Re: Why outsource
One of the most efficient public bodies I've worked for was efficient because it had avoided outsourcing. Everything was still in-house and the people their knew how the organisation worked and how to provide software for its needs. There were 7 of us doing the work of about 30 in similar sized outsourced organisations of the same size. And where there were 30 people on the ground there were several floating consultants who each earned more than the 7 of us put together.
Things got done in the time other organisations needed to organise the meetings to discuss what needed to be done.
I got made redundant from one organisation that decided it would save money outsourcing, along with 5 others, and when I talked to one of my mates who was still there a couple of years later there were 11 consultants in there getting nothing done.
For small organisations the inside knowledge of how the organisation works and where the staircase with the hidden server is can be more valuable than some twat with a shiny suit and an MBA.