Apr 29

A Letter to The Economist on Transforming Britain’s Schools

Education, Policy Area, Public Service Reform 1 Comment »

It didn’t make it into The Economist this week, but here’s the text of a letter that was submitted in response to last week’s article on the challenge of transforming Britain’s schools. Whatever the policies of the next parliament they shall struggle to move from the politicial rhetoric to a practical and productive reality so that we might begin to tackle one of the biggest challenges ahead.

Sir,

The Conservatives’ plans for a Big Society and their ambition to transform Britain’s schools to a local design are admirable. However on the basis of the evidence from big government as we have seen it over the last 13 years, rhetoric, no matter how sincere and well-meaning, often has a weak link to reality.

When it comes to realising the Big Society and new schools created by parents, there is a particular issue to address – How can citizens who might not have experience of government and policymaking empower themselves to make the practical contribution that is desperately needed?

The need for an answer to this question is urgent and unprecedented: the public finances alone demand a significant improvement in productivity in a sector of the economy that is both large (53.4 % of GDP) and complex.

If the plans of any future government are to be delivered, there is a clear and present need for a mechanism that helps close the gap between the rhetoric of politicians, the analyses and strategies of policymakers and the day-to-day practices of public, private and third sector workers engaged in service delivery.

Perhaps The Economist could set the rules and host a treasure hunt which calls for Britain’s front line leaders to “go compare” mechanisms that turn policies into practices. If the hunt served simply to focus minds on how to make services work in a service economy that would be a good step. If it turned up a replicable, scalable process that shows people how to do something collaboratively rather then endlessly repeating only the policy, that would be a collective triumph.

One early beneficiary of such a framework and set of processes, would be the New Schools Network and the many teams ambitious to provide schooling to their own local design.

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Apr 08

Witness Appeals: Progress update and teaser

Criminal Justice, Projects, Witness Appeal Mapping 1 Comment »

The last few weeks have been a busy time for Viscero, working with partners, on the development of the witness appeals technology.

Things aren’t quite ready for more than a “proof of life” teaser at this stage, but it should provide you with a taste for the beta when it is released later this year. We’re making use of some wonderful open-source tools to help deliver the service in a cost-effective manner.

We’re also going to be holding some further service design workshops to guide the on-going development of the service and build on the rapid prototyping work already carried out. This should help keep us on track with meeting the needs of victims, witnesses, police officers and the public. We’ll be releasing some more detail on these in the weeks ahead.

If you’d like to learn more about the project, feel you have something to contribute or would just like to discuss how we can all help contribute towards the delivery of a meaningful answer to the £160 billion question that faces the UK, do get in touch. We know we’re not alone in believing that “the scope for doing things better and cheaper is huge”.

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Apr 08

The £160bn question that our politicians will need to answer (even if it is after the polls have closed)

Public Service Reform No Comments »

With the general election campaign underway and the result less than a month away, it’s worth asking what will be different this time around.  Whether there is a change of government or not, the video above provides some useful reminders. Leaders can promise to make changes, can offer hope and can find their efforts and the efforts of other reformers thwarted. It is clear, from the words of Blair, that delivering “change in the public sector and public services” is not just hard work, but a “battle” of so-called “reformers versus wreckers”.

The challenge facing the next government shall be even greater than that faced by Blair, for the difference is that there shall not be record increases in public spending or public sector pay. In fact any desire to improve public services will be constrained by the pressing need to curb the deficit and get the national debt under control. It is also reasonable to assume that the general economic environment could prove to be far from benign.

It is also the case that the UK, like other economies, faces the challenge of ever-increasing demand pressure on the public services through a combination of socioeconomic and demographic factors. Without new approaches and the triumph of reformers over wreckers, the competitiveness of the UK economy and the welfare of the public and especially those who are most vulnerable shall suffer.

The high-level answer must surely be a smaller state and a stronger society - but the £160bn question that the public is beginning to ask (see Question Time [16m55s]) is how can this be delivered? No answers were forthcoming last night - but it’s a question that won’t and shouldn’t go away. If our politicians don’t answer it to the satisfaction of our financial markets after the election, it will be the men and women of the IMF that will answer it for us.

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