Consultancies form digital delivery alliance for government projects
A handful of the country’s smaller-sized consultancies have banded together to launch the Australian Digital Delivery Alliance, which will coordinate on digital government projects.
The alliance’s founding members include Ora Advisory, BizCubed, ConceptSix, Excelium, GoSource and Local Peoples, together with former BCG partner David Heacock as a spokesperson and coordinator.
Set to officially launch next month, the Australian Digital Delivery Alliance (ADDA) has been formed in response to what its leaders believe has become an unfair playing field in the procurement of services to government.
“Australia has so many sovereign consulting firms that want nothing more than the chance to work and lead successful digital programs,” Ora’s Lisa Milin said of the launch. “Together, we will collaborate seamlessly and work to educate and influence government ICT on new models and approaches to delivery that will restore capability, produce real digital outcomes, and create enduring value.”
The move comes amid growing calls led by independent ACT senator David Pocock to reform the Australian public sector’s tech procurement process with a greater emphasis given to building sovereign capabilities, but the smaller firms will still be up against their larger, well-financed local counterparts such as Nous Group, Synergy, Mantel and Atturra in bidding for contracts.
A recent LinkedIn post from Heacock – who in addition to Boston Consulting Group also previously served as chief digital innovation officer at DXC Technology and within the public sector – noted that the government’s digital services marketplace BuyICT had just three out of 135 open opportunities at the time listed as ‘open to all’, putting the smaller suppliers at a significant disadvantage.
Hence the alliance, with the parties together bringing a wide variety of advisory, design and delivery capabilities to the table. Both launched in Canberra since Covid-19, ConceptSix and Ora Advisory mix strategy and transformation services with technology know-how, while fellow ACT-based firms GoSource and Excelium focus respectively on digital builds and high-level cyber-defence.
They are joined by Victorian human-centred design services outfit Local Peoples, which launched a Canberra studio last year, and data & analytics engineering consultancy BizCubed of Sydney. Additionally, former PwC partner Rosanne Brand and Marissa Lynch are also founding members, the latter who has headed marketing functions at BCG and Ernst-Young among her other senior roles.
