‘WHEN ‘ TOMORROW COMES
Contact Audrey Nganwa University of Birmingham The future of local public services Birmingham B15 2TT
Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)121 415 1058 www.birmingham.ac.uk/policycommissions
College of Social Sciences University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham, Policy Commission In collaboration with Demos B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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5979 Policy report cover AW.indd 1 04/07/2011 14:04 WHEN TOMORROW COMES - The future of local public services 1
University of Birmingham Policy Commissions
University of Birmingham Policy Commissions bring leading figures from the public, private and third sectors together with Birmingham academics to generate new thinking on contemporary issues of global, national and civic concern.
Public service reform is an obvious focus for the first University of Birmingham Policy Commission because of the immediate priority given to it by the Coalition Government following the 2010 General Election, and because of its significance for service users, communities, and the public, private and third sectors.
Members of the Policy Commission Policy Commission Executive
- The future of local public services Professor Helen Sullivan (Professor of Deborah Cadman OBE (Chair and Government and Society, University of Chief Executive, East of England Birmingham) Development Agency) Audrey Nganwa (Policy Commissions Professor Pete Alcock (Professor of Research Associate, University of Social Policy and Administration and Birmingham) Director of the Third Sector Research Kay Withers (Senior Associate, Demos) Centre, University of Birmingham) Derrick Anderson CBE (Chief Publication Executive, Lambeth Council) Carrie Bennett and Pauline Thorington- Professor Tony Bovaird (Professor of Jones (University of Birmingham) Public Management and Policy, Institute of Local Government Studies and the Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham) Rt Hon. Liam Byrne (Labour MP, Birmingham Hodge Hill) Tiger de Souza, (Knowledge and Innovation Manager v The National Young Volunteers’ Service) Andrew Dick (Chief Executive, Envision – youth charity) Professor Kathryn Ecclestone (Professor of Education and Social Inclusion, University of Birmingham) Sam Monaghan (Barnardo’s Regional Director in the Midlands) Rt Hon. James Morris (Conservative MP, Halesowen and Rowley Regis) Nick Sharman (Director of Local Government, A4e) Jane Slowey CBE (Chief Executive, Foyer Federation)
Learn more about how to get involved and shape future University of Birmingham Policy Commissions here wwwwwwwww.birmingham.ac.uk/policycommissions 2 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Foreword by the Chair of the Policy Commission
I am delighted to Chair the first University challenges of designing and delivering The Commissioners and I would like to of Birmingham Policy Commission into local public services in a society that acknowledge the intellect, patience, the future of local public services. Our supports individual and collective action, diplomacy and skill deployed by Helen existing blueprints for designing public social justice and local democracy. Sullivan, ably assisted by Audrey services do not meet the challenges Nganwa, in distilling hours of discussion ahead of us and we need to draw on all I am particularly proud that the Policy and lively debate into a report we can all available resources to find a way forward. Commission has championed the voices be proud of. The Policy Commission is an important of young people in its work. So often, attempt to bring together evidence of policy reformers and thinkers ignore this past attempts at reform with new untapped resource of creativity and research and thinking to generate a set of enthusiasm. Their ideas and views have policy options for the future of local shaped a proposal for a new system of public services in England. Local Public Support to replace the fragmented public service arrangements Guided by its expert Commissioners from currently in place. This system of Local the worlds of academia, policy and Public Support is built on a framework practice, the Policy Commission has that is robust yet flexible to allow for local Deborah Cadman OBE focused on what local state, civic and diversity and continued adaptation as Chair private actors can do, want to do and circumstances change. need to do in order to meet the The future of local public services 3
Acknowledgements
The University of Birmingham would like The University would like to thank all of The Policy Commission would also like to to take this opportunity to acknowledge those who contributed to the work of the thank Baroness Armstrong, Philip Collins and thank the following who have Policy Commission by giving evidence, (Demos) and Jean Templeton (St Basils) contributed to the work of the Policy offering advice and participating in its for acting as panelists at the launch of Commission. workshops and other events. The Policy the report, July 2011. Commission’s work was enormously First and foremost the University would enriched by these contributions. The views expressed in this summary and like to thank the Commissioners for final report reflect the discussions of the This Policy Commission was undertaken giving their time and expertise so Policy Commission and the research that in collaboration with the think-tank generously to the Policy Commission. It informed them. They do not necessarily Demos. The University is grateful to Kay would also like to acknowledge the reflect the personal opinions of the Withers, Julia Margo and Claudia Wood particular contribution made by the Policy individuals involved. for working with us and for overseeing Commission chair, Deborah Cadman the opinion survey of young people and OBE in her skillful steering of the Policy undertaking the case studies. Commission. The Policy Commission also benefitted The University would like to extend its from the expertise and commitment of a thanks to the young people who offered range of staff at the University of their views and experiences to the Policy Birmingham. The Commissioners would Commission. It is particularly grateful to like to pay tribute to Audrey Nganwa for the National Youth Reference Group who organising and managing the logistics of acted as youth advisers to the Policy the Policy Commission so ably and for Professor Helen Sullivan Commission throughout its life. It would providing outstanding support to the University of Birmingham also like to thank Cameron Nimmo, Commissioners and the Policy Regional Manager, Envision and the Commission Executive. The young people at the four Birmingham Commissioners would like to thank Carrie schools who participated in the focus Bennett and Kirsty Mack for the huge groups organised by Envision and LVQ contribution they made to the Policy Research Ltd who undertook the opinion Commission’s work, and to acknowledge survey of young people, and the six case the specific contributions made by Jade studies who offered their expertise on Bressington, Mark Ewbank, Ben Hill, engaging young people in service Stephen Jeffares and Pauline Thorington- redesign. Jones. 4 WHEN TOMORROW COMES The future of local public services 5
Table of contents
Foreword by the Chair of the Policy Commission 2
Acknowledgements 3
Executive summary 6
1 Setting the agenda 14
2 The shape of the agenda - questions, themes and issues 18
3 Activating tomorrow’s citizens - young people and public services 22
4 Influencing tomorrow’s behaviour - options and evidence 32
5 Designing tomorrow’s services - changing roles and relationships 38
6 Supporting tomorrow’s learning – success and failure in localism 43
7 Inventing tomorrow’s local government – challenges and opportunities 46
8 Local Public Support – a system for tomorrow 50
9 Making the system work - the conditions for success 54
Notes 58
Appendices 61
Appendix 1. Policy Commission working principles 61
Appendix 2. Policy Commission work programme 62
Appendix 3. Contributors to the Policy Commission 64 6 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Executive summary
Setting the agenda young people’s experiences as service each others’ expertise, appropriate Building on the work of previous users, volunteers and citizens and resourcing, and a focus on lasting Governments, the Coalition has set about explored their views about public change in services and/or outcomes. a bold programme of public service services, Localism and the Big Society. It reform. From free schools to was advised by the National Youth The bad news is that young people feel neighbourhood planning, service Reference Group and worked closely that they are excluded from decision commissioning and the involvement of with Envision – a youth empowerment making and not taken seriously by people private and third sector providers - no charity. in power. Changing this perception citizen or public servant is immune to the requires decision makers’ to view young Coalition’s agenda. Driven by Localism The shape of the agenda - people differently and to develop new and the devolution of power the reform questions, themes and issues ways of engaging and working with them programme promises a dramatically The combined impact of the Coalition’s to generate positive outcomes. different system of public services. proposals could bring into being a new settlement of ‘local public services’ - with The Policy Commission’s Reform on this scale requires that we implications for local government, public recommendations are: review our assumptions about public service providers, workers and citizens. services, and, crucially who should This required that the Policy Commission Policy makers need to pay influence them or has a right to them. At consider: closer attention to the different the same time longer term trends indicate The nature and significance of the local ‘theories of active increasing demands on public services ‘local’ dimension to public services. citizenship’ that may be present and finances, challenging us to rethink What it means for services to be amongst citizens, service users and reshape established approaches to ‘public’. and public service providers what we deliver and how. Whether the idea of ‘services’ is and work with these rather than sufficient. attempting to impose a single Guided by its expert Commissioners from model. the worlds of academia, policy and Activating tomorrow’s citizens - Policy makers should practice, and working in collaboration young people and public services acknowledge the joint with the think-tank Demos, the University ‘Active citizenship’ is at the heart of importance of activism as of Birmingham Policy Commission Localism and the Big Society. The volunteer work in the service of examined the potential impact of a prospect of citizens having power to do others and activism as self- localist reform agenda, drawing things for themselves, as well as doing protective action and provide conclusions and making more for, and with, others runs through resources/make space for both recommendations to inform current Coalition proposals from personalisation to flourish. debates and offering longer-term through co-production to community Continued resourcing of local proposals for the future of local public control. The Policy Commission explored infrastructure and support services. Four key questions shaped the the implications of the Coalition’s plans organisations that provide local Policy Commission’s work: for public service reform on young people citizens, including young people How will public service roles and as civic actors, service users and with the well balanced relationships be redesigned and what volunteers. structured support they need to are the implications for citizens, service live ‘everyday lives’ and to users and providers? The good news for policy makers’ become more actively engaged What contribution can behaviour wanting to encourage ‘active citizenship’, is essential to building a Big change approaches and techniques is that young people are prepared, up to Society. make to proposals for the future design a point, to get more involved in shaping The potential of ‘asset’ based of local public services? and running local services, for approaches should be How can we reproduce success and themselves and for others. The evidence examined more fully to consider mitigate failure in a localist system? presented to the Policy Commission their applicability to a wider What will local government’s role be? indicates that policy makers need a range range of service areas. of strategies at their disposal to engage More evidence is needed of the Young people were a key focus for the with young people in different impact of ‘scaling up’ of Policy Commission. They are an circumstances and that those strategies personalisation on service important constituency likely to be must include provision for young people users, professionals, the affected in multiple ways by the current to develop themselves and their skills. management of risk, and reforms but their voice in public policy Underpinning successful citizen-decision outcomes. debates is not as strong as others’. The maker, user – provider relationships are Policy Commission drew directly on shared commitment, mutual respect for The future of local public services 7
lost in focus on the ‘science’ of strategies decisions that public authorities and Public service providers need to such as ‘nudge’ etc. The Policy other organisations might make about improve their understanding of Commission concludes that there is a appropriate interventions. the ways in which co- need for clear principles to inform production occurs to inform future decisions about public service design and delivery and The Policy Commission’s recommendations are: the potential and limits of ‘collective co-production’. The Policy Commission warns against too powerful a role for the state but Public authorities and service urges politicians to encourage debate that goes beyond technical providers should focus on considerations of having good evidence to explore who is responsible for building the knowledge and behaviour change in the interfaces between the national and local state and its skills associated with co- various agencies, the individual and her or his local community, family and other production and collaboration, networks. identifying how these need to Interventions should be designed and implemented at a local level, where joint/ be distributed within their dual strategies that i) use deliberative approaches within local contexts to organisations and putting in come up with the desired outcomes (giving them legitimacy) and then ii) use place measures to support their approaches that encourage those outcomes. development. There is a need to map the wide spectrum of behaviour change approaches, and to consider their value within specific contexts, for particular behaviours. This could be done by central government or by an independent academic/ research institution. Influencing tomorrow’s behaviour - Behaviour change mechanisms have to be situated within a broader options and evidence governance context, where outcomes are identified and agreed through the Behaviour change strategies and practice of politics, and where the politics of behaviour change occurs within approaches are important elements of an agreed framework of governance principles that shape how resources are the Coalition’s agenda for public allocated and needs/aspirations are to be met. services. Typified by ‘nudge’, but Interventions should not be based primarily on ‘measurable’ capabilities or skills embracing a wide range of activities, since this encourages reductionist forms of training. behaviour change is an influential factor Central government should scrutinise developments in economic modelling to in proposals for designing and assess the costs and benefits of behaviour change interventions as they could redesigning services. The Policy have significant implications for future public investment. Commission examined the efficacy and The Policy Commission asks whether there needs to be a body similar to the evidence base for behaviour change Campbell Collaboration, to arbitrate debates about behaviour change approaches and techniques interventions, and to identify principles and criteria for designing, implementing and evaluating appropriate interventions. The Policy Commission concludes that we still know too little about whether and how behaviour change interventions ‘work’, and that too often assertion is Designing tomorrow’s services - The Policy Commission concluded that mistaken for evidence. The complexity of changing roles and relationships how far and in what ways public factors influencing an individual’s The Coalition’s ambition is to extend authorities and organisations should decision making were emphasised to the private and third sector engagement in diversify service supply must be driven by Policy Commission by the reflections of the delivery of public services and to the desire to improve outcomes for the NYRG - young people who have reduce direct provision by the public service users and communities whilst been on the receiving end of a variety of sector, permanently reconfiguring protecting social cohesion. Greater attempts to influence their choices. In patterns of public service delivery, and diversification will require improvements addition the emphasis that young people redefining public sector organisations as in commissioning practices and changes themselves place on the role of the family commissioners rather than direct to service provider behaviours – both of and not the state as the legitimate source providers of services. The Policy which are significant challenges. If of influence suggests that moves to Commission examined the capacity of diversification is to lead to pluralism ‘professionalise’ character development public, private and third sector rather than privatisation then the Policy maybe misplaced. Finally, the Policy organisations to work in new ways and Commission believes that diversification Commission is concerned that the with different resources. needs to be more locally grounded and political, moral and ethical dimensions to with a stronger democratic dimension. behaviour change strategies risk getting 8 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
