Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a local perspective
Public Sector Reform Conference
13 December 2011
Martin Ferguson, Policy Director - Socitm
martin.ferguson@socitm.gov.uk
www.socitm.net
Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a local perspective
www.socitm.net
Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a local perspective
Presentation outline:
1. Future Councils
2. Planting the Flag – cultural change driven by the sector
– exploiting culture as an opportunity rather than a
barrier
3. Role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) as an agent
of cultural change
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Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a local perspective
FUTURE COUNCILS
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Future councils - context
‘Big Society’
‘Open Public
Services’
‘Localism’
Zeitgeist
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Understanding?
Culture?
Skills?
Desire?
Remuneration?
Support?
Evidence?
Risks?
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Future councils –
commissioning
Transforming
Clustered
Residual
Commercial
Lifestyle
Future councils – an
alternative?
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Entrepreneurial
Transforming
Innovative
Flexible
Constantly in
flux
Managed risk
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Digitally
enabled
Future councils – the
alternative
Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a local perspective
www.socitm.net
REFORMING
CULTURE AND
GOVERNANCE
Planting the Flag: a strategy for ICT-enabled
local public services reform
Business-driven
Service
outcomes-led
Citizen-centred
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Planting the Flag: a strategy for ICT-enabled
local public services reform
CORE PRINCIPLES
Innovation
Re-design
Collaboration
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Focus on localities
Better understand service users’ needs
Build collaboration in services design and delivery
across the local public and third sector
Share expenditure, resources, assets and savings
Examples
 Sharing front offices e.g. council, primary care trust,
police and third sector organisations e.g. Kent, Norwich
 Reusing and sharing IT infrastructure e.g. Herefordshire
County and Primary Care Trust, Public Services Networks
in Hants and Kent, CenSus shared IT service in West
Sussex
 Reusing and sharing contracts e.g. Dorset Public
Services Network
Outcomes-led business change
Simplify, standardise and automate
Channel shift towards ‘digital by default’
Anytime, anywhere, any device
Examples
o Business change and benefits realisation e.g. ‘CHAMPS2’
and Vale of Glamorgan
o Single, shared information resources (face-to-face,
telephone and web channels) e.g. Surrey
o Digital delivery and inclusion e.g. Sunderland, ‘Connect
Digitally’ – schools admissions and free school meals
o Channel strategy/shift e.g. Harrow, Tameside
o Flexible and mobile working (‘workstyle’) e.g. Surrey,
Hants
Shift in ownership and control of data
Engage citizens and communities in service design
and delivery (co-creation and co-production)
Re-use capability and build capacity – resources,
information and skills in the community
Exploit transparent and open data
Examples
Personalisation of social and health care e.g. Bromley
and Redbridge, Association of Directors of Adult Social
Care ‘Easycare’ model
‘Digital City’ e.g. Brighton & Hove’s ‘Council Connect’
Mutual support e.g. Caerphilly’s foster carers on
Facebook
New ‘smartphone-based’ information services e.g. bus
movements, on-demand waste recycling, Lewisham ‘Love
Clean Streets’, etc.
Planting the Flag: building the capabilities
Organisational
change
ICT CAPABILITIES
Collaborative
governance
Leadership
Professionalism
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www.socitm.net
Leadership role - is a new
model required?
Management tasks - is a new
model required?
• Followers do not perceive
leadership as a hierarchical
relationship
• Values such as trust, honesty,
respect and a sense of
equality most often cited as
important
• Leadership can be diffuse
 Focused on defining public
value outcomes and then
realising them most
efficiently
 Underpinned by effective
approaches to value
management/benefits
realisation e.g. CHAMPS2
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Organisational
Change
Outcomes
Realise
Benefits
Redesign
Implement
Organisational
Change
 Public, private and third sector stakeholders brought
together in collective forums with public agencies
 Consensus-oriented decision making
 Replaces adversarial and managerial modes of policy
making and implementation
 Critical variables:
o prior history of conflict or cooperation
o incentives for stakeholders to participate
o power and resources imbalances
o leadership
o institutional design
Collaborative
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governance
Critical success factors:
 face-to-face dialogue
 trust building
 developing commitment
 shared understanding
….. focusing on “small wins” gives rise to a virtuous cycle
of collaboration
Source: C Ansell and A Gash (2007) “Collaborative
Governance in Theory and Practice” Oxford Journals
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Collaborative
governance
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Forth Valley GIS – joint venture company
Herefordshire County Council and
Primary Care Trust – shared chief exec
and management team
‘Tri-Boros’ - London Boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham,
Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster – service by service merging children’s services under one director and management
team
Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire County Councils – joint
venture company for resource planning
Worthing and Adur District Councils – joint chief executive and
strategic committee, simultaneous executive meetings
London Boroughs of Newham and Havering –
single CIO, centres of excellence
Collaborative
www.socitm.net
governance
 Socitm – the association for ICT and related
professionals in the public and third sectors, and
suppliers to these sectors.
 Socitm’s activities include:
 Member support, professional development and
accreditation
 Policy and influence
 Insight research and professional guidance e.g. IT
Trends, Local e-Government Now series
 Benchmarking – Better Connected, IT, Channel
Value
 Specialist consulting
 www.socitm.net
International – partner associations
Professionalism
Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a local perspective
ROLE OF THE CIO
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Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – role of the CIO
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Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – role of the CIO
… or Captain Scarlet --action hero with mysterious
super-human powers of
indestructibility?
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The Chief Information Officer (CIO) role as an
agent of cultural change
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Role of the CIO – ten steps to IT leadership
success
1. Tell the narrative of change (not how IT will change)
2. Handle the inherent complications of change (don’t
further confuse it)
3. Take risks (don’t avoid them)
4. Provide solutions to known (and unknown) problems
because that defines innovation
5. Position IT as a key enabler and transformer of
organisations and places (not a blocker or salvation)
www.socitm.net
Role of the CIO – ten steps to IT leadership
success (cont’d)
6. Understand the potential of the networked world
7. Route everything back to service delivery on the
ground – nothing else really matters
8. Grab all opportunities as they are presented
9. Put the ‘customer’ at the heart of all design and build
solutions
10. Put the fun, dynamic energy and inspiration into ITenabled transformation.
Source: Martin Reeves, CEO – Coventry City Council
www.socitm.net
Culture and Governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a SOLACE perspective
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What might your local authority look like
in the future?
How can organisations stimulate
innovation?
Are we clear what outcomes we are able
to deliver?
Are local authorities making best use of
the internet?
What is the role of social media?
How may decision-making structures
need to adapt?
What is the innovation challenge for
leaders?
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THE FUTURE?
Culture and governance in the Provision of
Public Services – reflections from a local
perspective
 Ethos, psychology and reward
 Governance and management arrangements and
accountability in service provision
 Culture – professional judgement, personal responsibility
 Long term strategic thinking
 The role of Innovation in public service delivery
 Sustainable delivery of services and promotion of green
approaches
 Encouraging flexibility and developing capacity
 Management of renewable and non-renewable resources
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Culture and governance in the Provision of
Public Services – a local perspective - sources
 www.socitm.net
 www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2011/future-councils-life-afterthe-spending-cuts/
 www.solace.org.uk
 www.champs2.info
 http://jpart.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/4/543.abstract
 martin.ferguson@socitm.gov.uk
www.socitm.net