Opportunities to adapt – and to improve lives
In the private sector, ‘transformation’ consultants and chief executives of beleaguered companies often talk about ‘burning platforms’, dire situations they can turn to advantage by requiring obstructive employees and reluctant middle managers metaphorically to ‘jump’ or change their ways.
Amid the turmoil of the Middle East – and other fast moving political, economic and geopolitical events – it may be tempting for leaders to see the whole world at the moment in such stark terms.
In government, however, calmer heads and more moderate language should prevail. There is some truth in the (somewhat distasteful) maxim that “you shouldn’t let a good crisis go to waste”, but elsewhere we’ve already seen the destructive impact on morale, administrative capabilities and public service delivery of crude public sector ‘downsizing’. That should not be allowed to happen in the UK.
Like all large organisations the UK Civil Service will of course continue to adapt, and I hope this edition of the Heywood Quarterly (with its brightly coloured cover of a friendly chameleon) inspires new thought and discussion about the nature of the opportunities, what’s driving change, and how successful innovation in the public sector not only increases efficiency but improves citizens’ lives.
Catriona Laing’s article on soft power seems particularly timely at the moment, for while Britain’s changing role in the world may not be a new topic the UK’s ability to project influence and build trusted partnerships is arguably more important than ever. Conjuring up the spirit of Joseph Nye and Jeremy Heywood, Catriona makes the point that it’s not just diplomats who can wield soft power to the country’s advantage: ‘soft power moments’ like a film premiere, a cultural festival or a sporting fixture can be used to help unlock ‘hard power outcomes’ (resetting a stalled conversation, a damaged relationship or getting a business deal over the line). “In a world where trust, credibility and narrative shape outcomes”, she concludes, “the ability to pull others toward your vision through values, culture and institutional strength isn’t soft; it is strategic.”
Few civil servants have had as much experience of the inner workings of Whitehall as Helen MacNamara, a former deputy Cabinet Secretary among other senior roles. Helen’s conversation with Peter McDonald also covers a number of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ issues, including the structure of key institutions at the centre, the lesson she took from the 2012 Olympics and the importance of humility and humanity in government. The exercise of power, she warns, is both a privilege and a risk. Leaders need to recognise their own limitations and resist the temptation of hubris – “one of the things that doesn’t work very well is when you have people who’ve only ever worked in places of central positional power.”
Getting the right people with the right skills into leadership positions nevertheless remains a perennial challenge, and my discussion with Met Office chief executive Penny Endersby illustrates how more scientists have been rising to the top of government in recent years (a trend likely to have accelerated in the wake of Covid). Penny acknowledges the pressures of change – and the need to respond to it in areas like AI – but interestingly she also asserts the enduring importance of qualities like rigour and independence. Having emerged from the shadows as more public figures in an age of polarisation and misinformation, she points out, scientists have to balance their responsibility for articulating the Government’s message with their profession’s reputation for integrity and fact-based analysis.
You could hardly find a better example of facts driving policy than the story of how the Department for Education developed a tool during Covid that tracks daily attendance numbers in English schools. As Susan Acland-Hood and Simon Blake explain, this project has been more than just a technical innovation – it represents a cultural shift. By providing daily data to individual schools and local authorities, it is helping educators and parents better understand the causes of absenteeism and its adverse impact on exam results and careers, as well as informing their decisions about how, where and when to intervene.
Stacey Rothwell, a civilian in Kent Police’s Innovation Task Force, and Police Constable John Porter from South Yorkshire, may not be household names. But as pioneers of ‘evidence-based policing’ they are living proof that change across government does not have to come from the top. In another example of how public policy is more effective when informed by proper research, Matt Bland’s article describes how Stacey’s innovation has resulted in more timely support for victims of domestic abuse, and how John’s use of GPS tracker dramatically reduced the number of missing person incidents involving those living with dementia. The key to these new developments, however, was not just rolling them out on instinct as had been the pattern in the past, but testing them in the real world, measuring their impact and adapting practice based on empirical results.
Results – more customers served at lower cost – were a striking outcome of digital reforms in New South Wales over the last decade described by Victor Dominello, one of the state government’s chief political architects. True horizontal government, Victor explains, demands a reimagining of the citizen experience from scratch, not just the use of digital tools.
One consequence of the global turmoil mentioned at the beginning of this introduction will, inevitably, mean even more more focus and time spent on addressing immediate threats and challenges at the expense of long-term policy making. As Lucy Smith, this year’s Heywood Fellow laments, the methods, routines and practices that support bigger long-term strategic thinking by governments have already atrophied in the wake of decades of short termism. Lucy says the problem is not just that the short term crowds out the long term but that we need to improve our understanding of the relationship between the two. If we look beyond our own shores, moreover, other countries (Singapore, Estonia, Ireland, Spain) are leading the way.
Her full paper with a range of fresh ideas and solutions will be ready in the autumn – and will be covered fully in the next editions of the Heywood Quarterly.