The Policy Commission’s recommendations are: more openness on the part of ‘failed’ initiatives or organisations. It will also Public authorities and commissioners need to be confident in their rationale for require a cultural shift in public and policy service diversification based on a clear understanding of the action required to makers’ attitudes towards failure. achieve service and community outcomes and an awareness of the challenges. Public service commissioners need to ensure that the model of commissioning The Policy Commission’s they adopt is appropriate to the circumstances, that commissioners have the recommendations are: necessary skills and that in cases of joint or shared commissioning involving potential providers, robust accountability arrangements are in place. Commissioning processes Public service providers, from whatever sector, need to develop new ways of should be regularly reviewed working that are more open, responsive and connected to a locality or service for intelligence about how they area in order to meet the challenges of joint or shared commissioning. facilitate successful initiatives Public authorities need to think more broadly and creatively with users and or contribute to failures. These providers about what kind of support is required to achieve outcomes and who reviews should involve and how can best offer that. providers and users in addition Form, mode and instrumentation should follow function in the design and delivery of services but without risking accountability or the viability of potential to commissioning staff. providers. There is a need for evidence to As policy interventions become more complex to address particularly be collected about the failure challenging outcomes, particular attention needs to be paid to the capacity of of self-help and self-organising users to influence the design and delivery of these programmes and for initiatives in communities and politicians to hold providers to account. neighbourhoods to assess As users and other citizens play greater roles in the future in the co- what the potential and limits of commissioning, co-design, co-management, co-delivery and co-assessment of self-help might be and what public services, clearer protocols will be needed to ensure that the governance kinds of additional support of co-production is appropriate. In particular, it should not become a might be needed in specific requirement, should not disadvantage those who cannot contribute, and should circumstances. not become exploitative, pressurising the weak and vulnerable to give more of The move from ‘cost’ to ‘price’ their time and energy than they wish. based contracting should be Third sector representative organisations need to monitor the impact of Big reversed if it adversely impacts Society and ‘public service’ proposals to assess how far they act to enhance or either on smaller third sector limit the capacity of the third sector to fulfil its advocacy role. providers or on service quality. Public authorities and service providers develop an understanding of the There should be ongoing knowledge and skills associated with collaboration and commissioning, identify micro and macro evaluation of how these need to be distributed within their organisations and put in place the respective impacts of measures to support their development. public, private, third sector or All of those engaged in the delivery of public services, should be identified as hybrid service provision in ‘public servants’ who work from a common set of principles rooted in a shared terms of value for money, ambition to improve outcomes for citizens and service users. quality of provision, equality of access and user experience in order to inform future Supporting tomorrow’s learning – The Policy Commission concludes that decisionmaking about the success and failure in localism putting in place appropriate and sufficient extension/contraction of The radical policy changes proposed by resources to enable decision makers to particular initiatives. the Coalition in relation to behaviour make informed judgements about the Public resources should be change, Localism and diversification of success or failure of experiments is moved from ineffective service supply will stimulate a range of essential to maximise use of scarce programmes to evidence experiments in local public service design resources. This will require drawing on a based ones, accompanied by and delivery. Some of these experiments range of evaluation approaches and will fail and others will succeed. The techniques. Learning more about and clarity about what is Policy Commission reviewed existing from failure will become more important acceptable as evidence, evidence about how and why different in a context where we have few including young people’s approaches to delivering local public blueprints to guide us so making failure perspectives, and attention to services fail and succeed, and more likely, and where experimentation is questions of fidelity of considering how this can be used to occurring across and between sectors programme design and impact anticipate and mitigate ‘failure’ as well as and will include experiments in self-help of local contextual factors on account for success in local public and self-organisation. This will require implementation. services and civic action. The future of local public services 9
Inventing tomorrow’s local demands of future local public Independent evaluation of government – challenges and governance. To secure this role local interventions is a priority. It is opportunities government needs legitimacy with other essential that evaluations are Local government is facing a number of public, private and third sector actors clear about who is challenges. Proposals for Localism and based on its capacity to act competently, commissioning and funding the Big Society challenge its authority, justly and in the interests of local well- them and that governments budget reductions challenge its capacity being in a context of scarce resources. It support and resource to act, and longer term political trends also needs democratic legitimacy with independent evaluations of challenge its legitimacy. To meet these citizens and communities in a context proposed interventions. challenges local government will need to where faith in representative politics and Central government should reinvent itself. The Policy Commission institutions is declining. This means make funding available to explored what we know about local developing meaningful roles for local support public service government’s capacity for reinvention and councillors and going beyond (re)design experiments, to the options available to it. representative institutions to work directly encourage public service with and alongside citizens and commissioners and providers to The Policy Commission concludes that communities to shape the values, policies pursue new ideas, in a context local government needs to reinvent itself and outcomes that will define the locality. of shared risk and rewards as local community leader to meet the (through learning and transferability of successful initiatives). There is a need for a nationally co-ordinated system of support to aid the design, development and evaluation of public service experiments, the innovations that arise from these experiments, and their application in local contexts. Computer modelling and simulation could offer important insights into the potential and limits of proposed experiments, so helping to refine them prior to testing on the ground. Partnerships of public service commissioners and providers and universities and other research institutions should be encouraged to pursue these possibilities and take advantage of European and other funding where appropriate. Universities and other research and intelligence organisations should invest directly in working with service users and community groups to support the development of their capacity to undertake research and evaluation activities on their own behalf, enabling them to develop ideas for public service experiments as well as contributing their own evaluations of experiments in practice. 10 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
The Policy Commission’s recommendations are: Local Public Support – a system for tomorrow
National and local government should work together to develop a vision for the The Policy Commission advocates a future role and purpose of local government in a new environment. This should system of Local Public Support that include a review of local government finance to give local government sources co-ordinates all available resources of finance which are driven more by local decisions and are more independent (public, private, civic and personal) of central government interference. to offer ‘helpful acts’ of various As community leaders local authorities should provide a democratically kinds (connections, ideas, anchored framework within which local priorities can be set, reviewed and interventions, products, resources, renewed. These need to be considered in the context of support that must be services) to promote individual and provided, support that is locally needed and support that could be provided. collective well-being. Citizens and users need to be involved in the processes of priority setting in a Seven re-design principles underpin the truly interactive fashion so that there is space for views to be represented, system of Local Public Support which heard and opinions changed or new opinions formed. should be: Local government has a key role in promoting citizenship amongst young Citizen centred people. It needs to acknowledge through its actions that young people are part Cost effective of its communities and not separate from them. It needs to support citizens to Democratically accountable become independent actors able to critique public policy and public services. It Legible to citizens and users also has a role in reviewing the use of ‘nudge’ tactics to change young people’s Outcome orientated behaviour to ensure that they are being used appropriately. Socially just Improvements to transparency need to be accompanied by a more expansive Sustainable and robust expression of accountability that go beyond the financial/ performance measures to embrace narratives of why things happened and Systems of Local Public Support will be what might be learned. Local councillors have a key role as ward as diverse as the range of localities, representatives, mediators of local interests and scrutineers of the actions of neighbourhoods, regions etc. but each local government and other providers. should include the following features: Local authorities should consider whether it is easier for councillors to perform their democratic role if services are commissioned externally – does this avoid Democratically determined rights and conflicts of interest for councillors or does it reveal a lack of capacity on their entitlements to local public support part to be responsible? In a system of Local Public Support rights and entitlements to support are decided and determined through democratic deliberation involving the Shaping tomorrow’s Localism – the significance of the public spending whole community. All democratic From deliberation to design squeeze in general and the dramatic deliberation needs to be undertaken in The Coalition’s package of reforms for impact of front loaded local government the context of the principles of social public services if implemented in full will spending cuts in particular, and justice and sustainability and public bring into being a new settlement of regretting the apparent lack of coherence authorities, particularly local government, ‘local public services’ - with significant in thinking about the impact of the will have a responsibility to ensure that implications for how we define and Coalition’s public service reforms on weaker/unpopular ‘voices’ are not describe public services in the future, for localities, the Policy Commission does marginalised in these deliberations. any emerging social contract, and for believe that the demands of the future local government, public service will require public services to be Local priority setting in a democratic providers, workers and citizens. At delivered in different ways. framework present some of these proposed reforms The system of Local Public Support is are ‘paused’ and it is possible that the The Policy Commission’s response is to driven by the local community priorities Coalition’s proposals will suffer the same propose a system of Local Public negotiated and agreed within a fate as previous attempts and fail to Support which continues to acknowledge democratic framework that is anchored in generate the kind of ‘transformation’ that the vital importance of an active state but the representative institution of local some supporters wish. The lack of any also recognises that fulfilling citizens’ government. clearly defined formal framework for the aspirations and meeting their needs in Outcome based commissioning current array of proposals arguably the future will require the provision of Outcome based commissioning provides implies that they deserve this fate. new kinds of resources, interventions the mechanism for deciding what support and/or services, involving citizens in new will be offered and by whom. It should The Policy Commission takes a rather ways as well as contributions from the promote testing of a range of approaches different view. While not wishing to deny public, private and third sectors. to establish which work best. The future of local public services 11
Outcome based commissioning demands models of intervention and support. A key Making the system work - the new behaviours and approaches from instrument for such approaches is likely conditions for success commissioners and providers, from to be ‘capabilities analysis’, which A system of Local Public Support will whatever sector, particularly where explores what local people can do and make new demands of citizens, outline commissioning is joint or shared. are willing to do to contribute to local new roles and skills for a more broadly Openness, responsiveness and public support, without reducing either to defined group of public servants in the connectedness are key features of measurable and trainable ‘skills’, to set public, private and third sectors, place commissioner-provider relationships in a alongside more traditional ‘needs local government and local democracy at system of Local Public Support. analysis’. its centre, and require a new settlement between communities and central Co-production in the design and Plural provision where this supports government. delivery of support outcomes This is a way of saving scarce resources, Form follows function in a system of Citizens as genuine co-authors of by getting individuals and communities to Local Public Support. Who supplies their well-being make more of a contribution to their own support, of what type, in what way and A system of Local Public Support is and possibly others’ well-being, e.g. how funded are all questions that are based on the idea that citizens are using less and recycling more. answered in relation to what offers the genuine co-authors of their well-being. best outcome for individuals and the By this we mean that citizens are active The experiences of some of the young wider community. contributors to creating and sustaining people who gave evidence to the the good outcomes that they wish for Commission suggested that engaging in There are opportunities here for themselves and their wider communities, co-production with service providers not innovations in new kinds of supply but crucially, that they do not do so only helped to create a better system of arrangements involving public, private, alone, but in conjunction with family, support but also enhanced their sense of third sector and community bodies. friends, state, third sector and the market. being independent and responsible individuals, attributes they prized. Local public support budget The conditions for this to work are:
Dedicated resources for citizen/ A local public support budget operates Capacity. To act as co-authors citizens community action flexibly. It makes use of the range of need agency; the wherewithal to act on A system of Local Public Support is one financial resources available from private, their own behalves in relations with which makes resources (human, physical charitable and philanthropic sources. others. Agency is an expression of and financial) available for citizens and personal power which is linked to an communities to take action on their own There are opportunities for experiments in individual’s competence, capability and behalf. new kinds of funding for local public confidence and which may be support including payment by results, expressed directly or through Some of these resources will be made social impact bonds, Tax Increment advocates. available by or transferred from local Financing, new local government fees Connectedness. Connections with public authorities or public service and charges and more joined-up central others can increase the resources, providers. However, as important will be government funding. such as expertise, time and support the resources that are available from that citizens have at their disposal to other sources e.g. the private sector and Powerful local politicians contribute to their well-being. third sector, that enable citizens and A system of Local Public Support Understanding how individuals are communities to improve their own and requires powerful local politicians who connected to each other and to wider others’ well-being. are able to shape and guide the system society opens up discussions about in ways that reflect local community Combining preventative and belonging, fairness and solidarity and priorities. They need to represent the responsive activity what it means to be a citizen ‘co-author’ views of those with limited resource A system of Local Public Support whose actions impact both on power in decision making; and provide a focuses on preventative activity as this individual and community well-being. robust framework for local accountability. can provide a more direct route to Control. Co-authorship implies a achieving positive outcomes and can degree of power and control, both over Systematic and shared learning reduce the need for expensive responsive your own actions but also in exchanges There should be multiple opportunities interventions so saving scarce resources. with those who have traditionally for systematic and shared learning in exercised power on behalf, of or over, There is scope here to explore the order that different aspects of support citizens. If citizens are to be active potential and limits of behaviour change can be regularly reviewed and revised or contributors to their own well-being approaches and to examine the likely replaced if they are not contributing to then this requires that politicians, contribution of working with asset based individual and community well-being. professionals and practitioners give up 12 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
control over decisions, budgets and Twenty-first century public servants need Synthesising skills, including sorting services and help create the conditions key skills including: evidence from a range of sources, for co-authorship to flourish. Interpersonal skills specifically analysing, making judgements, offering Context. Citizens’ capacity to act as facilitation, empathy and political skills critique and being creative. co-authors will be influenced by the social, cultural and economic conditions of their neighbourhoods, localities or regions. Discrimination, poverty and inequality will place significant limits on the ‘scope of possibility’ for some individuals and communities.
Creating twenty-first century public servants Public services have continued to be designed around professional specialisms even though the silo institutions these ideas created have long since ceased to be useful in achieving local results. They have continued to be viewed through the lens of the public sector even though voluntary and latterly private sector providers are well established in many areas of service delivery.
