Really happy to have played a very minor role in supporting @jonathanslater.bsky.social in his characteristically optimistic and determined drive to work out how we can stop failing the poorest young people at school. www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

I strongly recommend that fellow reform geeks take a look at this excellent report from Amy Gandon, now working with Demos. She gets under the bonnet of how civil servants really feel about their civil service to explore what it is about Whitehall that scuppers so many reform efforts.

Despite the ubiquity of top down control by government through performance measurement and management regimes - they rarely work: doomed by their profoundly flawed view of what motivates public servants. My blog shows why they persist and why they fail. I sketch out a better approach.

Despite the longevity of top down control by government through performance management regimes  - they rarely work. My new blog unpicks their flawed foundations. I sketch out a new model. But there are big barriers to making the change we need. www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...

A very sound and important post from @jillongovt.bsky.social and @tompope.bsky.social. This is shockingly overdue and fits perfectly with Rayner’s devolution agenda. How does the treasuries misconceived control freakery endure when there are so many good people working there?

My new blog is one for serious reform geeks - my conceptual model for an episode of civil service reform. The blog outlines the research that led to it. The model will provide the lens for a series of reform case studies. www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...

My new blog is one for serious reform geeks - my conceptual model for an episode of civil service reform. The blog outlines the research that led to it. The model will provide the lens for a series of reform case studies. www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...

As the numbers are crunched and Rachel Reeves's spending review winners and losers emerge, whatever happened to Labour's vision of "mission-led" government...? Here's @drhannahwhite.bsky.social's on the day verdict for the @theguardian.com ... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Are we witnessing the slow death of the council tax? On the face of it #localgov doesn't do too badly from the spending review, but a lot of that new money is actually the government banking a universal 5% rise in council tax, 2% of which is a straightforward national precept for social care.

Our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk spending review analysis is out! Take a read here www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/spen... Our key takeaways: 1/7

5 Missions were to be the North Star for Starmer. 12 wasted months later they are obscured by cloud. The spending review looks more like Osborne’s 2010 axe than a mission led investment in key milestones. A bold and reformist reset is needed. www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...

Interested in learning and development? Want to make government more effective? We are looking for a Learning and Development Officer to join our @ifgacademy.bsky.social team. Applications will close on Sunday 11 May at 11:59pm - find out more www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/car...

Full article: Future Directions of Public Administration Research—Addressing Fundamental Issues and Questions www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Not one but TWO new senior research roles have opened up @carnegieuk.bsky.social Are you a proven researcher who wants to work at the interface between data, research, public policy and practice? Research and Insight: https://buff.ly/40wnmml Data and Insight: https://buff.ly/40xXHK7

As govt doubles down on turbocharging w/ AI narrative, it feels relevant to reshare some work I commissioned at @jrf-uk.bsky.social asking experts 'To what extent can AI improve public policymaking?' This response from @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social is a personal fave! www.jrf.org.uk/ai-for-publi...

Research from Elston and MacCarthaigh provides serious food for thought for treasury ministers who would fall for the easy politics of centralised input controls like shared services. Spoiler alert: few cashable savings, generate hidden costs and disempower managers from improving efficiency.

Join the team! 📢 We’re excited to be recruiting two new roles to join our policy team, focusing on research and data. 🔵 Senior Researcher (Research and Insight) 🔵 Senior Researcher (Data and Insight) Find out more and apply: carnegieuk.org/work-with-us/

Ministers and officials need to confront the two lies that dog spending reviews: effiencies are rarely that, instead they lead to blunt cuts with unconsidered consequences; the Treasury's self-identity as a strategic performance budgeter is shattered by their increased use of input controls

Ministers and officials need to confront the two lies that dog spending reviews: effiencies are rarely that, instead they lead to blunt cuts with unconsidered consequences; the Treasury's self-identity as a strategic performance budgeter is shattered by their increased use of input controls

And the NHS actually spends less on things we consider “waste”, like admin and managers, than many other nations. The NHS may indeed be inefficient — but it is not “bloated”. Rather, it is inefficient because it is run too lean. More in my column 🔗 www.thetimes.com/article/1130...

Devolution has some work to do. Stark picture of re-centralisation and defunding of local public service - taking out a third of local government jobs since Osborne’s spiteful axe in 2010.

