A new era of service delivery requires a firm grasp on community capability
Author: Andrew Jepp, Director of Public Services at Zurich Municipal in Local Government Chroncile |
Against a new policy context of opening up public service provision, recent reports by Localis and the CBI provide further evidence that outsourcing in the public sector is here to stay. The days of core council-provided services are at their end and instead local authorities must work collaboratively with private and voluntary sectors as they seek the best route to provide services to and, in some cases, with the community.
The onus is thus on local authorities to ensure outsourcing works in practice. As assets and services are transferred to alternate providers and communities are, ultimately, given greater say in the services they receive and from whom, the potential for risk in the supply chain increases.
There are already many success stories about outsourced service provision to private organisations, within our prisons and police forces for example. The same can be said for partnerships with voluntary organisations and communities themselves, exemplified in the move to community-run libraries and play schemes. In fact, as organisations come together and work out ways to collaborate effectively, the community must remain front of mind at all times. Not simply in terms of the logistics of where and how services should be delivered, but also in terms of the role of the community when it comes to managing risks.
While overall responsibility for the success of the service may lie with a local authority, it is the community which may bear the repercussions if things go wrong. Those local authorities which do draw on other delivery organisations and options should take the time to accurately assess their own community’s tolerance for risk. Are there support structures in place to draw upon should a fundamental supply chain collapse, for example? Or does the economic and demographic makeup of the community allow for a reduction or removal of one particular service in favour of another? Does the community have sufficient skills, expertise and volunteers on board to deliver smaller services for themselves?
The simple truth is that outsourcing and innovation in partnership working is becoming a fact of life for local authorities, and as Localis’ report states, councils are moving from being a service provider to being a service specifier. When it comes to working with communities in particular, local authorities will need to take a firm position in this overseer role on issues like service level agreements and success benchmarking.
Retaining responsibility while facilitating a new environment of trust and flexibility is no easy task. But getting it right can help ensure service delivery that is tailored specifically for the communities they serve.