The Commission outlines its proposals for a new ‘Twenty-first century public servant’: Who are they? Twenty-first century public servants may be: professionals, managers and/or practitioners from across the public, private and third sectors who are working in a system of Local Public Support. What do they do? Twenty-first century public servants fulfil a combination of roles, some of which are new, some evolving and some longstanding. Key new roles include: storyteller, communicating stories of how new worlds of local public support might be envisioned in the absence of existing blueprints; weaver, making creative use of existing resources to generate something new and useful for service users and citizens; architect, constructing coherent local systems of public support from the myriad of public, private, third sector and other resources; and navigator, guiding citizens and service users around the range of possibilities that might be available in a system of Local Public Support. The future of local public services 13
Organising skills for group work, order to improve its commissioning collaboration and peer review. capacity and connect existing Communication skills, making more and resources together more effectively. better use of new and multi–media This includes identifying opportunities resources. for co-production and ensuring plurality of provision. Also crucial is a Government that publicly Local government needs to develop a values and supports public service and way of governing that engages promotes careers in public services. individual citizens and communities and Educational and training programmes for providers in the construction of a larger public servants at all levels, including at project of social solidarity. national level, will need to be redesigned to accommodate these new roles and A new national government/ skills and to address the existing skills community settlement gaps. Flourishing systems of Local Public Support require changes in the way that A connected and connective local central government relates to local government government and other local public Local government will become more institutions. Some of these actions are important in the future. The redesigned about the appropriate use of power to system of Local Public Support that we effect change that is beyond the scope of are envisaging provides important systems of Local Public Support. Other opportunities but also presents difficult actions are about changing the culture of challenges. Local government will need public debate. to manage these different tensions as well as changing the way it relates to Central government must acknowledge citizens. To achieve this local government the contribution of nationally organised needs to be both connected and public services and systems of Local connective. Public Support to the public who benefit directly from them, but also to creating In its relationships with citizens and the conditions for a prosperous private service users: sector and wider social cohesion. This Local government needs to be includes acknowledging the contribution connected directly into local of all ‘public servants’, whichever sector communities in order to develop a they happen to be delivering services and deeper understanding of their support from. aspirations and concerns and the outcomes which they most value, to be Localism should result in a much clearer better able to connect them to framework of responsibility and resources that can offer appropriate accountability between the ‘centre’ and support to mobilise for those resources ‘localities’. These divisions need to be to be developed where they are not made clear to the public. Where available. This requires that local responsibility and accountability is politicians are perceived to be both located within localities central credible and legitimate by their government should respect that and not constituents. seek to intervene unless there are legal Local government needs to be breaches or concerns about public connected to the views and safety. experiences of those accessing local public support in order to develop a Moving from our existing system to better assessment of how the system towards a system of Local Public works and to hold service and support Support requires action across a range of providers to account. areas. The Policy Commission’s Local government needs to be recommendations highlighted earlier in connected to the range of potential this summary will help localities make providers of local public support in that move. 14 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
1 Setting the agenda
From some political viewpoints, public touch with good causes, are just some of these are prompted by the current services are in an exciting state of flux the ways policy makers hope to reshape financial and policy context. But they are with new possibilities and potential for our assumptions about public services, also informed by longer term social, better delivery, targeting and a curbing of and, crucially, about who deserves or has cultural and economic trends that raise an intrusive and disabling state. From a right to them. questions of affordability and others, they are in turmoil and upheaval, appropriateness about the shape and with a gloomy prognosis for universal Running through the above proposals is nature of existing public service provision and social inclusion. Building a commitment to Localism, one of the provision. on initiatives set in train by previous guiding principles of the Coalition. governments, the Coalition’s programme Localism combines a determination to This coincidence of forces is likely to of reform, together with the looming devolve power to individuals, reshape radically how we think about impact of public sector spending cuts, communities, charities and professionals public services over the next five years. signal huge changes to the scope, scale with a commitment to decentralise power This means it is vitally important for and fundamental purpose of public to the lowest institutional level1. If developments to be planned within a services. implemented in full, the outcome of the coherent framework, and informed by Coalition’s public service reforms will relevant evidence and experience. Yet, For over a hundred years, a social bring into being a new settlement of much of the public debate so far has contract underpinned political consensus ‘local public services’ - with significant been both highly polarised and about the sorts of universal and targeted implications for how we define and polarising, and this makes it essential for services that should be provided and describe public services in the future, for questions, controversies and tensions to about who should receive them. This any emerging social contract, and for be aired and debated constructively. contract was often uneasy and more tacit local government, public service and implicit than actively debated. There providers, workers and citizens. The University of Birmingham Policy can be no doubt, however, this social Commissions contract is now openly contested. The A year into the Coalition Government, it Public service reform is an obvious focus ideological and practical changes taking is still unclear how the various policy for the first of a series of University of place, and proposals for the future, are proposals for public services will play out Birmingham Policy Commissions both unprecedented and very radical. The in practice or indeed if some of them will because of the immediate priority given contract between national government take off at all. The proposals for elected to it by the Coalition Government after and local authorities, and between local police commissioners, the imposition of the 2010 General Election, and its politicians, public servants and citizens is ‘shadow’ elected mayors in 12 larger significance for local citizens, being ripped up across state funded cities and the changes to the NHS have communities, public institutions and the education, health, housing, policing and been either rebuffed (elected police private and third sectors. welfare. commissioners in the House of Lords) or withdrawn (‘shadow’ elected mayors) or Commissions bring together experts from Public service workers, and those who put on hold (as part of the Government’s the public, private and third sectors with manage them, are one target for political ‘listening’ exercise for NHS reforms) and Birmingham academics to focus on major attempts to change behaviour and the public seem to be rather resistant to issues of global, national and civic attitudes. Transferring service the idea of the Big Society or at least not concern, and to identify innovative policy commissioning and budgeting to GPs, to understand it2. solutions. They create a space for a encouraging public servants to develop contribution that is engaged but not social enterprise and mutual But the consequences of the initial cuts partisan, informed by research and organisations, and new relationships with in public finances are having an effect, practical experience, and borne out of private and third sector providers, with public service organisations open and wide-ranging deliberation with reconfiguring the planning system and announcing reductions in staff and a wide range of interests. They provide creating free schools, point to the scope changes to services amidst considerable an opportunity for Birmingham and scale of public service reform. media attention and in some cases legal academics to combine knowledge action; for example Birmingham City generated from their research with the But of course citizens are not immune: Council’s recent failure in the courts to expertise of policy makers and changing the eligibility criteria and restrict eligibility for some adult social practitioners makers in an action coverage of housing, disability and care services. orientated way. employment benefits; promoting civic action, volunteering and giving through So while the shape and nature of the next the appointment of community public services settlement and its localist champions, donating through cash hue remain unresolved, significant machines and putting philanthropists in changes are already taking place. In part, The future of local public services 15
As the different nations of the UK have distinct public policy agendas, the Policy Commission focused explicitly on England.
Young people were a key focus for the Policy Commission3. They are an important constituency likely to be affected in multiple ways by the current reforms but their voice in public policy debates is not as strong as others’, possibly because of the demands of their everyday lives. For example, evidence from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations indicates that, ‘young people vote less [but]the most common reasons for not participating in the 2010 general election were circumstantial not ideological. Rather than, ‘they’re all the same’ or ‘my vote won’t make a difference’, the reasons most cited were The members of the Policy Commission The Policy Commission worked in a ‘lack of time’ or ‘being too busy’4. were: collaboration with the think-tank Demos chosen because of its close contact with Deborah Cadman OBE (Chair of the The Policy Commission drew directly on many of the thinkers, policy makers, Policy Commission; Chief Executive, young people’s experiences as service politicians and civil servants developing East of England Development Agency) users, volunteers and citizens and the agendas on public service reform and Professor Pete Alcock (Professor of explored their views about how public the Big Society, and its extensive Social Policy and Administration and services can promote well-being. It was experience of developing radical yet Director of the Third Sector Research advised by the National Youth Reference practical policy proposals for real life Centre, University of Birmingham) Group and worked closely with Envision problems. Derrick Anderson CBE (Chief – a youth empowerment charity. The Executive, Lambeth Council) Policy Commission adopted a holistic The purpose and focus of the Policy Professor Tony Bovaird (Professor of meaning of ‘well-being’ as encompassing Commission Public Management and Policy, all aspects of human flourishing, The Policy Commission’s purpose was to Institute of Local Government Studies including physical and mental health, a examine the potential impact of a localist and Third Sector Research Centre, sense of purpose, life and work reform agenda on a new public services University of Birmingham))) satisfaction and acceptable levels of settlement. It aimed to draw conclusions Rt Hon. Liam Byrne (Labour MP, material resources. This is an important and make recommendations that would Birmingham Hodge Hill) distinction from meanings in current contribute to current debates and offer Tiger de Souza, (Knowledge and policy and public discourse, where ‘well- longer-term proposals for the future of Innovation Manager v The National being’ usually refers to mental health and local public services. Young Volunteers’ Service) emotional well-being5. Andrew Dick (Chief Executive, Envision The Policy Commission addressed four – youth charity) How the Policy Commission worked key questions in its work: Professor Kathryn Ecclestone The Policy Commission launched with a (Professor of Education and Social How will public service roles and debate at the Conservative Party Inclusion, University of Birmingham) relationships be redesigned and what Conference in Birmingham in October Sam Monaghan (Barnardo’s Regional are the implications for citizens, service 2010 and ran until June 2011. Director in the Midlands) users and providers? Rt Hon. James Morris (Conservative What contribution can behaviour Following an initial scoping phase the MP, Halesowen and Rowley Regis) change approaches and techniques Commissioners engaged with Nick Sharman (Director of Local make to proposals for the future design researchers, policy makers and Government, A4e) of local public services? practitioners in three one-day workshops, Jane Slowey CBE (Chief Executive, How can we reproduce success and using a variety of formats including Foyer Federation) mitigate failure in a localist system? roundtable discussions, select committee What will local government’s role be? style evidence sessions and case study 16 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
presentations. It also engaged separately was faithful to the standards of arguments to persuade others’ of the with specific interest groups and academically rigorous research while also ‘rightness’ of their position, drawing on a individuals to explore specific questions acknowledging that ‘the world of policy range of sources to do so. Of course, or issues. Research to support the Policy making is not one of transferable and the acceptance of particular arguments Commission included a survey of young enduring scientific truths’10, or positions depended partly on what the people’s views6, focus groups with young nothwithstanding recent governments’ Policy Commission as a group had people7 and a review of six innovative attempts to privilege a particular ‘regime already consented to and what was projects8. Full details of the Policy of truth’ in the form of evidence-based considered an acceptable position Commission’s working principles, policy making11. between what was being argued and activities and contributors are included in what had previously been agreed. the appendices at the end of this main Policy making is a political act, an report. Further details of the Policy expression of the values that determine At the same time, Commissioners were Commission’s research are contained in the right course of action in a given set of conscious of the need to be clear about a separate technical appendix9. circumstances. It is a process of the evidence base on which they were argumentation involving storytelling, relying, whilst those who supported the Evidence, sources and processes for testimony, dispute and conflict, rather work of the Policy Commission were arriving at findings than a technical weighing of evidence responsible for ensuring that As a body hosted by a university and towards a ‘rational’ outcome. The Policy Commissioners were exposed to a comprising academics, expert policy Commission strove to reflect the model variety of perspectives and challenges makers and practitioners, the Policy of argumentation, with Commissioners and for establishing the evidential basis Commission had to work in a way that and external contributors rehearsing of the contributions that were made. The future of local public services 17
The range of informants, and the ways in Commissioners more ways to think about Chapter 5 explores the pressures for which the Policy Commission interacted an issue. On other occasions, the increasing diversification of the supply of with them, provided variety in terms of process helped to confirm public services, asks how confident we how those contributions were heard, Commissioners’ confidence in their initial are about the capacity of public, private contested and deliberated. They also judgements. and third sector organisations to work in presented Commissioners with very new ways and with different resources, different kinds of contributions or Of course, presentations or contributions and considers how insights from existing ‘evidence’ to work with. This included: based on robust research carried weight arrangements and practices can help Findings from academic and policy with the Commissioners, but these were shape more localist services in the future. based research and evaluation projects. not the only sources that mattered, often Expert knowledge drawn from relevant because the kinds of questions at stake Chapter 6 addresses success and experience. went beyond the scope of specific failure in a localist system, reviewing the Findings from consultation activities research projects and/or were questions evidence we have of how and why (our own and others’). that could not easily be answered by different approaches to delivering local Results of surveys (our own and existing research: here, other kinds of public services succeed and fail, and others’). evidence could help in the teasing out or exploring how can we use this evidence Lay knowledge from service user thinking through of an issue. to help anticipate and mitigate failure as experience. well as account for success in local Practice knowledge from experience. The structure of the report public services and civic action. The report is structured as follows: The Policy Commission did not establish Chapter 2 provides an analysis of the Chapter 7 focuses on the challenges a formal hierarchy of evidence to apply to key themes of the Coalition’s proposals posed to local government by Localism, its deliberations, but it was clear that for public service reform, illustrates how the Big Society and the reductions in individual Commissioners had strong these themes shaped the questions local government funding, asks what we ideas about the standard of evidence that explored by the Policy Commission and know about local government’s capacity would be convincing to them or, highlights the implications of reforms for reinvention and the options available conversely, evidence with which they based on these themes for a new to it, and reflects on how this knowledge neither agreed nor could accept as valid settlement of ‘local public services’. can shape a future role for local and reliable. Tensions therefore arose government and local councillors. between Commissioners concerned that Chapters 3 - 7 provide an analysis of conclusions should be based on the questions explored by the Policy Chapter 8 draws on the preceding evidence that was ‘provably’ true, those Commission situating them in the context analysis to propose a framework for a who were satisfied by evidence that was of current policy and evidence about new system of Local Public Support. This ‘probably’ true, and those for whom broader trends in public services. system acknowledges the vital conclusions could be drawn on the basis importance of an active state but of evidence that was ‘plausibly’ true, i.e., Chapter 3 focuses on young people as recognises that fulfilling citizens’ convincing to a ‘reasonable audience’12. ‘active citizens’ and explores whether and aspirations and meeting their needs in Different stances appeared to be based in what circumstances citizens are the future requires the provision of new on the extent to which Commissioners prepared to be ‘active’ and how this kinds of resources, interventions and/or viewed ‘ideal’ public policy decisions as knowledge can shape relations between services, involving citizens in new ways those rooted in an unambiguous notion of citizens and officials, users and providers as well as contributions from the public, generalised and generalisable evidence. in the future. private and third sectors.
