Income Generation
Client Context
Shropshire Council faced increasing pressure to balance its budget amid constrained resources and growing demand for services. Recognising the need for innovative solutions, the council sought to build upon its existing commercial activities to ensure sustainable public finances. To support this ambition, Human Engine was engaged to identify and evaluate opportunities for additional income. This included a detailed review of existing fees and charges, exploration of new revenue streams and assessment of long-term opportunities such as energy generation and assistive technology.
Our Approach
Human Engine adopted a structured and data-driven approach to identify opportunities for income generation, align the council with market standards and enhance its commercial acumen:
We began with an analysis of the council's current fees and charges, comparing them against geographical and statistical neighbours. Based on this benchmarking, new fees were proposed for each identified service area.
Further analysis identified where the council was not charging for services from which other authorities were receiving income, presenting different choices to Members as an alternative to service cuts.
We also assessed the council's income from schools, uncovering key insights and opportunities for improvement. A focused review of the council’s school cleaning and catering services resulted in actionable recommendations to enhance efficiency and profitability.
The team presented case studies of successful income generation initiatives from other councils to Shropshire’s leadership team, sparking discussions about new opportunities.
Using our experience of working with public authorities nationally, we created a best practice Commercial Toolkit to help council officers sustainably embed rigorous commercial discipline in the organisation.
Outputs and Outcomes
Human Engine identified £2.1 million in opportunities for new or increased income, exceeding the council’s target. Our recommendations aligned Shropshire with its comparators, ensuring its income generation strategies were evidence-based and market-competitive.
Beyond financial outcomes, the project delivered practical tools and recommendations to improve the council's commercial acumen, providing a foundation for sustainable income generation and informed decision-making on an ongoing basis.
Key deliverables included:
1. Business cases for shortlisted opportunities, supporting immediate implementation.
2. A detailed inventory of all opportunities explored, to provide a pipeline of initiatives.
3. Opportunity Sizing: A comprehensive document outlining recommendations, risks and implementation considerations for opportunities in each service area.
4. Commercial Competency Framework: A tool for assessing and improving the council's commercial acumen and maturity.
5. Commercial Toolkit: A comprehensive suite of tools and templates to support officers in commercial projects on an ongoing basis.
6. Commercial Cost Calculator: A practical tool for calculating product and service costs to ensure full cost recovery at a minimum when setting prices.
This project not only delivered immediate financial benefits but also equipped Shropshire Council with the tools and frameworks to embed a culture of commercial thinking, ensuring long-term benefits and organisational resilience.
About Us
Human Engine is a leading management consultancy with specialisms in strategy, transformation, digital, commercial, procurement and projects.
Founded in 2018, we have partnered with more than 50 local authorities, central government, NHS organisations and national charities to help transform their strategies, operations and cultures.
Our mission is to help individuals and organisations to do the best work of their lives. We do this by blending first-hand, practical experience of the problems we help our clients solve with award-winning consulting expertise and an approach based on trust, collaboration and partnership.