Implementation of the strategy is being delayed by the lack of reliable, consistent government HR and commercial data. In 2023, the Government Finance Function began leading ‘NOVA’. NOVA is the guidance and standards that functions should follow when setting up all their processes like hiring an employee or paying a grant. If followed, 6 these standards, should allow all departments to map processes in the same way, improving the quality of data and making bringing data together a lot easier. We have regularly commented on the connection between data quality and efficiency in government. The Cabinet Office itself recognises that NOVA is a key element of how it intends to save money for the taxpayer. While the Finance and Grants Functions have followed these standards and converged their data across government, the Government People Function’s adoption of converged HR data and processes was delayed. The Cabinet Office cannot provide a precise timeline for the Government People Function to implement required changes to its HR data and processes, only that it expects the data and processes to align before departments join their assigned shared services cluster. The Government Commercial Function opted out of NOVA from the beginning. recommendation a. The Government People Function should commit to a roadmap and timeline for implementing all NOVA processes. b. The Government Commercial Function should commit to engaging with NOVA, and implementing its revised functional standard. 7 1 Feasibility and governance of the Shared Services Strategy Introduction