William Plowden Fellowship in Good Governance
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September 2011 Harkness Report The Newsletter of the Harkness Fellows Association he first part of this year’s Tnewsletter is devoted William to William Plowden, who died last year. William had a 50-year involvement with Plowden Harkness Fellows. It began in 1958/9 when he was awarded a fellowship on completing Fellowship his Ph D at Cambridge to go to the University of California in Berkeley. in Good It was resurrected when he joined the national selection committee in the 1980s; reinforced by his Governance appointment as Director of the UK Harkness programme based in New York from 1988/91; and continued as An imaginative new fellowship begun approaching think tanks, voluntary Senior Adviser to the programme in programme is being set up in organisations, and academic institutions London from 1991-98. And for the William Plowden’s memory. and already received a positive response last decade and a half, as Secretary with offers of research support, desk space t is being designed for people in mid and access to libraries. Appointments will of the HF Association, he was, as career, who have a new idea on how be based on a submission by candidates Timothy Hornsby, chair of the HFA public services or policy could be and an interview. noted in his tribute sent out on 30 improved but need time and space Employers releasing staff to take part June 2010: “a fount of knowledge Iaway from their day job to develop it. in the 3-month fellowship will be about past members, had a enormous Initially the fellows – there will be one a encouraged to be involved as active range of contacts which proved very year – will be drawn from statutory and participants in the programme and be useful to us in organising our events voluntary sectors, from the very local to expected to release their staff member programme, and acted in effect as the international level. Later applicants will on a paid sabbatical basis. The fellowship conscience to the old Fellowship as we be invited from the corporate sector. will conclude with a high profile lecture In keeping with William’s career fought to keep the flame alive.” delivered to an audience of policy-makers, – see feature below – the over –arching opinion formers inside and outside Praise for William’s contribution to theme for the seven years in which the government, and from across civil society the fellowships poured in to Harkness programme will run will be the role of and academia. The lecture and a final HQ, London, following the tribute good governance in supporting innovation report will be published on line each year from Timothy Hornsby. To pick out and achieving social impact. The choice of and the full series of seven lectures in just two: “William and Harkness just topics is intended to reflect William’s wide printed form at the end of the last lecture. always went hand in hand”, from range of interests and practical approach The National Council for Voluntary Naomi Kingsley. “He will be missed to public policy. Each year a different Organisations will provide the secretarial not only for what he did but also, like theme will be selected. The themes support to the scheme’s advisory group, his mother, for what he was,” Robert include: central government in the UK; advertise the fellowship, provide where Houlton. issues around urban governance in the required accommodation and support to UK and abroad; governance in emerging It was William’s wife, Veronica, chosen fellows, manage and promote the countries; the voluntary charitable sector lectures and organise their publication. who started and edited the Harkness and its relations with government. The fellowship organisers will be launching Report from 1990 to 1993, then The latter theme will be especially an appeal to meet the above costs at the William took over its successor, the relevant given the new public service roles scheme’s official launch this Christmas. Transatlantic Report, through to his envisaged by the current government for The membership of the advisory group, death last year. Malcolm Dean has charitable and private sector organisations. which comprises a mixture of mandarins, taken over this issue, but will jointly managers, academics and senior policy- edit future editions with Veronica. Creating ‘Nests’ makers is: Baroness Tessa Blackstone, We have restored the original title: The aim is to provide selected fellows Nicholas Deakin, Sir Stuart Etherington, Harkness Report. with an appropriate ‘nest’ in which they Timothy Hornsby, Kate Jenkins, George can develop their idea along with a Jones, Paul McQuail, Sir Nicholas Monck, mentor if required. The organisers have Veronica Plowden. William Plowden Quotes from obituaries and memorial addresses: William the man: nuanced, and well rounded public and improved statistical data within “Conversation with him would always servants, influential in policy who would Whitehall and for drawing on sources