Hampshire County Council

Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee Item 5

23 May 2002

Hatrics - the Southern Information Network

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: Nick Fox Ext: 6077

1. Summary

1.1 Hatrics is an excellent example of a longstanding and successful County Council-led partnership which has benefited the Authority, the community (especially the business community) and the local economy. Its objective is to exploit the economic value of information resources and expert knowledge held by organisations in the area. It has been noted as a national model by the DTI (Department for Trade and Industry), DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) and SEEDA (South East England Development Agency). It is likely to make a key contribution to the "Wired Region" and to actions flowing from the recent Economic Prosperity Best Value Review.

2. Background

2.1 Hatrics began in Southampton in 1964 as a Library-led project to link local organisations whose information resources could benefit the local economy. Founder members included the public and university libraries and local firms such as IBM, Vosper-Thornycroft, Plessey and Pirelli. Members agreed to share non-sensitive information and expertise, and a simple directory of resources, skills and special interests was compiled.

"...an invaluable pool of fellow professionals to consult when I'm stuck..."

- Sue Sinclair, Information Officer, EDS, Fleet

3. Hatrics Today

3.1 Today Hatrics is the UK's largest and most active information partnership in its field and a unique contributor to the economic health of the area.

"...Hatrics helps us in everything we ask and the staff really put in lots of effort..."

- Ray Bryant, Technical Librarian, Aerostructures, Hamble

3.2 The 270 members include the region's universities, public libraries, government establishments, research agencies, health services and some 230 local companies ranging from multinationals to individuals. Leading commercial partners include BAE Systems, Colt, Eli Lilley, IBM, Kvaerner and Nokia. Hatrics is administered by the County Library and its finances are handled by the County Treasurer.

"... my primary reference source when I don't know the answer..."

- Norma Goddard, Information Officer, Nokia R&D (UK) Ltd, Farnborough

4. Contributing to Economic Prosperity

"...the most economical route to increased corporate information resources..."

Claire Holder, Head of Information Services, Kvaerner Process (UK) Ltd, Segensworth

4.1 Hatrics helps the County Council support the information needs of local business. It provides a one-stop network through which members can help each other to help themselves, with expert assistance from Library staff. Hatrics offers rapid and easy access to vital business and technical information, research and development data, learning and skills opportunities, market research, knowledge and expertise or simply informal sharing of problems, experiences and resources.

4.2 Hatrics has expanded considerably since 1964 and subscriptions now generate some £50k per annum. Support for Hatrics has been a regular feature of the County Council's Economic Development Strategy. The recent Economic Prosperity Best Value Review has provided an opportunity to strengthen the contribution of both the Library Service and Hatrics within the Outcomes Report and Improvement Plan. Web pages have also been created on Hantsweb to give Hatrics higher profile and visibility within the County Council.

"...knowing that the required information will be arriving has been of tremendous benefit..."

- Simon Gosling, Aeromatic-Fielder Ltd, Eastleigh

5. Hatrics in the UK Context

"...an excellent business information service..."

Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, Chairman, Library & Information Services Council (England)

5.1 In 1999 consultants investigated Hatrics for the British Library to determine its value and impact, and the benefits of adopting the model across the UK. Critical success factors were identified and transferability was confirmed. "Valuable and irrefutable evidence" of cost-benefit was identified, as was the net economic cost to the UK of failing to capitalise on regional library and information resources.

5.2 The report was well received. The DTI said : "This report is of considerable value in ensuring that library and information services make their full contribution to the future competitiveness of the country. It has been passed to our Knowledge Management Team responsible for spreading Best Practice on using knowledge to competitive advantage. It is good to get such a clear and well-focussed report".

5.3 The consultants concluded that Hampshire was leading the UK in a valuable and economically useful activity, which others would do well to copy. The report confirmed that library and information services, where they are well-organised and well-resourced, have a key role to play in economic support.

5.4 The consultants added: "The results of our comprehensive survey on value and impact demonstrate the high value placed on Hatrics' services particularly by business organisations and especially smaller and specialised firms. Over 47% assessed the importance of information received through Hatrics as `critical' or `very important'. In total 142 out of 173 respondents (82%) were positive or very positive about the influence of the network on their business. The reasons given provide valuable and irrefutable evidence of perceived benefit to member organisations".

"...Hatrics lets me offer my users a far wider access to information..."

Sue Stevenson, Librarian, Highbury College, Portsmouth

6. Latest Developments

6.1 As a sub-regional organisation Hatrics helps to deliver the County Council's economic strategy within the SE Region. Links already exist with sister organisations in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, and fruitful relations have been established with the Regional Development Agency SEEDA and the new SE Museum, Library and Archive Council (SEMLAC).

6.2 SEEDA has just approved funding for a Hatrics / SEMLAC research proposal to map the economically-useful knowledge base in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight sub-region, and to write a design brief for exploiting it more efficiently through the Wired Region. Based on the outcomes of the research, a larger project may follow to map and design a network for the whole SE Region, and ultimately to construct it.

6.3 The SEEDA award is important because it confirms that the County Council's libraries and those of its partners, and the culture and heritage area represented by SEMLAC, have a key contribution to make to economic prosperity; and that Hatrics is a successful model through which the RDA can work to deliver its own objectives.

"Hatrics provides a whole range of services under a single umbrella. We have a single supplier which demands a single payment which we know in advance, offering a wide range of support services which we can draw on as and when, and as often as we need". Farnborough company

7. Conclusion

7.1 Hatrics is a long-established sub-regional partnership which has proved durable and adaptable under the County Council's leadership. It is economical to run and generates a level of income whilst providing a model set of services with high stakeholder value. Key success factors are identified as a shared vision and philosophy, well-focussed organisation, ability to adapt over time, perceived cost-effectiveness, an accessible local network, staff skills and commitment, quality of response, and depth and range of resources. An impressive list of which the County Council can feel justifiably proud.

7.2 Government and regional bodies have recognised effective knowledge management as being critically importance to economic success. They seem willing to support and exploit available tools for this purpose rather than reinvent the wheel. This suggests a continuing role for Hatrics as a highly successful County Council initiative which helps to support the economy of Hampshire.

8. Recommendation

That the Policy and Review Committee acknowledge the award from the SEEDA and support any further work in extending the Hatrics model to the SE region.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1 Published works.

2 Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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