Given this range of views, the Policy Chapter 4 considers the potential and Chapter 9 identifies the conditions for Commission sought to examine the value limits of behaviour change, examines the success of this system of Local Public of different contributions through evidence base for the efficacy of Support highlighting the importance of: discussion and debate, for example behaviour change approaches and citizens as genuine co-authors of their highlighting controversial or ‘stand out’ reflects on how we can use this evidence own well-being; twenty-first century contributions and then evaluating them in to shape proposals about the future public servants, a connected and the context of other contributions. design and delivery of local public connective local government; and a new Sometimes such approaches highlighted services. government/community settlement. limitations to evidence for an apparently orthodox position and gave 18 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
2 The shape of the agenda - questions, themes and issues
Public service reform is an ongoing Localism features in a number of ways in The New Labour administrations (1997- project, underway since the the Coalition’s programme. It is employed 2010) supported a number of iterations establishment of the Welfare State. to: of Localism which inter alia attempted to: Successive governments have attempted Shift the focus of public service delivery address the needs of the most to shape public services in response to to the local level and devolve power to disadvantaged communities whilst also prevailing socio-economic conditions led professionals working at that level, for ‘empowering’ them through a massive by political agendas that are more or less example proposals for GP programme of neighbourhood renewal; coherent. The Coalition is no exception. commissioning; improve policing outcomes and relationships between citizens and police To date, the Coalition’s proposals for Change the relationship of public officers through neighbourhood policing public service reform have developed services with localities and with local initiatives; increase the influence of department by department. Nonetheless institutions, for example the proposals service users over health and social care a number of overlapping themes can be for free schools appeal to a set of services through personalisation of identified across the range of reforms, interests and aspirations that may services; and enhance the role and status some of which the Coalition claims are coalesce around a particular of local government and the influence of essential to its overall change agenda. neighbourhood or other community but local citizens’ over decision making These themes are: Localism, behaviour will function outwith the oversight of the through proposals for ‘double devolution’. change, the diversification of service local education authority; These policies had much in common with supply and experimentation. Create space for, or provide support for the realisation of the Big Society, the the Coalition’s plans yet New Labour These themes and the issues they raise Coalition’s vision of ‘what happens struggled to realise its goals partly due to for the future of public services shaped whenever people work together for the its preference for centrally determined the four key questions addressed by the common good…achieving our targets and performance management Policy Commission: collective goals in ways that are more systems and in the case of double devolution because of its lack of How will public service roles and diverse, more local and more 15 14 confidence in local government . relationships be redesigned and what personal’ , either through local are the implications for citizens, service government’s continued or even The Coalition presents its approach to users and providers? enhanced funding for the third sector, local government as one based on What contribution can behaviour or through public institutions’ dispersal supporting its freedom to act in support change approaches and techniques of assets to community groups to use of local communities without being either make to proposals for the future design to provide services or community hamstrung by central government or of local public services? resources; subject to ‘one size fits all’ policies. In How can we reproduce success and ‘Empower’ individual services users, by return local government is advised to mitigate failure in a localist system? encouraging an emphasis on resist its own ‘centralising tendencies’ What will local government’s role be? personalised budgets or forms of co- production of public services; and devolve as much power as it can to This chapter explores each of these Represent an enhanced expression of individuals and neighbourhoods in the themes locating them in their longer term democratic accountability for existing same way that central government is 16 policy context, considering the public services, for example the doing . implications of reforms based on these proposals to have elected police themes for a new settlement of ‘local commissioners or for communities to There is evidence of inconsistency here public services’, and identifying how be able to vote on proposed council tax however as government ministers, separately and together they informed the increases. particularly those in the Department for Policy Commission’s agenda. Communities and Local Government As the above examples suggest Localism have repeatedly expressed views about Themes is not defined by a particular spatial local government matters, from the level The first theme is Localism. Localism is scale. Rather it can refer to a range of of chief executive pay, whether or not defined by the Coalition as the devolution spatial and/or social configurations. council leaders should double up as chief of executives, how often refuse should be ‘power, money and knowledge to The idea of Localism is a touchstone of collected and whether or not councils those best placed to find the best numerous governments, but very few should charge residents for throwing solutions to local needs: elected manage to translate this into devolving away too much waste. Again while there local representatives, frontline public real power and resourcing decisions to is nothing unusual in central government service professionals, social local politicians, professionals and/or the ministers seeking to intervene in English enterprises, charities, co-ops, public even in prosperous economic local government matters in this way, community groups, neighbourhoods times. such actions suggest a Government that and individuals’13. is not as at ease with the idea of a free The future of local public services 19
and autonomous local government as its others’ behaviours in all areas of our lives. relate to and engage with citizens and espoused commitment to Localism would Of course, whatever the political hue of communities, suggesting among other suggest. government, the state nationally and things a need for new sets of behaviours. locally has always tried to change its However it is important to note that past This highlights the importance of the citizens’ behaviours, through interventions experience indicates that attempts to central-local government relationship for that might be overt or covert, or both, and inspire more ‘active’ citizens have often shaping the meaning and impact of which might be more or less informed by struggled to contend with the shape and Localism in general and the future robust evidence. From straightforward nature of local communities and significance and capacity of local information campaigns to subtle and not- traditions. Society and citizens are government in particular. Equally so subtle scare tactics, to target-setting, heterogeneous not homogenous and important to the fate of Localism and tax breaks, promises of deferred different social classes, groups and local local government will be the impact of gratification, punishments or softer sticks, areas are differentially able and willing to other Coalition proposals, such as the rewards and incentives, local and respond to proposed reforms17. combined impact of the proposed national governments have used an array welfare reforms which are likely to place of tactics to encourage us to do the right Examples of the initiatives aimed at new and different demands on local thing for ourselves and others. Indeed, changing the behaviour of public communities, infrastructure and history shows that the state project of servants and institutions include the institutions. behaviour change dates back to the Coalition’s appeals to public service Localism generates important questions 1830s. workers to become social entrepreneurs for the Policy Commission including: eg. by establishing and delivering The Coalition government has built on services through mutual organisation or the previous government’s interest in social enterprises. At an institutional level behaviour change. Yet, it is important to How will proposals to the Coalition has proposed that local note a new breadth and diversity of ‘empower’ citizens, users and authorities are offered a New Homes references to behaviour change, and the public service workers change Bonus where Whitehall matches the fact that the various techniques and existing citizen/decision maker Council Tax raised for each new home for approaches this government is and user/provider roles and six years. Here too it is important to note considering are not just employed to relationships? What will be that public service workers have encourage change in the behaviours of expected of citizens, users and attachments to particular kinds of and service users and citizens but also to public service workers in their approaches to service provision, often promote change in how public service new roles, how will they be based in a set of values linked to a workers and even public institutions supported and what happens if profession or to an idea of public service. expectations are not met? behave. Recent examples of the former include the ‘tenant cashback’ scheme, What is the future for local The questions posed by behaviour where social housing tenants are in-line government? What roles should change for the Policy Commission are: it play? Does it have the for a bonus if they do their own repairs capacity and capability to fulfil for a year rather than troubling the landlord. More ambitious is the these roles? How does its What are the potential and Coalition’s desire that we each do more democratic status influence limits of behaviour change for ourselves instead of relying on the what these roles might be? approaches and techniques for state, encapsulated in the Prime What are the implications for changing the behaviour of Minister’s personal commitment to the councillors? citizens, public service workers Big Society and illustrated by a range of and even institutions? initiatives designed to incentivise ‘giving’ What do we know about the The second theme is behaviour by making it easier (through cash points), efficacy of and evidence base change. The much-touted phrase ‘from to increase volunteering, and to promote for behaviour change nanny to nudge’ symbolises the community action. In this case incentives approaches and techniques Coalition’s aspirations to find new ways to do good are accompanied by that can help shape proposals to change its citizens’ behaviours, to rhetorical appeals that envision a for how local public services shape the habits and attitudes of good transformed society built on a specific should be designed and citizenship and to spread them more idea of what it is to be a citizen and what delivered in the future? widely. Policy makers hope to change a reshaped citizen/state relationship citizens’ expectations of what local and would look like. national government should, and can, The third theme is diversification of provide as universal public services, who Such a redefined relationship would have service supply to extend private and provides them, and how, and to be implications for how public service third sector involvement in public service proactive in changing our own and workers and democratic institutions 20 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
delivery. As with behaviour change this is In combination, although not necessarily In these circumstances experimentation not a new phenomenon. Governments in a coherent or particularly strategic way, will be an important element of any public have long histories of engagement with these proposals for diversification of service reform – the testing and trying of private and third sector organisations to supply pose important questions for the new approaches and options in specific deliver public services. However the Policy Commission: sites or service areas in order to assess engagement of private and third sector whether and how they perform. This organisations accelerated and intensified focus on innovation was a preoccupation in the 1980s and 1990s, for example How will proposals to diversify of previous administrations but unlike through the introduction of the mixed public service supply impact on New Labour who were arguably more economy of care in social services, the the organisation of providers of concerned with innovation as a means of promotion of housing associations as public services across different supporting ‘continuous improvement’ 19, alternative landlords for social housing sectors? the prevailing context is encouraging a tenants, and the introduction of What will these proposals mean shift in emphasis amongst those working Compulsory Competitive Tendering first for how we understand who in the ‘innovation industry’ towards what into ‘streetscene’ services such as refuse public service workers are and has been termed ‘radical efficiency’, that collection and grounds maintenance, and how they are trained and is, innovation that delivers much better latterly into ‘white collar’ services supported? public outcomes for much lower costs’ in including treasury functions and human How will these proposals part by ‘reconceptualising’ public service resourcing. Subsequent governments’ change the relationship of challenges20. enthusiasm for diversifying supply has public service providers with ensured the continuance of this trend service users, with each other Promoting experimentation as part of a albeit in different ways. and with government? policy programme that also emphasizes What will these proposals mean Localism and diversity is likely to lead to Post 1997, the New Labour for the future role of public multiple experiments being developed administrations placed great emphasis on institutions, particularly local and tested within and across English the potential contribution of various government which combines public services. This suggests that there permutations of ‘partnership’ close proximity to services will be important successes and arrangements between some users and citizens and a significant failures. combination of public, private and third responsibility for the well-being sector bodies, and in some cases even of all its citizens and Experimentation raises the following included community organisations, communities, with a local questions for the Policy Commission: particularly in regeneration initiatives18. democratic mandate? New Labour also tried to redesign services in order to promote what it What do we know about why considered to be key principles of a The fourth theme is experimentation. and how different approaches ‘modernised’ system - ‘empowerment’, As indicated above many of the themes to delivering local public ‘choice’ and ‘competition’ and trialled identified in the Coalition’s plans are services succeed and fail? new services and systems including local evident in longer term trends in public How can we anticipate and treatment centres that could be run by services. To some extent then evidence mitigate ‘failure’ as well as the NHS or by independent providers, from previous initiatives should be able to evidence success in public and ‘choose and book’, a system aimed inform Coalition reforms. However, what service reform and civic action? at improving patient choice over is perhaps distinctive about the Coalition How can citizens and services treatment in collaboration with GPs. programme is the way in which key users be insured from the What the Coalition is proposing is both a contextual factors are combining to pose adverse impacts of failure? further extension of private and third questions that established blueprints for sector engagement in the delivery of public service reform are unable to public services in support of these address. These contextual factors include From public services to ‘local’ public principles and the corresponding the financial crisis, changing services? withdrawal of public institutions as direct demography, new patterns of living and The combined impact of the Coalition’s providers, though critics argue that it is working, the opportunities and proposals will change the future shape privatisation rather than pluralism that challenges presented by the new media, and nature of public services in England, underpins this agenda. In this context the and rising public expectations of potentially bringing into being a new recent development in shared service services. settlement of ‘local public services’ - with arrangements is an important variation on implications for local government, public the theme of diversification of service service providers, workers and citizens. In supply. addition to examining the specific The future of local public services 21
questions generated by different themes The nature and significance of the What it means for services to be running through the Coalition’s ‘local’ dimension to public services. ‘public’. proposals, the Policy Commission also The boundary between national and There are questions here about explored what a new ‘local public local public services has, like so many whether and how services are funded services’ settlement might look like. other aspects of British governance, and who is eligible to receive them. We been rather blurred. The National have become used to some public Public services can be defined as: Health Service for example is prized services being charged for but at what The provision and organisation of that precisely because of its ‘national’ status point does the search for new sources provision of a ‘helpful act’ – a service, and constitution. However in practice of support for public services render intervention or product; diversity in health provision has long them outside the public domain? To meet the needs or fulfil the been shaped by local discretion, giving Likewise we no longer expect some entitlements of citizens; rise in recent years to complaints about services to be universally available but That follows a decision by elected a ‘postcode lottery’. at what point might rationing or restriction of multiple public services government, their agents or designated Elsewhere, the boundaries between limit our overall sense of a coherent and authority of a particular jurisdiction that national and local do appear to be shared system of public service? What such a service is required or demanded clearer eg. in relation to welfare benefits people understand by the term ‘public’ by citizens; which are delivered locally but at is an important issue for the Policy That is part or fully funded from the national rates and according to national Commission. public purse; practices, or in relation to youth That is delivered with or without charge, services which function more or less Whether the idea of ‘services’ is by public, private, third sector bodies or entirely at the discretion of local sufficient. hybrids thereof, and citizens acting authorities though policy advice and 21 In future meeting the wishes and alone or in combination . guidance is provided nationally and aspirations of citizens through service some third sector organisations provide provision from whatever source may be Definitions of public services are not services nationally. But overall public neither practicable due to cost, nor given and fixed but can change over time. service provision is a differential mix of appropriate due to the nature of the This is because the prevailing political national and local influence. climate influences how we understand need to be met. Rather what might emerge is a system which may have a what public services are, whether or not The Coalition’s proposals offer a service element but which offers a we want more/less of them, and how we rebalancing of the public services range of other resources too. This is a are prepared for them to be organised. settlement with a much stronger role key issue for the Policy Commission The Coalition’s proposals for public afforded to the ‘local’, however defined. and we return to it in chapter 8. service reform point to the potential for a This raises important questions for the further redefinition - one requiring a Policy Commission about what the reconsideration of: potential and limits of the ‘local’ might be in a future public service settlement, not least because in practice the ‘benefit areas for different local public goods do not generally coincide’22 22 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
3 Activating tomorrow’s citizens - young people and public services
‘Active citizenship’ is at the heart of advocates and service providers across a Advice centres seemed particularly Localism and the Big Society. The range of policy areas including important to young people aged 15 – 18, prospect of citizens having power to do citizenship development, community who made up 68% of those reporting things for themselves, as well as doing regeneration, education, health using an advice service24. For 11 – 14 more for, and with, others runs through promotion, housing, leisure, social care, year olds, leisure facilities are particularly Coalition proposals from personalisation volunteering and youth services. The important with 42% of boys indicating through co-production to community impact of ‘active citizenship’ on the future outdoor playing facilities were the most control. But what do we know about designation, training and support of important service listed25. whether and how far citizens are public service workers was a key issue in prepared to be ‘active’ and in what the Policy Commission’s deliberations. Young people in higher education, circumstances, with what support, and seemed more likely than other age how can this knowledge shape relations Young people’s use of local services groups to make use of private rather than between citizens and officials, users and To get a better understanding of the public leisure facilities, with 44% using providers in the future? range of local services young people private gyms26. used and which mattered most to them, Young people are the next generation of the Policy Commission surveyed young As well as asking about which services ‘active citizens’ so their reactions to ideas people’s views about a sample of local young people would like to use more about Localism and the Big Society and services. The sample selection aimed to often, the survey asked which services how they view their future contribution provide: a broad enough range of they would like more of and whether they will provide important insights for public services that would appeal to the age thought service provision was sufficient. policy. Young people are also important range we were surveying (11-21); because their views are likely be coverage of services that were statutory About two-thirds (65%) of young people mediated by the double impact of current and discretionary; examples of public, would like to use some services more circumstances, eg. the introduction of private and third sector delivery; and often (see Table 1). 70% of young tuition fees, high levels of youth examples of services of particular people in social classes ABC1 would like unemployment, and the lack of protection relevance to young people. to see more services, against 61% of for funding for services to young people; young people in social classes C2DE. coupled with the prospect of the longer Our survey asked respondents about 57% of unemployed young people would term consequences of the recession and which services they had used, how often, like to see more services, compared to public spending squeeze, eg. the lack of which services mattered most to them, 69% of those at school27. The services affordable housing and the impact of and which services they would like to use young people would like to see more of changes to pension entitlements and more often (see Table 1). are youth clubs and outdoor sport/play retirement ages. The survey revealed that overall, 92% of facilities28. The Policy Commission wanted to people interviewed had used one of the explore the implications of the Coalition’s services listed in the last year. The most However, the majority of young people plans for public service reform on young popular services were libraries, leisure think there are enough services available people as civic actors, service users and services (i.e. council gym and outdoor (60% think there are enough, against volunteers. To do this the Policy playing facilities) and youth clubs. 39% think there are not29). 14 and 19 Commission: Outdoor playing facilities and leisure year olds were most likely to say there are not enough services (49% and 48% Surveyed young people’s usage of a centres were considered the most respectively) as well as those in social range of local services. important services amongst respondents. classes DE (48%)30. Explored young people’s attitudes to 52% reported using a library in the last becoming ‘active citizens’. 12 months. This is higher than latest The main reasons given for not using Examined practical examples of figures for 16 – 24 year old usage services more often were lack of time and involving young people in service reported in the Taking Part: The National cost, with several services getting a design and delivery. Survey of Culture, Leisure and Sport. slightly higher score for unavailability at Reviewed recent developments in user- According to the DCMS survey, usage the right time (see Table 2). Cost came provider relationships and considered amongst this group has declined since up repeatedly in our focus groups and in their impact on young service users. 2005/6 – from 51% to 42.8% in 2010. our discussions with the National Youth Considered the risks and limits of However, figures for 11-14 year old Reference Group (NYRG). ‘active citizenship’ amongst young usage (61% used a library in the past people. year23) are lower than the figures for the Encouraging ‘active citizens’ The Policy Commission drew directly on 11- 15 year cohort in the Taking Part: Government calls for citizens to become the views and experiences of young Child Survey (71.6% report visiting a more ‘active’ in securing their own well- people themselves as well as those of library in the past 12 months). being have featured in UK public policy The future of local public services 23
Table 1. Young people’s use of local services These four versions of ‘active citizenship’ offer very different descriptions of the Services used More than once Most Like to use relationship between the citizen and the in past year in last year Important* more often state and of the role played by each in securing well-being. Arguably, the No % No % No % No % Coalition’s policy proposals for ‘active citizenship’ are closest to the Council leisure 344 44 307 39 148 19 166 21 interpretation of either ‘responsible’ or centre ‘consuming’. Private gym 160 20 139 18 86 11 158 20 The idea of ‘active citizenship, what it Youth club 155 20 117 15 60 8 70 9 meant and how it should be Outdoor playing operationalised featured prominently in facilities 353 45 307 39 165 21 122 16 the Policy Commission’s discussions. The idea of citizens as ‘consumers’ Community predominated, though all four versions of 85 11 63 8 13 2 25 3 centre ‘active citizenship’ appeared in representations made to the Policy Other faith, Commission. Importantly, while the Policy voluntary or 72 9 58 7 27 3 20 3 Commission heard from many public charity service providers who were designing organisation new approaches to their delivery of Library 404 52 324 41 108 14 80 10 services based on one or other conception of ‘active citizenship’, it heard Health centre 294 38 210 26 98 12 13 2 relatively little evidence about the local Advice centre public’s preparedness to be engaged in 130 17 83 11 39 5 22 3 eg. Connexions this way where they were not already actively involved. Other 24 3 21 3 15 2 15 2 The Policy Commission’s survey of young None 65 8 96 12 101 13 270 35 people explored their willingness to Base 782. Source: LVQ Research Ltd. become ‘active citizens’ by getting more *Total is greater than 100% as some respondents chose more than one option involved in decision making and service delivery. Our survey data suggests that since the financial crisis of the 1970s. Consuming citizens: defining citizens young people feel disenfranchised in Motivated by different ideas and reflected as consumers operating in markets relation to decision making that affects in divergent policies these official gives them greater control over service them, are prepared to get more involved appeals have in common a determination design, greater choice amongst in the design and delivery of services that to counter what is characterised as the providers and results in improved they might use but are not prepared to ‘passivity’ of citizens, the result of the service responsiveness to individual devote significant amounts of time to this. combination of representative requirements. democracy, bureaucratic organisation Stakeholder citizens: citizens The survey asked young people if they and the privileging of professionals as the individually and collectively have a stake felt they had a say in which services were guardians of the public interest31. There in the good governance of societies, provided in their area, if they would like to are four dominant appeals to ‘active though how they view that stake will have some influence over those citizenship’, each of which offers a vary depending on the circumstance; decisions, and what they would be different rationale for why and in what public institutions need to be prepared to do to shape services. ways citizens should be encouraged to constructed in such a way as to enable do more: effective expression of individual and The survey findings reveal that only 20% of young people feel they have enough of Empowered citizens: specific collective ‘voice’. a say in which services are provided in interventions are required to ‘empower’ Responsible citizens: individuals and their area. The percentage who feel they spatial or social communities failed by communities have duties to others do not have enough of a say remains established institutions; to challenge expressed through self-discipline, family high, even when reaching age 18 (76%) prevailing power relations and to tackle life, strong communities and a increasing to 85% at age 2133. 87% of institutionalised discrimination. relationship with the state based on agreed rights and responsibilities.32 working young people feel they do not 24 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Table 2. What stops young people using services?
