Transformational Government – the view from Communities and Local Government Colin Whitehouse Senior Advisor Local Government Modernisation and Efficiency Communities and Local Government Colin Whitehouse Senior Advisor Local Government Modernisation and Efficiency Communities and Local Government

2 Transformational Government Strategy Ten year strategy, published November 2005 Three main elements –Services orientated towards needs of citizen and business –Shared Services Front office Back office Information Infrastructure –Raising standards of professionalism More collaboration required across the whole of the public sector eGov –> Efficiency –> Transformational Government journey

3 Public services reform the 4 core principles expanding choice Competition & contestability national/ local arrangements to align with different ‘customer’ need. local engagement Policy context - a tipping point? “Frontline staff are there to deliver services to the user … ….productive time can be reduced if people are having to spend too much time servicing the organisation rather than their customers.” CSR07 – 3% efficiency p.a. customers, customers, customers …….and all they really care about are outcomes and council tax LG White Paper: Strong & Prosperous Communities Shared Services - Varney Health White Paper: ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’ ‘Every Child Matters’ ‘Closer to People and Places’ (LGA) Health White Paper: ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’ ‘Every Child Matters’ ‘Closer to People and Places’ (LGA) Sir Peter Gershon Transformational Govt

4 Key areas for improvement Better information and intelligent analysis Business Process Improvement & Service Redesign Procurement Asset management Use of new technology Shared Services

5 How do we improve our ‘Business’? By: –Understanding our drivers –Understanding what works –Having a planned approach –Having the drive to see it through –Making decisions based on solid information –Assessing our capability in a standard way Developing the capacity to make informed “make or buy” decisions

6 Recent Research on Business Process Improvement Headlines “BPI is considered to be a vital tool in supporting service improvement” 80% of LA respondents think BPI is critical to the modernisation of public services Almost 90% believe their BPI projects to date have been successful Over 70% of projects have generated cashable efficiency gains There will be a switch from authorities using BPI to deliver incremental improvements to supporting more extensive transformation.” Most (BPI) studies discuss improvement in narrative/qualitative form. Financial information is often sketchy Baselines are critical to an accurate assessment of efficiency gains – and returns on resources employed – these are rarely cited …(perhaps because they don’t exist)

7 Business Improvement must consider the whole journey vision for change – a better result being delivered. Plan and implement Change Programme Perform Gap/ Change Analysis Create To Be processes Understand/ capture As is processes Process review in order to identify the practical options for business change

8 Sustainable business improvement - research indicates need to address inter-related issues 1. Identifying whether & which elements of local service delivery might benefit most from ‘business improvement’ 2. What is already happening in the community, what is it achieving what’s preventing greater/faster progress & 3. How to compare & contrast consistently 4. The type & level of investment needed to implement & ensure improvement is sustained

9 …overall a compelling case for a co-ordinated approach to supporting Business Improvement for councils to transform services for strengthening capability through the National Improvement Strategy to ‘make it happen’! Strong and prosperous communities The Local Government White Paper “ we will further support effective use of BPI techniques through a project(*) we are carrying out in partnership with local government. We will ensure that the lessons learnt from this project are fully shared across local government, as part of an integrated package of improvement also covering technology an collaboration – a Business Improvement Package.” Chapter 7

10 Channel Strategy development Customer Insight tools Workforce Strategy (Job design) Strategic Commissioning Good practice Customer Service Management systems Technology investment Collaboration & Shared Services options Delivery Chain/ Process Analysis & design Benchmarked processes Evidence for Challenge Procurement opportunities Market Shaping good practice Business Improvement Package a LG White Paper commitment SERVICE TRANSFORMATION tools & best practice guidelines Activity costing (on-costs) – part of an integrated approach to identifying and developing improvement tools that support business cases and practical implementation – a Business Improvement Package (BIP). (BIP) Help with business cases

11 Barriers and Pitfalls Lack of baseline data Disparate understanding of project purpose Lack of buy in No real ownership or drive to deliver Lack of expertise/resource Unwillingness to take tough decisions Lack of trust and genuine sharing of risks

12 Questions