1. Leading Innovation in Local Councils Joan Munro 11 th June 2012

2. Research context  Research on innovation mostly:  in private sector  about producing new products  from USA  Public sector innovation research mainly based on good practice case studies  Little research on top leadership impact on innovation  Some on organisational context for innovation

3. Innovation in local government Innovations can be changes to:  Ambitions/Philosophy  Services/service delivery processes  Organisational structures/boundaries  Democratic arrangements  Ways communicate with & involve citizens Deliver value for service users &/or citizens: add ‘Public value’ or ‘Social good’

4. Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Key Aims  Identify what chief executives can do to encourage innovation.  Promote this learning to local councils.  Contribute to research evidence on innovation in public services. Process  Building on NESTA’s Everyday Innovation research  Discussion with group of 8 Chief Executives July 2011  Interviewed 12 leading Chief Executives from larger authorities, July to December 2011  Between April to October 2012 testing Framework in councils including focus groups with employees

5. Key findings so far  Political considerations & politicians’ attitudes to innovation & risk taking key  Many innovations adaptations from other councils  Leading chief executives interviewed taking many of the actions that encourage innovation  Few have explicit & comprehensive approach to encouraging innovation

6. More could benefit if:  Agree key long term priority areas for major innovations  Use design thinking to better understand residents’/service users’ lives & aspirations  Develop/obtain expertise in innovation processes & latest new technologies  Don’t expect private sector commissioning/partnerships to automatically produce innovation  Work:  Across services internally  With public/voluntary sector partners & ‘funky people’

7. Local Councils’ Innovation Framework

8. Leadership for High Performance Ipsos Mori(2006)  Clear vision  Passion, energy, enthusiasm  Communicate  Delegate  People-orientated  Positive culture  Accept some risk  Invest in people  Recognise & reward good work  Involve – particularly managers  Focus on delivery

9. What’s different?  Greater focus on understanding residents’ & service users’ lives & aspirations  United top team  Recruiting & retaining people with fresh perspectives, &/or drive for innovation  Cross boundary working  Search for new ideas from abroad/other sectors  Innovation strategies & processes  Maximizing use of new technology  Programme & project management

10. Context Context Clear political priorities for innovation Effective delivery mechanisms Culture for innovation LEADERSHIP

11. It is important to let customers drive innovation. Are our services still relevant to the changing needs of the public? Are we sufficiently paranoid, or are we just carrying on doing what we decided on doing three years ago? Barry Quirk, LB Lewisham

12. What is a bright idea depends on the context. You can have all sorts of bright ideas, but it is never going to happen because you don’t recognise the barriers or you don’t chime with the aspirations with other players you are not going to get there. Will Tuckley, LB Bexley.

13. People have different models of leadership: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill or Rudy Giuliani in 9/11. The picture I put up is Alan Titchmarsh. It’s about nurturing and sticking with things. Bruce McDonald, LB Kingston upon Thames.

14. The key thing is having a really clear idea about what you are trying to do; have absolute clarity. It is essential to have the support of the majority of people: residents, staff, partners and, especially, local politicians. Amanda Skelton, Redcar and Cleveland

15. We are shaping the local government of the future, not of the past and we are doing it with a relentless focus on more efficient outcomes for our residents. We are doing things that people couldn’t have imagined previously. Martin Swales, South Tyneside

16. Details  Framework & other materials available at: http://creativity.city.ac.uk/accelerating_local_govt_in nov.html  Chief executives’ self assessment questions  Frontline staff focus groups formats  Contact details:  joan.munro.1@city.ac.uk joan.munro.1@city.ac.uk  Tel: 0779 2952 498