Council Private gym Youth club Outdoor Community Other Library Health Advice leisure (Base 158) (Base 70) playing centre voluntary/ (Base 80) centre centre eg. centre facilities (Base 25) charity (Base 13) Connexions (Base 166) (Base 122) organisation (Base 22) (Base 20)
No (%) No (%) No (%) No (%) No (%) No (%) No (%) No (%) No (%) No (%) Lack of time 74 (45) 62 (39) 24 (34) 50 (41) 11 (45) 9 (43) 54 (67) 2 (17) 9 (39) These things are 7 (4) 7 (5) 20 (28) 21 (17) 6 (23) 2 (9) 4 (5) - 92 (10) not available often Not available at the right time for 16 (10) 5 (3) 5 (7) 8 (7) 3 (13) 4 (19) 8 (10) 2 (17) 4 (16) me No-one to do 15 (90 9 (6) 4 (6) 10 (8) 2 (9) 2 (9) 2 (3) 1 (8) 2 (10) them with Cost too much 69 (42) 83 (52) 4 (6) 7 (6) - - 1 (1) 1 (8) - Not allowed by 4 (3) 2 (1) 1 (1) 5 (4) - 1 (7) - - - parents Not allowed by the organisation - 3 (2) 1 (1) 1 (1) - - - - - that provides the service Too far away/ 23 (14) 16 (10) 5 (7) 14 (12) 1 (4) 1 (5) 5 (6) 2 (17) 3 (15) difficult to get to Service isn’t very 1 (1) 1 (1) 5 (8) 9 (7) 2 (7) 3 (3) 1 (9) 4 (17) good quality - Other 3 (2) 9 (5) 6 (8) 8 (6) 2 (9) 3 (13) 10 (12) 2 (13) 1 (4) Don’t know 3 (2) (8) 6 (8) 12 (10) 1 (3) 2 (12) 2 (2) 1 (9) 1 (6) Source: LVQ Research Ltd.
have a say. Young people in higher evenly spread across all age groups, with Of those willing to help, young people education were most likely to say they 15 – 18 year olds most likely to be willing were most likely to say they are willing to have enough of a say in which services to offer some help. Social class AB were sign a petition (48%), then volunteer to are provided (29%)34. reported as most likely to be willing to design services (39%), then run services. help (59%)39. Young people from social class ABC1 Just over three-fifths of young people were more likely to volunteer to run the would like to have more of a say in which Importantly perhaps for policy makers service than those from social class services are provided (61%) and this is trying to activate the Big Society, the C2DE (42% compared to 28%)41. Young highest amongst age group 15 – 18 survey found that young people already people between 11-14 years were more (68%)35 and those in higher education connected to voluntary organisations interested in designing services (46%), (69%)36. Young people in the north of were more likely to say they were willing while those between 19-21 were more England were least likely to want to have to help to bring services to their area enthusiastic about improving or running a say in which services are provided (69% compared to 48% overall)40. services (42% and 41%)42. Young (51% compared to 65% in the south)37. people already connected to voluntary Minority ethnic groups were much more The survey asked young people who had organisations were more likely than other likely to want to have more of a say expressed a willingness to become service users to express an interest in (79%) compared to 59% white British38. active, what they would be prepared to running them (60%)43. These levels of In terms of becoming active and contribute (see Table 3). expressed willingness are higher than contributing to shaping services, the actual participation figures drawn from survey found that 48% of all young the Taking Part survey – in 2008/9 people were willing to help in some way 27.6% of young people aged between to provide services and this was pretty 16 and 24 said they had volunteered in The future of local public services 25
Table 3. What young people are prepared to contribute ‘It feels like everyone makes decisions for us and don’t really ask What kind of help would you be willing to offer? No % what we think or what we’d like’48
Willing to speak out or sign a petition to bring services to your area 182 48 ‘People don’t listen to young people, Willing to pay a membership fee 73 19 if they listened more they’d care about their community more’49 Willing to pay for using services 82 22
Willing to volunteer to help design the service 148 39 ‘The police and emergency services aren’t accessible to young people. Willing to volunteer to help improve the service 126 33 They don’t have a good relationship Willing to volunteer to help run the service 135 36 with us and are more likely to respond to adults’50 . Willing to volunteer to publicise the service to get more young people using it 105 28
Other 41 When young people were visible to public services it was argued that they Don’t know 2 1 were ‘represented as an issue or Base 379. Source: LVQ Research Ltd. problem, not as individuals who are just being themselves’ 51. Associated fears about ‘bad things happening’ to young the last 12 months. However, this survey be happy to run services for young people meant that in practice policy showed that young people, and the over people including taking responsibility for focused too often on ‘prevention’ rather 75s, were the only groups where the management and administration eg. than to promoting the possibility of ‘good volunteering rates had increased steadily paying rent, finding sponsorship. NYRG things for young people’52. The Policy since 2005. In 2005/6, 24.7% of 16-24 members were older than those in our Commission believes that building good year olds had volunteered in the last 12 focus groups and also more experienced relationships with young people is months, increasing to 25.5% in 2006/7, in participating in decision making essential if they are to become more 26% in 2007/8. forums. actively engaged in service design and delivery. Public service workers will be The survey also explored how much time However, increasing young people’s key to building these relationships and young people felt able to give to shaping engagement with public services is not service providers need to ensure that local services (see Table 4). just a matter of dealing with practical staff are equipped to do this. problems of access and skills and time, The findings reveal the most popular important though these are. More Activating young citizens option was one evening every few weeks fundamental blockages are the The Policy Commission was keen to (42%). Community centre and voluntary perceptions of young people and their explore some practical examples of organisation users were willing to put the advocates about how public service initiatives delivering services for, to and most time in – with 49% and 42% saying providers view young people. The Policy alongside young people in such a way as they would be willing to contribute one Commission heard that young people felt to encourage their participation, action afternoon or evening a week44. ‘invisible’ to most public services. Young and self-worth. It commissioned Demos people in our focus groups explained this to look in detail at six initiatives to Our focus groups with young people at in the following ways: examine how they included young people four schools in Birmingham supported these findings45. The 16-18 year olds confirmed that they felt uninvolved in Table 4. Amount of time young people are prepared to put into shaping local decision making about things that services affected them, and that they would like to If you would be willing to volunteer in any of the ways outlined, how get involved – ‘We would prefer to go to much time do you think you would be willing to put in? No % a centre that we help to run’46. However there was an important difference for One afternoon or evening every few weeks 158 42 them between being involved and taking One afternoon or evening a week 121 32 a service over – ‘I don’t think we could run it [a leisure centre] on our own’47. Our Two afternoons or evenings a week 46 12 consultation with the NYRG generated a More 18 5 rather different outcome. They argued strongly that given the opportunity and Don’t know 36 10 with the right kind of support they would Base 379. Source: LVQ Research Ltd. 26 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
from varied backgrounds, how they Figure 1. Summary of initiatives organised themselves to meet young people’s aspirations, and how their Health approaches might be adopted and Uscreates - Uscreates is a social design agency of designers, journalists and facilitation adapted by decision makers and public experts that uses strategies of co-creation and social marketing to develop successful and service providers looking to engage more cost effective means of combating social challenges including public health, climate holistically with young people. change, community empowerment and economic issues. It recently recruited 30 young The six initiatives located in the areas of people to help mastermind and deliver pilots and to appear in media promotions for an health, housing and leisure, offered anti-Chlamydia campaign. www.uscreates.com/ - Birmingham coverage of: a broad range of policy and Right Here – working with young people to design and deliver mental health support service areas; highly localised initiatives (professional and peer-based support), raise awareness and reduce stigma of mental and national programmes; initiatives health. Funded and supported principally via the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Young people trying to innovate in service design and/ (service users and others) play key roles in national and local advisory panels or the engagement of young people; and www.right-here.org.uk/ - Brighton/Sheffield schemes provided by a range of providers. Figure 1 summarises each of Leisure the initiatives studied53. StreetGames The six initiatives provided some helpful – a national network of 120+ local projects working with local providers to insights into the issues that decision make innovative use of limited space to allow disadvantaged young people the chance to makers and providers might consider participate in sports. Funded nationally by the Co-operative and locally by local authorities when trying to engage young people. and others. Street Games has developed ‘The Cooperative Street-Games Young Volunteers Scheme’ (CSYV). www.streetgames.org/drupal-5.0/index.php The examples highlighted the importance - Nationwide of using informal tools of Higher Croft Action Group engagement. All the initiatives – a resident led group that began with the transfer from the recognised that the traditional methods local council to the community group of two local assets that had fallen into disrepair and of service provision and engagement disuse – a multi-use games area and a recreational games park. The group raised funds to were too ‘top-down’ and alien to young regenerate and rebuild these assets, hosting community cohesion events at the new sites people. They sought to use modern (such as a local carnival, youth club, football tournament and junior master chef informal ‘engagement tools’ including competition) and providing volunteering opportunities to young people in the community to social networking platforms like help to manage the new assets - Blackburn Facebook, though these were not problem free. Housing
For example, the MyNav initiative Phoenix Housing Co-operative “Housing Plus” – is working in partnership with local provided important insights into the organisations and using volunteers from the co-operative to transform long term void difficulties facing a public service properties into viable homes for their members, maximising on efficiency to reduce costs. provider looking to engage young people Volunteers working in properties have found employment due to skills they have learnt. on a positive, pro-social basis rather than www.phoenixhousingcoop.org/plus.html - Poplar, London on a compulsory or deficit-led approach. MyNav - A web-based, informal programme modelled on the idea of a flexible, Because MyNav used the frameworks of personalised journey inherent in ‘sat nav’ technology, offering information, advice and social media there was an expectation guidance to help young people navigate the transition from a child’s social identity and that young people – feeling familiar with service expectations to those of an adult and so help them to attain a sustainable it – would engage happily and readily. livelihood. Funded via a range of government and other sources http://my-nav.net/ However, many saw the similarities - selected Foyers including Peterborough between MyNav and sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo and simply questioned why they should service with an already popular MyNav appeared to overcome these participate in this rather than the others. experience or product providers may well problems by developing and promoting This has consequences for those who be opening themselves up to a form of its unique selling points: it is a closed believe that the key to engaging young competition they are likely to lose. Part system that allows users greater security; people is mimicry – designing the service of the problem of ‘last resort’ – young it offers young people more control over to closely resemble an existing aspect of people’s reluctance to actively engage what is contained in their site package; young people’s lives. By encouraging with public services – may well spring, or and it is now linking up with non-public young people to compare a public at least be exacerbated by, this issue. providers such as Facebook to offer The future of local public services 27
‘value-added’ to those non-public Leaders of initiatives regarded young Giving young people a sense of services used by young people already. people’s role as ambassadors as very ‘ownership’ over a project was a important, particularly in supporting the powerful tool in getting young people The examples emphasised the need to engagement of other young people who more engaged with an initiative’s understand and work with the different might have been considered ‘hard to activities. When young people took a role levels of attachment that young reach’ groups. For example, in MyNav in project creation and decision-making people might have to an initiative. The there was a deliberate attempt to work the projects were better able to identify initiatives tended to attract a ‘core’ group with the active users or early adopters of and meet local needs. For example, of young people who were early adopters the scheme in order that they might share Uscreates worked with young people and of the initiative, felt strongly attached to their knowledge with other young people NHS Birmingham East and North to it, and remained committed to it. For in Foyers and so encourage them to use increase Chlamydia screening rates example Right Here’s young people’s the system. Those who were active users, among 15 to 24 year olds. Thirty Youth panels were made up of ‘young people, who had demonstrated commitment to Ambassadors were recruited to both 16-25, who felt passionate about mental the project were recognised through author the programme, which they called health. Either because they had mental access to training and support. CHECK YOU OUT!, and deliver the health issues themselves and didn’t like pilots. Uscreates began by recruiting the services they went through or The role of youth ambassadors was young people from the target area to give because they had personal interest.’54 important to Uscreates’ efforts to both them insight into awareness, normalise testing and encourage This could have positive benefits in that understanding and attitudes towards participation. They used the youth these were young people who were more sexually transmitted diseases and ambassadors both online and in their likely to invest in co-creation and could Chlamydia in particular. They used public campaign – featuring them in act as peer ‘ambassadors’ connecting established charities and community advertising and events. Uscreates was the initiative to a broader network of groups within their target areas to access clear that their ambassadors helped the young people. However there could young people from all backgrounds. campaign to resonate with young people sometimes be negative impacts, Events run by Uscreates were based on and that the use of young people to particularly if young people’s attachment suggestions from young people involved represent the campaign was necessary. to a project risked excluding others. For in the campaign – these ideas were then example the Higher Croft Action Group Not all of the initiatives had difficulty in developed by service designers engaged young people in the design of engaging the ‘hard to reach’. For alongside young people in order to spaces and services. Their success led example StreetGames’ works with some ensure that they were attractive to the to difficulties when some young people of the most deprived communities in the target groups. became territorial over the facilities. country but has been able to activate Respondents explained: young people from a wide range of The examples suggested that the roles backgrounds e.g. 22% are from black young people take on eg. as trustees or ‘We also need to educate them a bit and minority ethnic (BME) groups. Its executives will vary according to the more that ‘it’s not just for you, it’s for philosophy emphasised the importance nature and context of the project. For the whole community’. If there’s a of accessibility to maintaining a credible example MyNav, hosted by the Foyer football team playing on that pitch offer to communities who are less likely Federation and influenced by its pro- when you want to that’s tough. They to take advantage of public services. social ethos, trusted young people to be say ‘well we’ll beat them off’, - ‘well, competent executives, adapting the ‘What we’ve found is that, you won’t’. They need to learn to MyNav system to their purposes. Right particularly through schools, those share.’55 Here, an embryonic project working with who are already good at sport are service-users and local ‘youth panels’ to ‘Because they find it hard to get likely to use their school’s facilities develop a preventative mental health something to call their own, once and so on. But those who are less programme adopted what it called a they’ve got it they find it so hard to good are left out.So the projects are ‘collaborative rather than youth-led’ share.’56 firstly about ease of access. The fact approach. In practice this meant that that it’s not a club and not initially Getting beyond the core group required project workers guided the youth panel’s about competing and winning, it’s initiatives to think more creatively about funding decisions, drawing up ‘shortlists’ about coming along to play with your how they engaged with young people eg. of projects for them to choose from. One mates is really important. And also using incentives. As young people respondent explained: we offer a wide range of sports beyond the core group tended to have activities, not just football, so it can This is because, in terms of youth lower levels of attachment to the initiative involve people. For instance we offer participation, we are very clear that there were likely to be higher levels of a lot of dance now because it’s got young people have a lot to bring to turnover and a need for more regular really popular for young men and the table, as well as experts, in terms renewal of youth outreach. women.’57 28 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Action Group are wary of short-term or one-off grants for activities that they are not certain they can maintain once the source of funding expires. This has limited some of their activities but they feel that it is essential if they are not to repeat the mistakes of other organisations in the area. They believe that the success of the Action Group in engaging young people who found it hard to trust public services and were cynical about using them, has proved that there approach is the right one despite ongoing funding difficulties.