In this reform smackdown @jdportes.bsky.social wins on two counts: HMT should be able to do finance and growth simultaneously; 60 years of wasteful structural battles achieved less than next step reform’s delegation of finance controls. Yes to beefing up no10 ability to challenge HMT constructively.

Excl: Government will move to scrap district councils in its devolution white paper on Monday, sparking the biggest local government reorganisation in 50 years on.ft.com/3VBH0ui

Our brand new Clean Power 2030 Action Plan is published today. We’ve produced this at lightning pace - it’s packed with new steps towards clean power. We’re moving quickly and making big decisions to open the path to 2030. www.gov.uk/government/p...

Pat McFadden’s speech today signals a big change in how central government sees its role. The implications of the implied system leadership role puts them on course for bold (and contested) reforms. They must understand why previous efforts failed and confront the barriers head on. My blog post

Wondered what 'test and learn' means? I've written this to unpack and explain it public.digital/pd-insights/...

Excellent essay from @sarahdavidson.bsky.social with lessons farther down the road of strategic government than England. There is so much to learn from the Scottish Experiment (ignored by the uk civil service). Really relevant to missions and civil service reform teams. My case study due in 2025.

📣🆕Early View❗️ Assessing the concept of #StrategicState after 3⃣0⃣ years❓ @ianelliott.bsky.social & @alasdairroberts.bsky.social summarise lessons from reform experiments & discuss new societal trends which have reinforced the need for strategic capacity 👇 doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Calm perspective from Amy. No10 need to check their prejudices if they really believe what they said. I’m hearing they do. McFadden did so much better.

Pat McFadden’s speech today signals a big change in how central government sees its role. The implications of the implied system leadership role puts them on course for bold (and contested) reforms. They must understand why previous efforts failed and confront the barriers head on. My blog post

Insightful from Amy. I think some top civil servants have in some case been beaten down and lost their capacity to lead and inspire and need to step up - if they can. But tone matters, I’ve had plenty of radical and committed civil servant express their exhaustion at this cheap shot. Tone matters.

Keir Starmer’s Plan for Change puts pressure on Whitehall to deliver Read @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @njdavies.bsky.social and @alexgathomas.bsky.social's verdict on the prime minister's speech www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/keir...

Ahead of Starmer’s big reveal of his plan for change on Thursday, Cat Little the Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service, hinted at some serious reform intent in government at an IfG event. My new blog post. www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...

Ahead of Starmer’s big reveal of his plan for change on Thursday, Cat Little the Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service, hinted at some serious reform intent in government at an IfG event. My new blog post. www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...

Chris Wormald - the balance sheet. In favour: 1. vastly experienced (much, much more than Case). Run two v big budget depts. also held senior role in what is now MHCLG; done time at the centre as head of EDS and heading Clegg office. former head of policy profession.

The return of name and shame? A flurry of public service reform speeches have come out in November 2024. The ‘unadulterated barberism’ of Streeting has been contrasted with Phillipson’s collaborative tone. Is there a schism in the Government’s approach? my blog post.

The return of name and shame? A flurry of public service reform speeches have come out in November 2024. The ‘unadulterated barberism’ of Streeting has been contrasted with Phillipson’s collaborative tone. Is there a schism in the Government’s approach? my blog post.

*Excellent* appointment klaxon 🚨

Strongly agree with this on No. 10's (lack of) economics capability by @jordanurban.bsky.social & @alexgathomas.bsky.social "No 10 should recruit a new economic unit to provide PM with quality analysis/advice to support proper engagement with the Chancellor." www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Great to see this bold experiment in collaboration led by Rhona Gaynor as part of the Irish civil service reform program is still inspiring practitioners. It was great fun supporting Rhona and her colleagues in the design and delivery of the project. www.linkedin.com/posts/centre...

During his first three months Starmer has been the worst supported prime minister for decades. No PPS, a weakened Cabinet Secretary, and an excess of gatekeeping from his Chief of Staff have sabotaged a smooth reshaping of no 10. How can he get a grip? www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...

We need to talk about civil service reform: we don't know enough about what works; we think the wrong way about impact; and, we lack the insights we need to do it better. My new blog. www.civilservicereformuk.com/single-post/...