By Geoff Mulgan. Reproduced by permission of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies. Governments, from early civilizations onwards, have looked across frontiers for ideas about how to govern better. This global trade in policy reached new heights in recent years. From the perspective of Director of the Strategy Unit in the Cabinet Office, Geoff Mulgan looks at the global trade and other drivers of policy innovation including what works in practice and comparisons between organizations.

The three year primary care plan, Liberating the Talents, launched by Health Minister John Hutton, sets out a vision of a totally reformed service. Delivery of the plan will require managers at all levels to set about changing the culture and to re-think the way things are done now. 

The National Audit Office is concerned that the taxpayer is not getting sufficient benefit from projects funded by the Treasury’s Invest to Save budget. Some 88 million pounds has been allocated to projects to deliver improvements in health, education, transport and tackling crime. A similar amount is being spent on delivering local improvements in public service delivery mainly through better use of IT.