The cases contain lessons for public service re–design. The importance of core funding or assets to underpin the work of the projects is a key issue – most of the projects we reviewed were attached to or supported by larger organisations that could provide infrastructure support of various kinds. of grant-making. We are talking works’ and provide training and toolkits to The one exception – the Higher Croft about around £6m on the table. new partners and in areas where partners Action Group - did have physical assets That’s a big responsibility. We feel they would benefit from further to work with but acknowledged that it led wanted to make sure young people support. a relatively precarious existence. Those had the information they need. As organisations with more secure funding much as possible we brief them but The ‘Housing Plus’ initiative run by the eg. StreetGames acknowledged that not all the decisions in Right Here, at Phoenix Housing Co-operative brought all of their local projects had survived least at a national level, are made as empty properties back into use. Co- recent local authority cuts. They were a joint process.’58 operative members undertook the looking to alternative funding sources refurbishment, supported financially by such as the new philanthropic and Finally the Higher Croft Action Group did Phoenix’s ‘operating surplus’. A site community asset initiatives emerging not see the young people involved in its manager oversaw volunteer’s work. The from the Big Society agenda and from project as having any kind of leadership scheme offered members the opportunity Government itself. role. Leadership was the domain of the to develop new skills but also to make organisers who engaged young people use of the ones they already had, eg. However funding rules can disadvantage engaged in social and behavioural ‘Some had skills already, particularly small groups and organisations. For development to compensate them for painters and decorators. There was a example, Higher Croft Action Group has past ‘social negligence’. carpenter. The refurbs definitely brought attracted inward investment for their out a previously untapped pool of services and facilities, but as a small, Getting and keeping young people skills.’59 community led organisation they often felt involved meant offering young people disadvantaged in dealing with access to new knowledge and skills. The experience of the initiatives commissioners and funders because they For example, the Co-operative emphasized the importance of did not have the infrastructure needed to StreetGames Young Volunteer sustainability particularly in a context support bids to some funding pots. programme created in 2007 helps 16-25 where young people have experience of year-olds gain sports qualifications and short life initiatives and may feel Working at the local level to develop the community leadership skills whilst ‘betrayed’ by them. Some of the most appropriate intervention and volunteering. It has helped over 3,700 participants felt that precariously funded getting connected to local public volunteers gain more than 4,875 services were in danger of ‘doing more services are key messages. For qualifications since its formation. Its harm than good’ by raising expectations example, Right Here spent a year national framework means it can provide and failing to promote young people’s preparing the ground for its initiative guidance and assistance to local confidence in the reliability of public including developing relationships with services, disseminate evidence on ‘what services. For example, Higher Croft public services and third sector The future of local public services 29
organisations in the localities it was A key message emerging from the Policy over time and as part of mainstream of working in. The Higher Croft Action Commission’s discussions with young organisational development, not tacked Group facilitated non-confrontational service users, providers and advocacy on or tokenistic. Young service users also contact between the local ‘Community organisations was that young service highlighted this point, the NYRG arguing Beat’ neighbourhood policing teams and users had a clear idea of the kind of that ‘young people need to be involved young people. To build a wider network relationship they wanted to have with from the beginning and not half way of support the Group took this approach service providers, one in which they were through when you need our help’. This with other local public services – treated more as equals with important requires that public service workers see including Connexions and local social resources to bring to decision making the value and benefit of viewing service housing providers. about the services they used. users as a resource to be drawn upon to help improve services and outcomes as Accessing volunteers was becoming Importantly the idea of a more equal opposed to viewing them as beneficiaries difficult for one of the initiatives. relationship was not one in which service of public service providers’ efforts64. Uscreates has largely relied on partner users saw themselves as more expert organisations to access potential than providers about their circumstances. Much of the evidence presented to the participants and volunteers in the past. Rather they saw their relationship as one Policy Commission concerned the However, they had noticed a growing in which both service users and providers management of complex service reticence amongst local groups to drew on their own sources of expertise to relationships, involving a range of provide access to their volunteer base. work at the issue together. This reflects services and multiple providers. Young ‘With the increased demand for an approach to co-production that is people with complex lives found that volunteers, other groups have based on what Annmarie Mol calls the services could be fragmented and become far more protective about ‘logic of care’; a relationship based difficult to access (as is also the case for sharing their volunteers (implications approach in which service decisions are many adults). Crucial were intermediate for the Big Society.’60 regularly renegotiated in response to organisations that could help them changing circumstances, opportunities navigate the range of services they The data from our six initiatives suggests and experience62. The National Youth required as well as provide a constant that policy makers keen to support the Reference Group represented this in a point of contact and advocacy. Big Society need to make significant slightly different way describing the kind investments to grow and develop the of service organisations that ‘work’ for Many of those contributing to the Policy potential enthusiasm and motivation young people are those which: Commission, particularly those working identified by our survey and focus with young people in complex service groups. The Policy Commission believes Can construct individual relationships; relationships, drew attention to the value that the investment required goes beyond Can help you achieve what you need; of working with ‘asset’ rather than ‘deficit’ that offered via the Community Champion Can offer confidentiality; based models of young people and their and National Citizen Service schemes Can provide funding for people to circumstances. Adopting this approach and needs to include continued support themselves; requires structural as well as cultural investment in existing local infrastructure Can help develop citizenship; shifts in how service and support are and support services that provide Can enable young people to express 63 decided and provided. The Policy important resources to a wide range of themselves in different ways. Commission believes that there is merit individuals and communities, particularly in this approach but has questions about those who are marginalised or The Policy Commission heard evidence how widely it could and should be disadvantaged61. from a number of organisations that actively engaged young services users in applied across service areas and how compatible it is with the existing model of Developments in user-provider service redesign including InControl, the defining and measuring outcomes. relationships National Youth Agency, St Basils and Service user movements, the introduction Uscreates. They reinforced the message A number of contributors highlighted the of market mechanisms and more recent from the practical initiatives discussed role of personalisation in redesigning emphases on personalisation, choice and above that service users brought valuable public services. The idea that public latterly, co-production, have changed resources and insights to these services should be tailored to the relationships between service users and processes and that young people were individual, with budgets devolved to the providers over the last three decades. prepared to commit time and effort to service user or frontline staff has gained The Policy Commission was keen to shape service provision that improved traction partly because of the way it has explore what could be learned from some their lives. They also emphasised that mobilised such wide ranging political of these experiences in relation to these developments were resource support65. Advocates suggested that services for young people and how they intensive and needed to be integral to the personalisation was of particular value to might inform public service arrangements work of the organisation – for redesign to young people because of its emphasis on in the future. be sustainable it has to be undertaken 30 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
direct engagement with and power to interacting more with others eg. become ‘active’ but less critical citizens; service users, features which could participating in a community group, then activism becomes equated to volunteer overcome young people’s sense of not citizens engaged less often. They work in the service of others, not self- being included in decisions which affect concluded that this pattern would persist protective action rooted in a rights based them. without a more ‘systematic and co- discourse68. Some contrary examples ordinated approach to collective co- included ‘Youth Voice’ However supporters also argued that production’ which could involve action by www.bigsocietysbigmouth.org – a site of personalising budgets for young people government and other organisations and protest at the public spending cuts was different to doing the same for adults should be based on an assessment of including the Education Maintenance and that it was not possible to read the likely benefits that could accrue. Allowance, tuition fees, education across from the experience of one to the funding, and volunteer infrastructure. other in attempting to design new Risks and limits to ‘active services. They stressed the need to citizenship’ Contributors to the Policy Commission create the right environment within which Two important dilemmas were present argued that supporting young people to young people and their families could throughout the Policy Commission’s think critically about public policy and to make best use of a personalised discussions about young people as act independently of the state were approach, eg. the organisation In Control ‘active citizens’. The first concerned the important aspects of developing citizens does this partly by working with small extent to which young people could or of the future. They suggested that this numbers of families per manager (2-6)66. should have ‘equal’ relationships with capacity could be compromised as the Contributors also highlighted the professionals or other decision makers infrastructure to support young people’s difficulties that service specific budgets eg. politicians, and what the balance voluntary action is not protected from played in hampering the development of between ‘freedom to act’ and ‘observing public sector funding cuts and this could personalised services for young people a duty of care’ should be. While some truncate young people’s ability to whose service requirements breached argued powerfully in favour of a much mobilize and take action on matters that ‘siloed’ budgets eg. social care, post 16 greater voice for young people in are important to them. education and health. decisions that affected them, on the basis that this was the only way to raise Implications for public service The Policy Commission acknowledges young people’s expectations of services, workers the potential value of personalisation but others argued equally strongly against For 30 years public service workers have was left with three key questions: what what they termed ‘fetishising’ young been on the receiving end of numerous happens when individual budgets begin people and participation in pursuit of an policy initiatives aimed at changing or to be operated on an industrial scale - inappropriate ambition to hand over improving their interactions with how do you manage scale and give power and control. variously; citizens, the public, users, or freedom to individuals and what are the customers. The Policy Commission implications for professionals?; to what The second dilemma concerned the acknowledges that some public service extent does personalisation disconnect unintended consequences of increasing workers have adapted to the broadly individuals from or reconnect them to the involvement of young people in the described shift from ‘ impartial guardian wider society?; and how can collective design and delivery of local public of the public interest’ to ‘responsive benefits to communities, either services, specifically the risk that young public official’ with more alacrity and geographic or social, be achieved people might be ‘incorporated’ into adeptness than others69, but it does not through funding which flows mainly to established modes of thinking and so agree that overall public service workers’ individuals?
