate among themselves and with other local partners to improve the wellbeing of children and young people so that all work to common outcomes; it also emphasised the lead role of local authorities in such co-operation ? ?through a Director of Children" s Services who will be accountable for local authority education and children?s social services and lead local change, and a Lead Council Member for Children?s Services?; finally it reinforced the importance of multi-agency working by announcing ?an integrated inspection framework to assess how well services work together to improve outcomes for children".

As the welfare of children is only one of the many services that are shared amongst a number of agencies, it is clear how important it is to develop an overall framework for working together.

All of the current phase FAME products will be available from April 2006 via the FAME website.  These products are free of charge to all Local Authorities/Relevant Agencies.

All of the products from previous phases remain available in the archive section

Although the current ODPM funding of FAME is due to end in April 2006, work is underway to sustain the development of the various products (including CPD courses) in order to continue to disseminate, develop and improve the readiness assessment toolkit and other FAME products.

In more detail the FAME partners would be looking to:

• continue to offer capacity building opportunities to support the wider application of the framework in practice in current and emerging contexts and look to continue to engage other projects such as Government Connect and programmes such as Digital Challenge

• continue to work with central government bodies and initiatives e.g. DH, DfES, Home office and Cabinet Office to ensure that FAME builds clarity about the way ahead in multi-agency working

The main product that the current FAME provides a grounded deployable generic framework including:

• Regional Roadmap,

• Regional Demonstrator platform

• Regional Business Plan for Multi-agency working

• Updated FAME guidance and Readiness Tool