Ignite Lab

In the current climate councils are faced with the challenge of cutting cost but do want to default to cutting levels of service.

But is the process of enabling the community to do more for itself just a polite way of dressing up a service cut. At Ignite we would argue not – what is important is using the scarce resources of the council to deliver outcomes for the community.

Building the capacity of the community also needs to go hand in hand with the sensible management of expectations of what the council will do and what the community – and individuals within it – need to take responsibility for. Read on →

Eric Pickles was recently heard saying that it is all about localisation/localisation/localisation, but not necessarily in that order. Whatever your view of localisation his point was well made.

So it is with managing change.  Engage/Engage/Engage, but not necessarily in that order.

Anyone who has attempted to manage change that does not have the support of the organisation knows that it is like pushing jelly uphill.  You can’t keep it all together and any progress seems to slip through your fingers. Read on →

It may sound perverse, but the cost challenges now facing local authorities may well present leaders with the biggest opportunity in a generation to change the face of local government. Stakeholders can see what is happening and will never be more open to fresh ideas.

 Local authorities now have an extra layer of clarity. The general consensus seems to be that at 28% the cuts are slightly less painful than the worst expectations.  What came as a nasty surprise was that the cuts are to be front loaded. Whatever the interpretation – it is time to act.

Being bold is a core value at Ignite so it is not too surprising that we encourage clients to follow the mantra. But what does it mean in practice to be bold and how do you convert the sentiment into something tangible.

We liken it to quitting your job and setting up your own business. The moment you make the decision to draw a line and part with the past is the moment when a huge burden is lifted.  Your focus immediately shifts to the design of a very different future – ideas start to flow and people around you become engaged with the creation of something special. Anyone who has done it will tell you how liberating it can be.

So it is with fundamental change.  Read on →

Well – the news has been out a while now.  Local authorities now have an extra layer of clarity. The general consensus seems to be that at 28% the cuts are slightly less painful than the worst expectations.  What came as a nasty surprise was that the cuts are to be front loaded.

Whatever the interpretation – it is time to act. Anybody waiting for more clarity in December will find that time will run out.

So will this make a difference to the way local authorities respond? Read on →

The development of outsourcing as an option for local authority transformation is accelerating. Suffolk County Council is the most recent body to join a growing trend of local councils outsourcing the majority of their services – although the word “divestment” is being used to define a more broad based approach. This means, essentially, that the local council becomes a commissioner retaining only those elements essential to translating political direction, local needs and financial realities into the services it provisions. 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.

Many district councils are considering outsourcing and shared service solutions.  The concern is whether by outsourcing too much or the wrong services that the heart of the council is lost.  This raises the question….what is the heart of the council.

I have a friend who is CEO of a district council.  He is grappling with this very issue and as decisions need to be made on each service he keeps encountering the same question.  “If this service goes, have I damaged the heart of the organisation?”  Further….”what is the point of the council if we don’t do this?”

So how do you know?  We think there are three key questions that help determine what the council believes it is there for: Read on →