The relationship between the individual and wider society has been considered in a slightly different way by Bovaird and Loeffler in their study of co-production in Europe67. They found that citizens were more likely to engage in co-production activities when they did not require much personal effort or any need to engage with others, eg. recycling household rubbish. As co-production demanded more from citizens either in terms of changing their own behaviour eg. switching to a healthier diet, or The future of local public services 31
‘default position remains ‘no’’ as some would have it. Rather the Policy Recommendations Commission believes that there is a clear The Policy Commission has the following recommendations: tension between how public service Policy makers need to pay closer attention to the different local ‘theories of workers may be educated and trained, active citizenship’ that may be present amongst citizens, service users and and how they have been required to public service providers and work with these rather than attempting to impose practice in the prevailing organisational a single model. and/or public policy context. Policy makers should acknowledge the joint importance of activism as In the future public service workers will volunteer work in the service of others and activism as self-protective action need to meet demands from service and provide resources/make space for both to flourish. users keen to play an active role in how their services are designed and delivered. Continued resourcing of local infrastructure and support organisations that They are also more likely to be involved in provide local citizens, including young people with the well balanced structured beginning to make demands of actual or support they need to live ‘everyday lives’ and to become more actively engaged potential service users, encouraging is essential to building a Big Society. them to take a more active role in decisions that affect them. Public service The potential of ‘asset’ based approaches should be examined more fully to workers will face new challenges consider their applicability to a wider range of service areas. associated with working in a more plural environment where a variety of More evidence is needed of the impact of ‘scaling up’ of personalisation on organisations offer distinct and distinctive service users, professionals, the management of risk, and outcomes. services and interventions to different groups. These various demands and Public service providers need to improve their understanding of the ways in challenges will require the acquisition of which co-production occurs to inform future decisions about public service particular knowledge, skills and ways of design and delivery and the potential and limits of ‘collective co-production’. working. Public authorities and service providers should focus on building the The Munro Review of child protection knowledge and skills associated with co-production and collaboration, argues that increased autonomy over identifying how these need to be distributed within their organisations and service priorities brings with it greater putting in place measures to support their development. responsibility for public service leaders in ‘deciding the range of services they will offer, defining the knowledge and skills needed and helping the workers develop circumstances and that those strategies them’70. The Policy Commission concurs must include provision for young people with this and its review of developments to develop themselves and their skills. in user and citizen engagement lead it to Underpinning successful citizen-decision conclude that public service workers will maker, user – provider relationships are need to be knowledgeable about and shared commitment, mutual respect for skilled in two important domains: co- each others’ expertise, appropriate production and collaboration (see resourcing, and a focus on lasting chapters 8 and 9 for more detail on change in services and/or outcomes. each). The bad news is that young people feel Conclusion that they are excluded from decision The good news, for policy makers’ making and not taken seriously by people wanting to encourage ‘active citizenship’, in power. Changing this perception is that young people are prepared, up to requires decision makers’ to view young a point, to get more involved in shaping people differently and to develop new and running local services, for ways of engaging and working with them themselves and for others. The evidence to generate positive outcomes. presented to the Policy Commission indicates that policy makers need a range of strategies at their disposal to engage with young people in different 32 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
4 Influencing tomorrow’s behaviour - options and evidence
Behaviour change strategies and - Sports projects as vehicles to Historical insights are crucial. Not only do approaches are important elements of develop health and community various interventions vie for attention, but the Coalition’s agenda for public cohesion the field of behaviour change is services. Typified by ‘nudge’, but - Campaigns in night clubs and characterised by ad hoc, short term embracing a wide range of activities, cinemas to encourage wider implementation, and a ‘doomed to behaviour change is an influential factor take-up of chlamydia testing succeed’ approach where over- in proposals for designing and - Campaigns in night clubs to enthusiastic claims for anticipated effects redesigning services, including for young encourage active intervention often accompany over- positive people. But what evidence is there about by peers to challenge binge evaluations of their impact, despite lack the efficacy of behaviour change drinking behaviour of evidence. There is therefore a approaches and techniques and how can - Community action projects that tendency for laudable aims but little we use this evidence to shape proposals draw explicitly on ‘nudge’ consideration of the possibility of about the future design and delivery of behavioural techniques to unanticipated negative consequences or local public services? encourage behaviours such as of moral and political questions about book donations who should decide what, and whose, The Policy Commission wanted to Explored the views and experiences of behaviour needs to change, how it might explore the potential and limits of young people about behaviour change be done, and whether participants are behaviour change approaches and Considered the principles that might involved in these decisions. consider their utility in for policy makers, underpin behaviour change practitioners, service users and citizens. interventions Interventions offer explicit and implicit It was specifically interested in whether images of their participants. Arguably, a and how reductions in public spending, Tensions and dilemmas dominant model in public services has changes to public service provision, and The Policy Commission evaluated a been to regard behaviour as an individual an increased focus on ‘self-help’ will range of interventions, exploring their matter, and disembodied from generate new approaches to behaviour underlying rationale and aims, their communities and localities. Here, a change, both to encourage ‘good implicit and explicit images and deficit model encourages professionals citizens’ generally, and, specifically, better expectations of participants’ behaviours to identify, assess and then address behaviour as service users. This raises and influences on those behaviours, and individuals’ behavioural needs, and to important but often overlooked questions the evidence used to justify their claims. turn them into targets and outcomes, that the Policy Commission wanted to From this review it identified a number of often without consultation or meaningful explore about the implications of these key tensions and dilemmas that collaboration. In contrast, an asset- changes and interventions to encourage undermine the possibility for wider civic based model encourages individuals, them for the respective roles of local and debate about effective, appropriate communities and professionals to national government, families, schools, approaches to behaviour change. negotiate and agree what behaviours community organisations and religious Predictably, these tensions are old and should change, to consider what groups (amongst other stakeholders).To intractable, but they will take on new interventions might work in the complex do this the Policy Commission: forms as the logistics of the Big Society social, cultural contexts that shape Reviewed examples of interventions unfold. The Policy Commission believes collective and individual behaviours, and that set out to change people’s they need to be debated now, not least jointly to make the most of each other’s behaviour, specifically young people’s because policy and practice suffer from contributions to affect the outcomes of behaviour; identifying the tensions and historical amnesia: many interventions interventions. dilemmas associated with these and currently vying for attention have been similar interventions. Examples included tried before, in different guises, with Images of participants reflect underlying the following initiatives: negative effects or unanticipated ideas about human nature. For example, - Peer education and mentoring outcomes that reappear in new, some approaches to ‘nudge’ are projects to prevent teenage contemporary forms. The Policy predicated on ideas that humans are pregnancy Commission therefore believes that often irrational, too busy, unwilling or - Interventions as part of early debates about how public, third sector unable to think through difficult and prevention strategies in schools and private organizations should, or complicated questions, and just need for emotional and behavioural should not, try to change their own and nudging towards rational decision- problems their citizens’ behaviours, and how far making. Other interventions might depict - Projects to encourage those attempts to do so should employ us as driven by self-interest and the indifferent to volunteering (as behavioural psychology, must take desire to maximise our own advantages opposed to those already well- account of the lessons of history. at the expense of others: sometimes disposed) to become nudge approaches seek to make us more volunteers; altruistic or compassionate through The future of local public services 33
incentives that we will benefit materially Behaviour and the Microfoundations of and less effective for broader, complex or psychologically in terms of our own Public Services, argued that: life situations and choices. wellbeing. For example, it has become A greater comprehension of commonplace in lifestyle magazines to cognitive pathways, social norms In addition, nudge risks creating a encourage us to commit everyday acts of and moral motivations should join diminished view of humans as simplistic, generosity by appealing to psychological with a continuing understanding of irrational, too busy, multi-tasking, and evidence that we will develop our own instrumental factors in shaping unwilling to participate in serious civic emotional well-being rather than government policy-making. Given engagement with difficult issues depicting altruism as a social and the demands of co-production, and underlying the behaviour(s) in question. collective good in its own right. Some the limits to available finance, it However, despite being seen as interventions depict participants as could be argued that a shift to a amenable to being nudged, eventually emotionally or psychologically vulnerable, more subtle range of interventions is individuals start to see through attempts and therefore requiring therapeutic essential to the future of public to manipulate their behaviour: numerous support. Other interventions might services. Our caution rests not so examples of compliant game-playing regard participants as innately altruistic, much over the ethical or political abound throughout the public sector, compassionate and collectively-minded, issues thrown up by such with or without nudge. and then build on those attributes. It is developments... There is currently a therefore important to consider images of gap between our understanding of More positive approaches come from the human subject embedded in general and psychological processes some community action projects, where interventions, to consider when a and capacity to ensure that these proponents argue that considered use of particular image is valid, and whether insights become effective tools for nudge that addresses explicitly the participants have been involved in social engineering71. pitfalls summarised above avoids nudge thinking about these questions. being either covert or underhand, nor The Unit has developed a check list of simply about the behaviour of individuals. The Policy Commission believes that the psychological effects that consciously Proponents also argue that randomised lure of behavioural science has made and unconsciously influence individual controlled trials suggest that: public services increasingly preoccupied conduct in anti-social and pre-social Nudging increases the likelihood of with ever-more accurate ways of behaviour, and in healthy and prosperous putting desired behaviours into action, identifying and assessing a widening lifestyles. helping to make the most of the array of behavioural traits and capabilities untapped potential that exists for and then treating them as trainable The Policy Commission considers that citizens to do more of the behaviours ‘skills’. This has justified a shift in there needs to be more public debate they would ‘like to do anyway’. responsibility for shaping behaviour in about the influence of behavioural Nudge is not necessarily a one way relation to ‘character development’ (an psychology, and particularly about the processes – communities can take idea that is back in political fashion), rise of ‘nudge’, with attention to the action to nudge public professionals to health, parenting, social and personal following perspectives. Human act in certain ways; if citizens are relationships. One effect has been to behaviours are extremely complex, mobilized to speak /act, public move responsibility for behavioural influenced by a range of interconnected institutions need to be geared up to change into schools, guidance and factors. For example research on young respond. welfare agencies and psychology people and alcohol by Szmigin et al72 Nudge needs to be linked to ‘think’ services, and away from parents, described individuals decisions about through deliberative approaches that religious organisations and the wider whether or not to ‘binge’ drink as enable people to reflect on the issues community. ‘calculated hedonism’, based on a that matter to them and to consider and multiplicity of considerations that may be debate the different options available73. The Policy Commission believes that resistant to media messages about the these political and moral considerations dangers of excessive alcohol. In the light of evidence about nudge, the are especially important in a context Policy Commission believes that there is where behavioural psychology, This makes it difficult to determine the a need to consider the ethics of covert supplemented with ideas from precise chain of nudges required for versus explicit efforts to change citizens’ neuroscience, has become more particular behaviour change, and what behaviour, and to decide when politically influential over the past 15 influence (if any) the different approaches to nudge undermine the years or so. The setting up of the interventions have on each other. Nudge democratic process and processes of Behavioural Insight Unit in 2011 seeks to is likely to be most effective and harmless open debate, or, conversely, when they generate a convincing evidence base for in narrow circumstances in controlled encourage both. effective behaviour change strategies. A environments (eg. encouraging report for the RSA, called Motivation, individuals to recycling towels in a hotel) 34 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
The views of young people Table 5. Young people’s awareness of media messages Our survey of young people (11-21) explored behaviour change in two ways. Which of the following advertising messages are you aware of/have First we asked young people (15-21) you heard of? No % about their awareness of particular media Campaign to encourage people to eat five fruit or vegetables a day campaigns and whether or not those (i.e. 5 a day) 450 90 campaigns had made any difference to their subsequent behaviour. Then we Campaigns to encourage people to take more exercise (i.e. change for life) 390 78 asked young people (11-21) about who Campaigns to stop smoking, (i.e. pictures and health warnings on they thought should be able to influence cigarette packets) 447 90 their behaviour and what the role of Campaigns to encourage testing for sexually transmitted infections government should be. (i.e. RU Clear Chlamydia campaign) 354 71
Campaigns to stop binge drinking (i.e. know your limits drinking adverts) 381 76 Young people had generally high levels of awareness of many of the campaigns we Campaigns to promote road safety (i.e. don’t let your friendship identified in the survey (see Table 5). die on the road campaign) 318 64 Campaigns to stop gang violence (i.e. carry a knife and lose your The most noticed or prominent behaviour life campaign) 280 56 change campaigns were those related to Campaigns to stop anti-social behaviour 286 58 health, i.e. 5 a day, then stop smoking campaigns (90% recognise 5 a day Campaigns to encourage volunteering 197 40 campaigns, 90% recognise stop smoking None 11 2 campaigns and 78% recognise Change4Life). Base 498 (15-21 years). Source: LVQ Research Ltd.
Young people were relatively unaware of campaigns to engage them in Table 6. How young people’s behaviour changed volunteering activities with only 40% awareness. Which of the following have personally changed what you do yourself? No % Campaign to encourage people to eat five fruit or vegetables a day Recognition was slightly higher for ABC1 (i.e. 5 a day) 245 49 social groups for health campaigns, and Campaigns to encourage people to take more exercise (i.e. change for life) 151 30 higher for C2DE groups for campaigns to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, Campaigns to stop smoking, (i.e. pictures and health warnings on road safety promotions and gang cigarette packets) 74 15 74 violence awareness . Campaigns to encourage testing for sexually transmitted infections (i.e. RU Clear Chlamydia campaign) 49 10 Although across the board, young people were relatively unwilling to say the Campaigns to stop binge drinking (i.e. know your limits drinking adverts) 47 9 campaigns changed their behaviour (see Campaigns to promote road safety (i.e. don 40 8 Table 6), some individual campaigns Campaigns to stop gang violence (i.e. carry a knife and lose appeared to buck this trend. The highest your life campaign) 21 4 scores were for 5 a day campaigns, with almost half of young people (49%) Campaigns to stop anti-social behaviour 20 4 reporting that they had changed their Campaigns to encourage volunteering 21 4 behaviour as a result of the campaign. This figure was slightly higher for girls None 150 30 (56%) than for boys (42%)75. The Base 498 (15-21 years). Source: LVQ Research Ltd. Change4Life campaign achieved 30%. However, most campaigns achieved under 10%. The National Youth Reference Group concurred with this emphasising the importance of a range of social, economic and environmental factors on any decisions they took. The future of local public services 35
Table 7. The right to change young people’s behaviour answers to questions regarding legitimacy of organisations seeking to Which organisations or individuals do you think have a right to change change behaviour, apart from in the case how you act or think? No % of teachers where 38% of young people Family 659 84 ABC1 said it was OK for teachers to attempt to change their behaviour Friends 339 43 compared to 29% of young people Youth workers 81 10 C2DE, friends (48% compared to 38%) and doctors (31% to 23%)78. Teachers/School or Lecturers/College 261 33
Doctors/hospital 211 27 Interestingly for the government’s ‘Work’ Voluntary organisations 42 5 agenda, only 6% of unemployed young people felt that MPs had the right to Charities 38 5 change their behaviour compared to 18% Church or mosque etc 42 5 at 6th form college and 12% overall79.