improve an idea or the thread of an enhance the common weal without fuss from outside government. He saw the argument. After a session in his kitchen but always with concern for the worst dangers of entrenched departmental in Stockwell, south London, with the off....He was rewarded, as by the end cultures, impervious to what was cat, the seedlings, the coffee pot and of the 1990’s, ‘his’ Harkness fellows happening in other departments. Even the camellia outside the back door, were littered around government, policy with greater openness and a more problems were smoothed out and a advisors to at least three Secretaries joined-up approach, he was convinced better way forward agreed.” [Names of States and the Prime Minister, and of co-ordination at the centre. This in bolder type please] Kate Jenkins, in valuable positions elsewhere in required clarity about strategy and a Guardian obituary, 5 July 2010, joint the public realm. Something I know consistent approach to how policies author with William on the damaging he looked on with great personal across Whitehall could contribute outcomes of many aid programmes on satisfaction.” Jennifer Dixon. to strategic goals, as well as more the governance of developing nations: “ emphasis on the long term. No one Governance and Nationbuilding” William, as one of the understood this better than Plowden 2006 founding members of the and he worked tirelessly to expose 1971 Think Tank: muddled thinking, short-termism, and “William obviously relished America... “The CPRS (Central Policy Review Staff) departmental point-scoring.” he liked the offbeat, the underbelly, suited him well. He could work with the Tessa Blackstone. the difficult to categorise, the amusing exhilarating sense that its staff were a – and America had plenty of that.” band of irregulars, seeking to overcome Jennifer Dixon (HF 1990) what they saw as the narrowness, “Proposals in the 1975 CPRS report, A memorial address. inertia and monopolistic tendencies of Joint Framework for Social Policies, were individual government departments, badly needed. It was greeted nervously “He loved walking because that meant which were then strong.” by ministers and by the Treasury. Social talking, and the conversations were rich, Sir Nicholas Monck, Times obituary. scientists still refer to it. William’s blunt covering films, theatre, books, music 5 August 2010 central thesis repays reading now: as well as politics, people and places. ‘Ministers need to ensure that their No-one could have wished for a better “Plowden became a central figure priorities are adequately reflected in friend.” in the work of the CPRS from 1971 policies, which are actually being carried Tessa Blackstone, Independent until he left in 1977. He relished the out and that, in practice, these policies obituary 9 July 2010. She was joint opportunities it provided to promote are having the effects intended.” author with William of “Inside the evidence-based thinking in policy- Kate Jenkins, ex senior civil servant Think Tank” 1983. making. He argued for better research and colleague. “We shared an interest in the cinema and advised each other on what was worth seeing. My only disagreement with him was over the role of the car. He had a down on cars, while I saw them as a liberating invention and an extension of our legs.” George Jones, Emeritus Professor of Government, LSE. William the Director of Harkness Fellowships 1988-91: “It was William’s vision to take a quirky mix of mid career-ers and let us loose on public policy with some of America’s finest minds as guides...unconventional perhaps. But the combination of the light touch, trust and freedom was devastating.... His idea for Harkness was to produce, not a goose-stepping set of tomorrow-belongs-to-us-leaders, but a more modest force of effective, 2 Harkness Report Setember 2011 Harkness and As first Director General of New York the Royal Institute of Public Administration: 1978 - 88 This widened his focus. He was no longer just looking at the reforms needed to improve policy-making in Whitehall, but was also applying the same principles developed in Edward Heath’s Think Tank to policy-making in local government and the NHS. (He was also an invaluable guide and tutor on policy-making to Fleet Veronica Plowden who travelled with William to Street leader-writers like myself New York for the three years he was based there as the – Malcolm Dean.) Director of the Harkness programme, describes the two In Tessa Blackstone’s words: big changes that happened in the 1980s and 1990s. “He was quick and analytical in developing alternative ideas and possible solutions. He was persuasive he first in 1988, followed a that the changes were required by about the need to make clear choices review of the programme that the Commonwealth Fund Board as an and to study the impact of decisions Tbegan in 1985, was designed by alternative to closure, and had many on different client groups in the William under the threat that the only positive aspects.