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IFG Event: Public services after the pandemic: how to scale up successful changes

Watch the livestream here ➡️ instituteforgovernment.org.uk/events/public-…

Join in #IFGpublicservices

@nj_davies kicks us off and introduces our guests @caiclements @Voa1234 @h_kippin @kirstyjmcneill

The pandemic has had a huge impact on the way public services are delivered – from courts to hospitals. Years of innovation have happened in months. What can central govt do to embed new approaches?

Chris Clements starts by telling us about delivering impact at scale

Starting point when thinking about scaling is the end point. What will lasting change look like for those affected?

Combination of 3 things to aim for: services have expanded reach, systems that embed change, society has shifted perspective

Multiple building blocks are needed for successful scaling. @socfinuk identify 18 different ones through their work

Successful scaling needs strong partnerships, consistent funding, and a strong story, and a clear story

Read more findings from the report here: socialfinance.org.uk/resources/publ…

Now @Voa1234 on what central govt can do to scale up innovations in the NHS and social enterprises

Often hearing let's get back to normal, not what is the new normal

VA: we should let local leaders lead. Covid has taught us this is the best place to design solutions for local communities

Digital solutions have come to the fore during the pandemic. NHS have incorporated data with powerful effect

Inequality and inequity have also come to the fore in all public services. This calls us to create new version of public services else it will hinder our ability to move on

We need decisive govt action to fund innovation

At the moment, there is needless competition for resources to enable innovation

It generally takes innovation 17 years. Pandemic has taught us this doesn't have to be the case

Next up @h_kippin on how central govt can scale up innovations by combined authorities

Three things to think about: (1) different things will work in different local authorities

(2) economies of collaboration are just as important as economies of scale. there has been a huge amount of positive local collaboration during covid - what can enable this to continue in the future

(3) push back on it all being about service delivery - there will be many other issues like unemployment

@kirstyjmcneill on what central govt can do to scale up successful innovations by charities and 5 things we have learnt during the pandemic from a charity perspective

(1) public services play a much bigger role in citizens' lives than the thing they were set up to do, eg. schools play a greater role in children's lives than education, also important for mental health, friends, nutrition

we should think about how public services can better fit into the complexities of families' lives when redesigning them

(2) the latent civic volunteering potential of our country is huge ! people want to change the places in which they live

(3) charities will innovate - eg. with provision of tech and food. charities are able to innovate because of the support of funders

(4) partnerships and relationships are essential

(5) it really matters who is in the room when decisions are made about resource allocation

Onto some questions from @nj_davies …. Chris, can you give a practical example of building blocks needed to scale-up a project?

CC: @socfinuk has worked on issue of domestic abuse for several years, with emphasis on role of perpetrator. The building blocks to scale this work up included - widespread safe practise beyond delivery partners, statutory regulation, a building a new narrative

ND: To what extent have changes made during the crisis to the NHS at a national level have enabled innovation? How much of it can be kept?

VA: Acute trusts have built more partnerships with local bodies during the past year to deliver population health. this change has helped the NHS to survive through this crisis. The White Paper will embed these changes

ND: what can central govt do to support economies of collaboration at a regional level (other than getting out of the way)?

HK: There is a passive and active response. Passive - acknowledge change does not have to happen in the same way everywhere. Active - look at what needs to be done on a national level

ND: How should we build a consistent narrative across multiple organisations?

KM: you need to give the strategic sense-making phase time to breathe rather than rushing to action - people need to know why they are working together. We can do this by creating a spaces for people to encounter one another

CC: building of trust is essential but often doesn't get funded. Ongoing collaboration is as important as it is in the beginning.

Audience Q: how do we pay for scaling up?

VA: We need to put pressure on govt about where they spend money. But it's not just about money - we need to change the way in which we deliver services.

VA: Social care, however, needs more money

VA: Demanding higher productivity alone also won't cut it - need to innovate

HK: we need to shift the money already in the system and what it does - eg. local leaders are shifting focus onto prevention

Audience Q: How good are we at ex-post evaluation and understanding what changes have been 'successful' in public services?

CC: We need to be clear about what we're aiming for when thinking about scaling in the first place, in order to evaluate it. Aims should be more tangible

VA: we don't understand the different forms of evaluation very well and don't build it into how we finance public services, so often repeat the same mistakes. In the future, we need to build evaluation into the process

Audience Q: How do you see the move to ICSs and the "duty to collaboration" impacting these changes?

VA: three challenges facing healthcare in this country: equity, access to services, digital

KM: attribution wars counteract progress, we all need to end this simultaneoulsy

VA: pandemic provided an opportunity to rethink education and childhood which we should have seized

Audience Q: To what extent are innovations already available off-the-shelf (e.g. for data sharing) rather than needing to self-innovate which is more time consuming and more expensive?

CC: innovation often isn't about reinventing the wheel, but about bringing perspectives and people together to unlock latent potential

@NJ_Davies finishes by thanking our speakers and audience !

You can read more about changes made in response to service disruption during the pandemic from @instituteforgov here instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/p…

....and more about delivering impact at scale from @socfinuk here socialfinance.org.uk/resources/publ…

Don’t worry if you missed it, a recording of the event will be available later ➡️ instituteforgovernment.org.uk/events/previous