Accenture is proud to have delivered the award-winning Business Transformation Project for the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS). Completed in January 2002, the five-year project to modernize Ontario's welfare delivery system has generated over $692 million in savings. In addition, this business transformation project has resulted in improved client service and increased program integrity.
In November, 2003, Accenture was recognized by the Canadian Council for Private-Public Partnerships with the prestigious Gold Award for Service Delivery at the 6th Annual National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnership. This is the third award for the project, in addition to an Award of Merit and the Diamond Award presented by the 2001 Showcase Ontario Awards for Excellence. These awards recognized projects that demonstrated innovation, creativity, and service excellence in public-private partnerships.
The project's success to date is attributable to Accenture's collaborative working arrangement with the Ministry's corporate and field staff, and municipalities. Accenture's knowledge of technology and its experience in large-scale business transformation redesigns ensured delivery of a province-wide state-of-the-art system which serves caseworkers and their clients.
The Business Challenge
In 1995, the Ontario government set a goal to provide programs that feature excellent customer service, information on demand, and modern technology. Creating efficient programs would also save taxpayers money. This Ministry provides social assistance to approximately 700,000 Ontario residents who are vulnerable and in need, including adults, children and people with physical and developmental disabilities. Income support is provided through two major programs: Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program. Social assistance delivery provided an immediate challenge because the 30- year-old delivery management system had become unmanageable: - Caseloads had almost tripled;
- Annual costs had risen from $1.3 billion in 1985 to $6.8 billion in 1995;
- More than 7,000 caseworkers deliver social assistance at 290 different sites;
- A paper-based, labour-intensive system, left little time for direct contact with clients;
- Lack of common technology and information sharing led to error and fraud.
It was in this environment that the Ministry embarked on its Business Transformation Project—a comprehensive examination and redesign of social assistance programs aimed at improving services, reducing caseloads and operating more cost-effectively. How Accenture Helped The Ministry selected Accenture to assist with implementation of the Business Transformation Project because of the firm's extensive experience in business process re-engineering, human service programs, technology development, implementation planning and its willingness to invest its own financial and human resources in the success of the project. The Business Transformation Project is a joint effort between the Ministry of Community and Social Services and Accenture. Under the agreement, the Ministry and Accenture have: - Designed new business processes and supporting technology to improve service to citizens and prevent fraud;
- Planned and implemented a restructured delivery system to support new social assistance programs efficiently;
- Implement the new system to over 200 sites in Ontario, enabling the Ministry's staff to spend more time serving the public;
- Trained staff and delivered human performance services to support the transition to new business processes and technology;
- Used value-based measurement approaches and tools to realize the value delivered by the project.
High Performance Delivered
The public-private partnership between the Ministry and Accenture to build efficient delivery management systems has resulted in improved client service, increased program integrity, and substantial savings for taxpayers. When the program was completed in January 2002, the redesigned system had generated an estimated $301.9 million in net savings, representing a net return of 143 percent for the Ontario government. To date, the program has generated $692 million in savings. In fact, now that the project is complete it is expected to generate an estimated $200 million in annual savings for the province, municipalities, and taxpayers.
This arrangement was a value-based partnership in which Accenture and MCSS jointly invested time and money, with reimbursement contingent on the project's ability to realize concrete financial benefits based on the work completed. Early opportunities were used to generate early benefits that financed the achievement of the larger project initiatives. Both Accenture and the client recovered their respective project costs from savings generated. All on-going savings accrue to the benefit of the taxpayers of Ontario.
Client Perspective
Client Perspective on Business Transformation Project—Article from Canadian Government Executive Magazine on this project  To Top
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