
Income Generation


The Context
Shropshire Council faced increasing pressure to balance its budget amidst constrained financial resources and growing demand for services. Recognising the need for more innovative and sustainable solutions, the Council sought to build upon its existing commercialisation activities to better address community needs through strategic income generation.
To support this ambition, Human Engine was engaged to identify and evaluate opportunities for additional income across the Council’s operations. This included a thorough review of existing fees and charges, exploration of new revenue streams, and an assessment of long-term opportunities such as energy generation and assistive technology.
The Requirement
Shropshire Council recognised the need for a comprehensive review of its income generation activities to address financial challenges and unlock new revenue opportunities. To achieve this, the Council sought external expertise to undertake a detailed assessment of income streams across its operations.
The key objectives of the review were to:
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Evaluate existing income generation activities, including their costs, revenue, and overall value.
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Conduct benchmarking to compare Shropshire Council’s performance and practices with those of comparable local authorities.
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Develop principles and models for income generation and charging.
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Identify opportunities to maximise income, including areas to expand, discontinue, or introduce new services.
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Deliver actionable recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Council’s income generation strategies.

The Programme
Human Engine adopted a structured and data-driven approach to identify opportunities for income generation and align Shropshire Council with market standards.
The review began with an analysis of the Council's current fees and charges schedule, comparing it against both geographical and statistical neighbours. In many cases, Shropshire was ranked below its peers, highlighting areas where fee increases could be justified. Based on this benchmarking analysis, new fees were proposed for each identified service area.
The team also assessed the Council's income and buyback data for its schools offering, uncovering key insights and opportunities for improvement. A focused review of the Council’s school cleaning and catering services (‘Shire Services’) resulted in actionable recommendations to enhance efficiency and profitability.
Further analysis identified areas where Shropshire Council did not impose charges that other councils routinely applied. For example, the Council did not charge for licences to operate cranes within the county. Human Engine conducted a benchmarking analysis of neighbouring authorities that do charge for this service and recommended its introduction as a new income stream. This proposal was taken forward, with discussions on implementation initiated.
Case studies of successful income generation initiatives from other councils were presented to Shropshire’s team, sparking discussions about new opportunities. These examples demonstrated practical applications of innovative approaches and good practices.
Throughout the project, Human Engine maintained a collaborative working style. Fortnightly "keeping in touch" sessions were held to share updates, discuss findings, and introduce new ideas. Key highlight reports and an action log were regularly updated and reviewed during these sessions, ensuring transparency and timely resolution of any questions or challenges.
The Outcomes
Human Engine identified £2.1 million in opportunities to increase fees and charges, exceeding the Council’s initial target of £2 million. These recommendations aligned Shropshire Council with its comparative authorities, ensuring its income generation strategies were competitive and market driven.
Beyond financial outcomes, the project delivered strategic recommendations to improve the Council's commercial acumen. A suite of practical tools was developed to support the Council in assessing and enhancing its commercial maturity, providing a foundation for sustainable income generation and informed decision-making.
Key deliverables Included:
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Income Generation Opportunities Summary: A high-level overview of the identified opportunities.
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Income Generation Long List: A detailed inventory of all explored opportunities.
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Shropshire Final Opportunity Sizing: A comprehensive document outlining recommendations, Ease of Implementation & Risk ratings, and the methodology for each service area.
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Commercial Competency Framework: A tool for assessing and improving the Council's commercial acumen and maturity.
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Commercial Toolkit Templates Slide Deck: A collection of templates to support various income-related activities.
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Income Generation Product Cost Calculation Workbook: A practical tool for calculating product costs to ensure accurate pricing.
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Income Tracker: A template for monitoring and tracking income streams over time.
This project not only delivered immediate financial gains but also equipped Shropshire Council with the tools and frameworks to embed a culture of commercial thinking, ensuring long-term benefits and resilience.
Client Feedback:
“Human Engine helped us identify commercial opportunities that other local authorities were capitalising on. This was a huge help to us, many parts of which we will be implementing, enabling us to increase income to deliver services for our residents”.
About Us
Human Engine is a Financial Times top-ranked management consultancy with specialisms in strategy, change, digital, commercial and projects.
It was founded in 2018 with a belief that the public sector deserves better than it gets from traditional consulting firms – more human, more personal and more knowledgeable of the reality of delivering modern public services.
We have worked with dozens of public sector organisations to help transform their strategies, operations and cultures to be more agile, commercial and entrepreneurial in order to achieve financial sustainability and improved outcomes for customers and communities.
Our mission is to help individuals and organisations to do the best work of their lives. We do this by blending first-hand experience of the problems we help our clients solve with award-winning consulting expertise and an approach based on trust, collaboration and partnership.





