Internet firm extends web to Irish health

MARGARET Ford, the high profile businesswoman who runs theEdinburgh-based internet firm Good Practice, has sold her onlinetraining solution to the Irish Health Board for a six-figure sum.

Ford has also confirmed she has just signed a deal withAstraZeneca, the pharmaceuticals firm, which will now have a one-year licence to access online learning materials.

"The AstraZeneca deal is fantastic for us. We now supply ourservices to over 20 per cent of the FTSE top 100 companies. We'veonly been trading for 18 months and already we've had repeat businessfrom all of our existing clients," said Ford.

"The deal in Ireland puts us on the map and we've already hadinterest from Australia."

Ford, the chief executive, set up the online publishing company in1999. She owns 70 per cent of the firm with the additional equityraised through private business angels.

She hopes to increase the client list of Good Practice worldwidewith partnerships in both the public and private sectors.

"The last few months have been a difficult trading environment foreveryone yet we are still achieving quality sales. We're building thebusiness up gradually but keeping our feet on the ground," said Ford.

Good Practice publishes online resources for training and HRspecialists, and for line managers and executives. Ford says the mainadvantage of the internet is easy access, allowing clients to reviewthe latest thinking in organisational development and access a bankof practical resources for immediate use in their own organisation.

This is the first foray into Ireland. It began when the Office forHealth Management (TOHM) in Dublin said it was seeking to improvemanagement and organisational development in the Irish healthservices.

This coincided with a new health strategy in Ireland: Quality andFairness - a Health System for You, containing three core themes:personal development, leadership and management development andorganisational development.

Once this strategy had been identified, the office chose todeliver the services using web-based resources, and goodpractice.netbecame the supplier.

"We created a bank of learning materials and other resources,called The Knowledge Centre, where information can be accesseddirectly from the TOHM website," said Ford.

"Now the health service staff across Ireland can access theinformation online and the feedback has been great. Through this wenow have strong interest from Australia."

Ford's claim that it is used and appreciated by staff andmanagement in the Irish Republic seems true. She argues that it issomething the Scottish health boards should consider. In her'previous life' she chaired Lothian Health Board from 1997 to 2000.

Ford said: "Our testimonials have been superb. Maeve Martin, asenior clinical psychologist, said: 'Well done on this fantasticwebsite. The wealth of information is very impressive and I lookforward to dipping in and out of it regularly.'"

She said another health worker, Sibeal Carolan of the EasternRegional Health Authority, said she had a further look at the contentand viewed it on screen, saying "It looks excellent and is veryrelevant to our needs here".

Although Ford is confident for the future of her internet basedfirm, she is adamant it is not a dot.com firm. "So many firmsreceived huge amounts of cash and there was no business plan behindit. However, if you do have a good idea, a sound business plan and abackground in delivering results, it doesn't make it any easier," shesaid.

She pointed out her annoyance at the delay in the Fund of Fundsdeal announced last year by the then enterprise minister WendyAlexander. The fund was set up to address the funding gap for smallenterprises seeking 500,000 pounds. At this level of investment thefirms are too small for venture capital funding and too big forbusiness angels.

"I'm wondering when it will be unveiled. It was announced lastyear to fuel the growth of start-ups but we've heard nothing since,"said Ford.

She has spent the past 15 years creating her own businesses, soshe identifies with those who have funding difficulties . "I've beenlucky and my funders have been supportive but that's not the case foreveryone. They've had patience and we've had the backing ofsupportive investors," she said.

"I hope the Fund of Fund scheme will be available soon so othersmight get the chance to grow the same way."

Goodpractice.net was set up following the sale of Eglinton, themanagement company Ford had founded seven years before.

She began her career as a graduate economist and spent her earlyworking life in local government and the Scottish financial sector.She's also a former director of the Scottish Prison Service.

Currently chair of English Partnerships, the economic regenerationpartnership for England, Ford finds herself at the helm of thegovernment development agency charged with delivering disused landinto commercially viable projects.

She said: "We've just agreed the housing programme for the nextfive years in England and I want to make sure we don't make the samemistakes as in the 1950s and 1960s. We need to create mixedcommunities, where people are proud to live, not desperately tryingto get out of."

Last week, statistics released by the National Land Use Databasein England showed huge tranches of brownfield land is available fordevelopment. Ford says the continuing supply of such land isimportant for the provision of affordable housing.

The government's target for 60 per cent of new developments to bebuilt on previously developed land and through conversion of existingbuildings by 2008 could then be met.