Innovation and transformation can never fully plug the gap left by public expenditure cuts. But, properly used, they can certainly help
‘Innovation’ has to mean just that – a culture and readiness to embrace challenge and new approaches. Across the public sector and from the lips of its advisors, consultants and leaders you hear the words ‘innovation’, ‘transformation’ and many other terms with fairly similar meanings.
However, with a few exceptions, all too often one wonders what is actually meant by these words and how they are going to be turned into practical action. As demand for services increases and resources become ever scarcer this is the time to make the words come to life. It also a means of ensuring that public services are relevant to and resonate with the public.
‘Transformation’ requires ‘innovation’, and always strikes me as a macro-concept. Whole organisations, services and systems are transformed, whereas innovation can be both macro and micro. It can be about whole systems, processes and services, and it can be about small changes that make a huge difference for customers, service users, communities, staff and organisations.
Often, those who are innovating do not recognise that this is what they are doing. In their minds they are simply making a change, introducing a new approach or service, or behaving differently because it makes sense and results in benefits.
Public services do not and cannot afford to have laboratories of people in ‘white coats’ beavering away, inventing new things and new approaches. Rather, they require everyone including customers, service users, citizens, communities, partners and staff to be innovators.
In many ways, I think that what is required across the public sector and in organisations that are involved in public service delivery is a spirit of ‘entrepreneurism’ – not a profit-orientated business approach as such, but one that is: based on passion for social justice and fairness; focussed on outcomes; driven by a desire and will to find solutions, innovation and experimentation; embraces effective proportional risk assessment and management; and a long-term commitment to resilience. In the public sector and for those organisations involved in public service delivery, this entrepreneurism has to be underpinned by transparency, accountability, the pursuit of value for money and social value, empowerment, and excellent employment standards.
In this context and setting, innovation should, I believe, be primarily focussed on better outcomes and better experiences for users and communities, but inevitably in a period of extreme financial pressures, may also be used to drive down costs. That said, where the latter is the case, it is essential not to lose sight of impact, outcomes and user experience, and the wider sense of public service ethos.
By adopting an entrepreneurial approach, public service bodies (be they operational, commissioning, contracting or policy focused) are more likely to cultivate an environment of innovation and change for the good. In contrast those, which remain bureaucratic and sluggish, are much less likely to foster such an environment.
Many modern public policy and public service challenges are complex. It is often the case that no single agency, service solution and/or profession can solely address these challenges, especially against a background of austerity and reduced resources.
It follows that innovation and collaboration must mesh together if significant social, economic and environmental issues are to be effectively addressed.
Too frequently, I hear people at the head of organisations across all sectors claiming to be in favour of innovation and/or collaboration. On speaking to them, however, it is clear that the initial words and platitudes are covering up a lack of any real understanding, dysfunctional behaviours, and a failure to embed the concepts in their organisations. This has to change, for those who are ultimately damaged and suffer from such myopia are the public, communities and service users.
Both innovation and effective collaboration require inspired leadership, focused on outcomes for people rather than institutions. They require empowerment of staff and others to facilitate flexibility and exploration of solutions. And rather than processes, procedures and manuals – they depend on people at all levels (politicians and professionals, and senior executives and frontline staff) having the right mind-sets and behaviours, as well as the space and time to explore, experiment and simply to ‘talk’ to others, particularly citizens and service users.
The all too rare, far-sighted modern public sector leader recognises that they must personally champion, incentivise and adequately resource both innovation and collaboration. They should be seen as ‘core’ – not some ‘add-on’, and whilst not ends in themselves, increasingly, they are vital enablers.
Effective innovation requires risk policies and risk management based on proportionality in order to avoid catastrophic failure. This is another facet of good leadership, and is a core element of public service entrepreneurism.
It is also important to understand but not be over-constrained by the political and reputational risks associated with risk in the public sector. Sometimes, it will be both easier and better for a public body to support a voluntary and community sector organisation to innovate though a contract or (probably more appropriately, as the outcomes may not be easy to specify) grant aid. And if the public sector outsources to the business sector or others, it may wish to encourage and incentivise innovation but at the same time wish to retain some control over what is done and at what risk in its name, and if there are financial benefits, to share in these benefits.
Finally, innovation and transformation, which must always be a means to an end and the not the ultimate goal, cannot and never will fill the gap being left by the current public expenditure cuts. They may plug some of the gap and more significantly they can improve the experience and the outcome for communities and service users. They are an important element of public service.
Therefore, my advice to senior executive and political leaders across the public sector and in organisations involved with public service in some way or another is to:
• adopt and promote a sense and culture of entrepreneurship based on social justice, fairness and a public service ethos
• within this culture, encourage and incentivise innovation
• celebrate successful innovation
• avoid blame and encourage learning from innovations that have not fully succeeded
• be ready to introduce innovation from elsewhere
• empower all staff, volunteers (where there are some), service users and communities to innovate and to propose innovative changes
• be ready for some ‘wacky’ experiments
• adopt a robust approach to risk policy, and the assessment and management of risk
• see collaborative behaviour as part of the same paradigm as innovation
• never wait for wholesale ‘transformation’ before innovating
• expect and persuade (and through contracts, require) partners and contracted providers to do the same
• recognise and respect that others, especially in the voluntary and community sector, may be more able and agile to innovate than a public body
• scan the horizon for ideas and stimulants – this must mean looking at and learning from others across the sectors including businesses, the voluntary and community, social and wider public sector domestically and internationally
Unless the public sector and those involved in public service policy making and delivery embrace a culture of innovation and change the prospects for services and those who rely on them will be ever bleaker.