Ignite Lab

“Actively engaging customers in a meaningful and creative way to inform the future direction of an organization is a powerful tactic.”

There is no doubting the changing nature of the relationship between customer and supplier. Modern technology, globalisation and changing lifestyles are all reasons why an organisation needs to respond to a new breed of confident and empowered customer.

But how far should this impact spread? There is a myriad of examples of organisations that have gone to extraordinary lengths to get closer to their customers. In terms of engaging them to help develop innovative new products or services, successes at Lego are often cited as a compelling argument for finding ways to tap into the creativity and insight of existing customers. BMW has found a way to collect the views and opinions of car enthusiasts and is using these to inform future commercial activities. Computer gaming giants have for many years benefited from being able to co-create products with computer-savvy youths.

So what have the most forward thinking organisations suggested are the key things to get right when engaging customers in informing the development of future products & services?

Read on →

For a short time in July this year, one face dominated the British newspapers; that of Raoul Moat. An aspect of the saga which proved most shocking for the majority of the British public was the outpouring of support for the killer who, after a week on the run, took his own life. Comments on the Facebook group ‘R.I.P. RAOUL MOAT YOU LEGEND!’ ranged from the excessively violent to mild respect for his self proclaimed war against the Northumbria police and his success in eluding them for a whole week.  What, it must be asked, does all this say about the relationship between society and the authorities? Of course the Raoul Moat case is very extreme, but mistrust and frustration at the conduct of authorities more generally is a big problem. Read on →

Can it be true

We have been working for many years across public services on the opportunities available from cross sector working.  The barriers are numerous, but budgets – if not right at the top of the list –  comes pretty close.

The difficulty of coming together around the money really does get in the way of some very sensible opportunities. So anything coming from government to enable seamless working would be a huge breakthrough.

The notion of Place Based Budgets may sound dull but the implications are huge.  Could this be the thing that opens the possibility of Public Service Without Frontiers.

This article just published in the Local Government Chronicle announces that there are to be eight new workstreams looking at new ways of working  ahead of the potential introduction of place based budgets.  The eight workstream leaders are real heavyweights (in the gravitas sense of the word) indicating that this might be a realistic possibility.

http://www.lgcplus.com/briefings/corporate-core/efficiency/chiefs-to-join-place-based-productivity-programme/5019036.article 

Ignite as real leaders in cross sector working and Public Service Without Frontiers will be following this development with anticipation.

“London councils merge education departments in bid to slash costs” “Slim down London’s costly toytown councils”

So ran the headlines, as Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster councils announced their intention to merge their education departments.  Most of the talk has been of cutting costs and increased risk, but this development heralds a much more exciting era in which councils around the country are taking the opportunity to radically re-think their role in meeting local need. Read on →

For many years, schools, hospitals and local authorities have been irritated by what they perceive as government micro-management, manifested in target setting, inspection regimes and a plethora of national initiatives. As the coalition’s drive towards local freedom and accountability changes all this, the key question is: to what extent will this new freedom and accountability genuinely find itself reaching down to those operating right at the grass roots of children’s services? 

There is a huge risk in pushing accountability far out from the centre in that this increased pressure results in everybody losing sight of one of the most compelling reasons for local freedom and accountability – to enable front-line staff to have great ideas and do something with them. Read on →

Given the scale and nature of the challenges facing children’s services, senior leaders now have to make a choice between undertaking further reform or launching into a genuine and comprehensive transformation programme.  There has been so much reform activity over the recent past, be it ’Lean’-type initiatives, cost reduction exercises or workforce reform programmes, that there comes a time when all of these approaches will not individually or collectively deliver the size of change necessary.  It is when this tipping point has been reached that organisations need to bite the bullet and elect for a genuine transformation approach.  Some people will argue that it is not as black and white as that, but it certainly needs to be.  Transformation programmes require a totally different mentality, approach and leadership style. Read on →