reforming public services
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Reforming Public Services
Matthew Smerdon, Barings Foundation & Phil Jew, Advice UK
14:00 – 15:30
Reforming public services:Radically re-thinking advice
Phil Jew, AdviceUK
Chain Reaction, 12 November 2009
Buy 2 matters, get
one free!
Buy 2 matters, get
one free!
The industrialisation of adviceThe industrialisation of advice
Systems Thinking Command & Control Thinking
Outside in Perspective Top down
Demand, value, flow Design Functional specialisation
Integrated with work Decision- making Separated from work
Related to purpose, variation, demonstrating capability
Measures Related to budget, activity, productivity, standards
Intrinsic (pride) Motivation Extrinsic (incentives)
Act on the system Management ethic Manage budgets & people
What matters Attitude to clients Contractual
Partnering Attitude to suppliers Contractual
Systems thinkingSystems thinking
www.systemsthinking.co.ukwww.systemsthinking.co.uk
Systems Thinking
‘The performance of anyone is largely governed by the system that he works in.’
If we set targets and make people’s jobs depend on meeting them,
‘…they will likely meet the targets – even if they have to destroy the enterprise to do it’
Deming
Other people’s rubbish
An alarmingly high proportion of enquiries were ‘failure demand’ caused by service failings on the part of the authorities / an institution
The vast majority were caused by the failings of public services, particularly the DWP
42% failure demand in Nottingham
No learning
The way advice services are increasingly being funded, with an emphasis on delivering advice ‘transactions’, was seen to be adding to a longstanding ‘revolving door’ problem
Not enough learning from failure demand: identifying and removing waste and improve advice and public services
With funding tied to transactions, it increasingly makes no sense for advice organisations to seek to reduce failure demand
System conditionsAdvice services hampered not just by constant dealings with the failings of public administration but also by funding and contractual restrictions and conditions affecting how they carried out their work: cherry picking, juniorisation, early case closing
The Guardian, A New Public Service
supplement, 7/10/09
The Guardian, A New Public Service
supplement, 7/10/09
Complex work flow – waste (from client’s perspective) in red
+7>+7>
There are 14 steps before case
allocated to WRO – only 1 of value to
client
There are 14 steps before case
allocated to WRO – only 1 of value to
client
To illustrate: Housing Benefits as a system
Inspect Decide
SortScanIndex
Check
Allocate
Notify
Get informationHand out forms
Pay
22%V 78%F
44%V 56%F
34%V 66%F
99% claims not fit for purpose(Charter Mark)
• 1 to 10 cycles to clean• 95% cases over-specified• 20% docs. duplicated
39%-83%
errors
• No learning• Errors
predictable
Sorted x3Checked x8Docs separated
One-Stop 8% (FD)19% passed back 73% goes to workflow
Manage
queues
Letters unclear
Roles
0-152 days to pay3% visit once
Purpose: obtain clean information, assess entitlement and pay quickly if entitled
Targets / VF
Targets / VFNo case ownership
handoff
ha
nd
off
handoff
ha
nd
off
ha
nd
off
ha
nd
off
ha
nd
off
Q again
It’s the Syste
m Stupid!
Spend Wisely• Co-production: User, community and supplier engagement • Value for money: whole-life-costs and quality (fitness for
purpose)
• Full benefit appraisal: The social return on investment
• Outcomes focus: Outcomes rather than inputs and outputs
• Maximise the value to the client of every pound: Minimal bureaucracy, front-loading, reduce waste
• Recognise the wider spectrum of legal advice work: Prevention, education, social policy, campaign work as essential adjunct to advice
• Method for continual improvement: Require suppliers to demonstrate how they will improve to reduce failure demand and waste
• Gain knowledge from the frontline – from the client/user’s perspective
• Understand wider system and flow
• Act on that knowledge to redesign
• Cost and Waste Capability
• Spend wisely – commission/fund intelligently and for public benefit
www.chain-reaction.org