The Department for Work and Pensions has been working with local authorities, Jobcentre Plus and local partners in five places to develop Co-Design Pilots, testing new solutions in tackling worklessness. The pilots – Birmingham, Bradford, Lewisham, South Tyneside and Swindon – have adopted customer-centred approaches to achieving better outcomes at less cost. Four out of the five are Community Budget areas.
Job satisfaction in the public sector has fallen, compared to last year and the employee engagement measure shows that public sector workers are by far the most disengaged. These findings come from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Employee Outlook survey
Read more on PUBLIC SECTOR BOTTOM OF ENGAGEMENT LEAGUE TABLE AS JOB SATISFACTION FALLS…
The British Association of Social Workers is supporting Ofsted proposals for changing the social work culture by introducing ’no notice inspections’ and focusing on direct observations of social work practice.
The proposals would put an end to ‘staged’ inspections and the blame culture that is often a bi-product of the inspection process of local authority children’s services departments. Inspections need to be learning opportunities rather than part of the blame culture that is dragging the profession down.
Read more on SOCIAL WORKERS SUPPORT OFSTED IN CULTURAL CHANGE PROPOSAL…
The National Archives is to pilot a web archiving model for councils to ensure important online information is preserved for future generations. Currently, The National Archives works in partnership with the Internet Memory Foundation to archive central government websites but its remit does not extend to cover all the local government or community websites which may be of interest to local record offices.
Read more on NATIONAL ARCHIVES SUPPORTS COUNCILS IN PRESERVING DATA…
Opportunities for a “new social contract” between civil society and government could be lost if urgent action isn’t taken to break down barriers to joint working. This call comes from Civil Exchange, a newly launched think tank which aims to help government and civil society work better together to find fresh solutions, unlock new potential and provide innovative services which meet different needs.
Read more on CALL FOR NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR…
Payment for Success is a vital element in the White Paper ‘Open Public Services’, which sets out the reform agenda. It is part of the strategy for delivering more for a lot less. It will contribute in helping to move on from the often dysfunctional debate about how much is spent on what services to consider what is achieved.
Read more on PAYMENT FOR SUCCESS – HOW TO SHIFT POWER FROM WHITEHALL TO PUBLIC SERVICE CUSTOMERS…
The Government has put behaviour change or ‘nudge’ techniques at the forefront of its public service reform agenda. A report by localism think tank the New Local Government Network illustrates that councils must identify and harness the energy of their most active citizens to help improve services, engage communities and save money.
Read more on CHANGING BEHAVOURS – OPENING A NEW CONVERSATION WITH THE CITIZEN…
By James Ogilvy
How do we face the uncertainty and complexity of the future? An overly optimistic perspective can be motivating but easily dismissed as naive or shallow; the pessimistic outlook may be considered to be deeper and more ‘knowing’ but could lead to inaction.
Public services of the future will be delivered in different ways. The reform White Paper ‘Open Public Services’ sets out the ambition to improve quality and give better value to the taxpayer. Regardless of whatever is achieved by this new reform agenda, it is clear that innovation will change governance, management and the way services are delivered.
Read more on PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM – WHITE PAPER BREAKS THE MOULD…