A year of hard truths
Author: Tim Magness, in the LGC |
Localis’ report Changing Places: How Innovation and Transformation is Taking Place in Local Government is cited as pointing to the responsibility of local authorities to foster a culture of innovation.
While growth may be gradually returning to the UK, it seems clear that 2014 will be a challenging year for local authorities with the chancellor declaring it “a year of hard truths”.
Without doubt, councils have achieved much to maintain and improve services while spending less, yet the combination of shrinking budgets and increased pace of change demands more. Unsurprisingly this mounting pressure was at the fore at Civica’s annual conference last month.
The context for the event was set in an opening plenary from Dr Martin Reeves, chief executive of Coventry City Council and immediate past president of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE). While referring to seismic changes in the sector, he presented a brighter vision for delegates driven by a once in a generation opportunity to reshape local services and redefine the relationship between people and the state. As part of this, Dr Reeves called for the greater use of disruptive, innovative ways to drive a new landscape of efficient, integrated services. Several recurring themes emerged. These included:
The innovation imperative
Innovation, in services and in service delivery to support new ways of working, remains at the heart of the conversation. In a report we commissioned with independent think-tank Localis – Changing Places: How Innovation and Transformation is Taking Place in Local Government – 80% of respondents pointed to the responsibility of local authorities to foster a culture of innovation.
Service improvement goes hand in hand with technological improvement, with 33% of delegates agreeing that the use of technology will help them meet their financial targets. In an era where convenience trumps everything, the digital organisation has come to the fore, with immediate channels and automated processes available any time, any place and through the cloud. Most delegates agreed that more agile and flexible working, including the use of social media, is a crucial area where authorities can innovate and improve services.
Indeed, over half admitted to using social media as a means to both reactively and proactively reach out to their citizens. The report found that the most efficient solutions to help local authorities meet their goals in the future are those which support agile working (86%), followed closely by moving customer-facing services online (83%) and using social media to engage with citizens (80%).
The sector is often criticised when it comes to speed of innovation. However, local organisations have simply been getting on with the task, and we are seeing more authorities showing what can be done with clear vision and leadership.
Cultural change
Part of the increasing pace of change is a cultural shift both for society and within organisations. With significant differences between authorities, levels of change required can differ. Increasingly, conversations are developing at all levels and not just from the top down.
As part of a move to meet current and expected challenges, Eastbourne Borough Council is a good example of an authority that has developed a new organisational model for the future. The council devised and launched an integrated transformation programme, with the aim of moving towards a fully digital foundation for core processes and interactions whilst reinventing the engagement and interaction with people and businesses.
Enabled by automated workflow and document management, Eastbourne developed a customer-centric service delivery model, giving employees better flexibility to support wider areas and departments of the council, an important cultural change to deliver an ambitious local vision whilst driving required savings.
The value of sharing best practice examples
Throughout the course of the two days, panellists and delegates alike shared examples of where partnerships with third parties and other councils had really benefited. For example, Vic Allison, deputy managing director at Wychavon DC, explained how the authority has partnered with Civica and two other councils, Malvern Hills DC and Worcester City Council, as part of a strategic move to provide job security and achieve cost savings of £3m. Increasingly, local organisations are seeing themselves as part of the ‘public service family’, and this will only amplify further going forward.
The sharing of best practice should not be restricted to just the UK, and there is a lot that can be learned from other countries.
Looking beyond austerity and its implications, there is of course the fundamental and ever present need to support and safeguard people and places, as demonstrated by this winter’s weather. As people and communities continue to change, the need to put individuals at the centre of everything they do is paramount. We’ve seen first-hand that a clear vision and focus can go a long way.
As new reforms take hold, it seems clear that 2014 will be a year in which organisations take further significant steps through thinking and acting differently, and from which emerges a new landscape.