Social workers/Social Services 84 11 One consistent message about MPs/The government 92 12 Government’s right to influence young people that emerged from our focus Other 26 3 groups is connected to respondents’ None/Don’t know 52 7 ideas about citizenship. One respondent put it this way, Base 782. Source: LVQ Research Ltd. “Governments and councils do influence [the way people think or behave] all the time and they have Table 8. How the Government should try to influence young people the right because they were voted in How do you think the government should try to influence how you act or think? No % – but we didn’t vote for them because we can’t yet. When we can By passing laws which ban activities of which it does not approve 136 17 vote then they will have the right.”80. By taxing activities of which does not approve 65 8 In terms of how government actually By running marketing and advertising campaigns against activities of which effects change, highest support was for it does not approve 197 25 using the networks which young people By getting its message into the networks from which you get your currently use to get information from (i.e. information (i.e., Facebook or friendship groups 339 43 Facebook etc) – 43% peaking at 65% at 81 Other 26 3 age 18 (see Table 8). The NYRG agreed with this point but cautioned None 219 28 against official bodies trying to mimic the behaviour of young people in its Base 782. Source LVQ Research Ltd. messaging – an issue that also arose in our examination of practical initiatives to The survey revealed some interesting teachers had a right to change their engage young people (see chapter 3). answers when it comes to considering behaviour (compared, for example, to just who has a right to change behaviour (see 10% for youth workers). Voluntary Young people at 6th form college Table 7): the highest legitimacy was organisations, faith groups were all given expressed most faith in the efficacy of afforded to family members (around or relatively low markings against this law (26% compared to 17% overall)82. above 80% - but with a slight drop off for question (around 5%). MPs and social 76 19 year olds plus) . The level remains workers scored slightly higher (12% and Conclusion - principles for high for girls with 84% of 19 – 21 year 11% respectively). The NYRG argued appropriate behaviour change olds think family has a right to change that change occurred more as a result of interventions 77 behaviour as opposed to 69% of boys . ‘being inspired’ by someone, rather than Despite the salience of behaviour change because of someone’s position in amongst policy makers, the Policy Notably, teachers were felt by a authority. Commission concludes that we still know significant proportion of respondents to too little about whether and how have legitimacy in seeking behaviour Generally, young people from social behaviour change interventions ‘work’, change: 33% of all young people thought groups ABC1 and C2DE gave similar and that too often assertion is mistaken 36 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
for evidence. The complexity of factors intervention, and b) emphasise the need for systematic comparison of influencing an individual’s decision summative evaluation rather than programmes and outcomes, and making were emphasised to the Policy learning and development during the avoidance of replicating and promoting Commission by the reflections of the life of the intervention. programmes shown to work only in NYRG - young people who have been on specific circumstances. the receiving end of a variety of attempts to influence their choices. In addition the emphasis that young people themselves place on the role of the family and not the state as the legitimate source of influence suggests that moves to ‘professionalise’ character development maybe misplaced. Finally, the Policy Commission is concerned that the political, moral and ethical dimensions to behaviour change strategies risk getting lost in focus on the ‘science’ of strategies such as ‘nudge’ etc. The Policy Commission concludes that there is a need for clear principles to inform decisions that public authorities and other organisations might make about appropriate interventions based on: The extent to which behaviours are individual or collective, psychological and transferable between situations, or cultural, social and situated/context- specific. The extent to which behaviours should be treated as merely technical questions about the most accurate definitions of skills and assessments, promoted by proponents of various interventions and interest groups. The need to debate who is responsible for developing and changing particular behaviours, in order to enable citizens to make informed contributions to decisions about behaviour change: here, legislation, where policy makers must argue a case for a particular intervention, is a vehicle for public debate. The extent to which rhetoric about moving away from measurable and auditable outcomes in favour of ‘co- production’ of outcomes and interventions is belied by over- reliance on behavioural approaches. The extent to which evaluations of initiatives currently in place a) reflect conflicts of interest, where programmes are evaluated by supporters, or, at the other extreme, carried out by individuals who disagree with the basis of the The future of local public services 37
Recommendations based on informed decisions A challenge in determining the The Policy Commission has the about the pros and cons allow costs of behaviour change following recommendations: individuals, groups, interventions, together with the Approaches based on professionals and practitioners cost benefits of services psychological insights can be to find solutions that work best forgone, is to consider factors useful, but they avoid difficult within their local area. such as the long delay between civic questions about the investment and return, and the causes of positive and negative, There is a need to map the wide fact that the investor is not social and anti-social spectrum of behaviour change necessarily the beneficiary. behaviours, and responsibility approaches that have either sprung An economic model used in for changing them. The Policy up in ad hoc ways, or been America in thinking about cost- Commission warns against too introduced as part of policy benefits is currently being powerful a role for the state but initiatives, and to consider their adapted for the UK context by also urges politicians to value within specific contexts, for the Social Research Unit. The encourage debate that goes particular behaviours. This could Every Child a Reader beyond technical be done by central government or programme, part funded by the considerations of having good by an independent academic/ JJ Charitable Trust, used this evidence and, instead, to research institution. approach in its evaluation and explore who is responsible for concluded that for every £1 behaviour change in the Behaviour change mechanisms spent, £18 would be saved in 83 interfaces between the national have to be situated within a broader future spending . Central and local state and its various governance context, where government should scrutinise agencies, the individual and her outcomes are identified and agreed these developments carefully as or his local community, family through the practice of politics, and they could have significant and other networks. where the politics of behaviour implications for future public change occurs within an agreed investment. Evidence of effective change framework of governance principles suggests that interventions that shape how resources are The Policy Commission asks should be designed and allocated and needs/aspirations are whether there needs to be a implemented at a local level, to be met. body similar to the Campbell 84 where joint/dual strategies that Collaboration , to arbitrate i) use deliberative approaches Interventions should not be based debates about behaviour within local contexts to come primarily on ‘measurable’ change interventions, and to up with the desired outcomes capabilities or skills since this identify principles and criteria (giving them legitimacy) and encourages reductionist forms of for designing, implementing and then ii) use approaches that training. evaluating appropriate encourage those outcomes, interventions. 38 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
5 Designing tomorrow’s services - changing roles and relationships
Public services are delivered by a range involving the public, private and third achieved in practice, in part because of of providers from across the public, sectors. the criticisms identified above, but also private and third sectors. The Coalition’s Assessed the impact of a focus on because of the range of claims that were ambition is to extend private and third outcomes on the contribution of the made about commissioning and models sector engagement in the delivery of third sector and on volunteering. of commissioning that were put to the public services and to reduce direct Policy Commission at different points in provision by the public sector, The Policy Commission drew on the time - a summary of which is contained permanently reconfiguring patterns of views and experiences of service below: public service delivery, and redefining providers and other experts across a Effective commissioning: public sector organisations as range of policy areas including education, commissioners rather than direct health and social care, housing, leisure, Is based on a comprehensive resources providers of services. But how confident volunteering and youth services. It review and needs assessment; are we about the capacity of public, examined the shape and nature of current Uses methods appropriate to the private and third sector organisations to public service supply and considered the outcomes being sought e.g. sole, joint, work in new ways and with different potential and risks associated with new lead commissioning, etc; resources, and how can insights from kinds of contributions from, and Is based on an accurate ‘theory of existing arrangements and practices help collaboration between, public, private service’, i.e. a clear understanding of shape more localist services in the and third sector bodies. Changes to the what is appropriate and effective for the future? identification, training and support of user groups involved; future public service workers following Maintains the link between the service According to pollsters Ipsos MORI the further diversification were key issues in being commissioned and the agreed public at large continue to value the the Policy Commission’s deliberations. community outcomes; contribution of the public sector, not Promotes innovation in services to least because they are resistant to the Commissioning in theory and generate improvements; idea of public services being run for practice Facilitates learning about profit85. However the public is also Commissioning was a key theme commissioning and about how to pragmatic, supportive of private provision throughout the work of the Policy design/deliver successful services; where it can offer faster treatment, for Commission, attracting considerable Actively decommissions services as example. The public also appears to be support but also considerable criticism well as commissions them; more accepting of private sector from across the sectors. Advocates Make use of a range of mechanisms for provision in those areas where there is emphasised commissioning as key to securing services eg. grants, contracts little contact between provider and user both diversifying supply but also getting etc; eg. waste services and more resistant in the best results from a plurality of Engages users/beneficiaries areas such as health and education, potential providers. Critics were mainly throughout; though again they are pragmatic about concerned with what they considered to Plans for failure, by considering a range this86. In general the public like the idea be the poor practice of public service of possible future scenarios, limiting the of voluntary sector provision though commissioners – who were charged with circumstances in which there is a single appear to have little idea of how it works multiple failings including: lacking clarity supplier, so that failure, should it occur in practice87. about the nature and content of is easier to mitigate. outcomes sought; lacking appropriate The Policy Commission believes that The Policy Commission wanted to knowledge to understand the range of while these features may all be legitimate examine what further diversification of the potential suppliers and so generate a dimensions of an effective commissioning supply of public services would mean for sufficient pool or market, specifically but process not all of them will be pertinent the organisation, roles and relationships not exclusively in the third sector; lacking to each case of commissioning and of providers of public services across sufficient commercial skills to get the public service commissioners need to be different sectors and how it would affect best out of external suppliers; and lacking clear about which features are most the achievement of outcomes for the necessary relationship building skills important in each set of circumstances. individuals and local communities. To do to develop and sustain relationships with this the Policy Commission: potential suppliers and to draw on their In future commissioning may be skills to refine the services being Examined the role of commissioning undertaken more often with others either commissioned. across a range of services and jointly or in closer collaboration with outcome areas. those who are likely providers of the The Policy Commission accepts the logic Explored the relationship between service. On the basis of the evidence and principles of commissioning but is outcomes and services. presented to it the Policy Commission sceptical about the extent to which the Reviewed different approaches to believes that joint or shared rhetoric and theory of commissioning is organising and funding services commissioning poses significant The future of local public services 39
challenges for both commissioners and conception of what local public services concerns in particular. The first is that providers; challenges which many on might mean in the future and it also despite, and sometimes because of, the either side are not yet equipped to meet. changes how we understand the focus on user outcomes, democratic Commissioners need to be confident in contributions that different organisations concerns about collective issues such as how public decisions are made and can making to achieving outcomes, e.g. social cohesion, inequality, mutual accounted for in joint or shared Foyers work with 10,000 young people respect and environmental sustainability, commissioning. This means that they are and provide support and resources in a get shifted to the margins of decision fully aware of the range of appropriate range of ways but they are not seen as a making and accountability is difficult to providers, how to engage with them and youth service. secure because the lobbies who absolutely clear about the basis for scrutinise and campaign for these issues choosing to commission one provider The Policy Commission also are relatively weak. The second is that over another. Providers may be expected acknowledges that a focus on outcomes risk gets shifted to those least able to to be more closely involved in setting coupled with longer term trends of bear it, eg. smaller providers or even outcomes and shaping programmes to ‘personalisation’ is generating a more service users themselves. The Policy achieve them, to be more responsive to segmented approach to the provision of Commission is clear that whatever the adapting programmes over time as public services with a greater emphasis organisational form, mode and circumstances change, and to bearing on ‘niche’ or ‘targeted’ service provision instrumentation used, democratic more of the risk associated with more and less emphasis on universal accountability for public services needs experimental programmes. These new approaches. There are short term to be easy and effective, and the right demands challenge providers to be more question arising from these incentive structures (cultural, open, responsive and connected to a developments about who supplies performance, and financial) need to be in locality or service area. services to ‘unpopular’ users as well as place to align commissioner, provider and longer term questions about the impact user behaviour with desired outcomes. The role of outcomes and the of this segmentation on social cohesion. relationship with services More generally, public services may not In trying to address some longstanding In submissions to the Policy Commission simply be designed to provide user and complex problems eg. diversification of supply was justified benefits – there may be wider social, unemployment, policy makers have principally on the basis of achieving economic or environmental benefits developed similarly complex programmes. service and community outcomes which which need to be weighed in political The Government’s ‘Work’ programme is a required inter alia: the co-ordinated decisions about the appropriate tax/ recent example which requires the action of multiple providers; or the spending mix. These questions have achievement of a broad range of specialist intervention of particular niche implications both for service outcomes involving a myriad of providers providers; or the capacity for innovation commissioners but also for local from the public, private and third sectors. and/or efficiency offered by a particular government as the institution with To function effectively this programme organisation. The Policy Commission democratic oversight of local well-being. requires a networked approach to acknowledges the force of this rationale delivery based on multi-actor partnership but was also conscious of the costs New approaches to organising and arrangements and contractual relations (financial and other) often associated funding services and an integrated approach to with working in this way, the relatively The Policy Commission heard about a commissioning, using provider and user small evidence base to support the wide variety of options for organising the perspectives to arrive at agreements achievement of outcomes in some policy delivery of public services and spent about what to do and how to do it. areas, and the implications of opting for some time discussing the merits of Partners have had to restructure their diversification on other aspects of service different organisational forms (eg. own organizations (in whatever sector) to organisation eg. integration or mutuals, hybrids), modes (eg. co- fit in with the demands of the programme collaboration. production, prime contractors) and and its more networked approach. instruments (eg. social media). It The Policy Commission considered how concluded that the key decision that The Policy Commission believes that this a focus on outcomes can generate a commissioners should be concerned with kind of complexity poses significant different conception of what support to is how to meet the aspirations of service challenges for all those involved and also young people or other service users users - the relevant form, mode and raises important questions about how should be and what it looks like. It may be instrumentation should follow from this. users can influence the commissioning that mainstream ‘services’ are not what is process and how politicians can hold required, rather what is needed is a However the Policy Commission is aware such ‘networked’ arrangements to particular kind of intervention or resource that there are risks associated with the account, particularly when the that can stimulate change, join things up kind of diversification of supply implied by programme is commissioned nationally. or fill a gap. This broadens our this approach and has highlighted two It also calls into question how serious is 40 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
the Coalition’s commitment to Localism The Policy Commission was keen to Financial pressures on third sector given that it has built in only a very weak explore the basis upon which third sector organisations arising from the cuts in role for local decision-making about the organisations engaged in providing public spending were also much in appropriate design and delivery of public services and the value they evidence in the Policy Commission’s services or for local governance over how thought they brought. Three claims were meetings. A key issue the Policy decisions are made and programmes made by or associated with the third Commission explored was the pressure implemented. sector in discussion with the Policy on third sector organisations and the Commission or in evidence from existing possibility that they may become more The Policy Commission considered some research: it has a particular ethos of care, reliant on volunteers themselves than of the new funding options currently it is able to meet the needs of niche paid staff with the corresponding being trialled in different parts of public groups that other organisations cannot implications for investment in recruitment services, eg. payment by results and for financial reasons, and it is cheaper and retention. The Policy Commission social impact bonds. Third sector due to its volunteer base. While it is acknowledged that there were important organisations offered evidence about the possible to theorise about how each of distinctions to be drawn between potential adverse impact of these new these claims might contribute separately different kinds of voluntary organisations funding models on the viability of third and together to the achievement of but noted that smaller more locally based sector organisations engaged in public improved outcomes for service users, the third sector organisations may experience service provision. Other developments Policy Commission was not able to draw particular challenges in the current such as personalisation had also any particular conclusions from the climate. challenged third sector providers eg. in evidence presented to it90. the move from ‘block’ to ‘spot’ In this context a key challenge for the contracting88. The Policy Commission’s A number of contributors made third sector and indeed more broadly for view is that any new approaches to representation to the Policy Commission Government (national and local) is to funding public services need to be about what they saw as the threat to the increase the number of those involved in evaluated to consider their cost/benefit in third sector of the increasing emphasis volunteering. Contributors to the Policy terms of outcomes, but also to assess on contributing to service user outcomes Commission had a variety of ideas about their unintended impact on other public by providing public services. They argued how volunteering might be encouraged policy goals eg. broadening the and the Policy Commission agrees that ranging from those which were about engagement of SMEs and third sector the advocacy and challenge roles played identifying specific incentives, eg. making organisations. by the third sector as part of the public changes to the tax system to support community of a locality are vitally time banking or similar initiatives; those The contribution of the third sector important to the achievement of wider that focused on a system wide approach The role of the third sector was a community outcomes and should not be e.g. an individual locally driven consistent theme in many of the Policy risked through the inappropriate engagement approach delivered through Commission’s discussions about engagement of the organisation in a national construct to ensure improving outcomes for service users. providing public services. This has consistency of delivery and clear The Policy Commission noted the implications for both public sector strategic objectives. ‘v’ argued that a evidence of the Public Administration commissioners and for third sector greater penetration was achieved Select Committee (2008) that had found organisations themselves. It implies that through a systematic approach little systematic comparative evidence on commissioners must ensure that the (vinvolved) compared with more ad-hoc the added or distinctive value of third culture of advocacy and challenge is not provision (Millennium Volunteers)91, to sector organisations in providing services undermined by the contracts which it lets those that focused on the need to over and above public or private – eg. new advocacy bodies may need to change the basis of our social provision: be funded when traditional advocacy relationships, e.g. the need to create a ‘The central claim made by the bodies become heavily dependent on culture where human capital is valued Government, and by advocates of a service contract funding. Third sector through voluntary activity. greater role for the sector in service bodies may need to construct boundaries delivery, is that third sector between their different functions (in much The Policy Commission also discussed organisations can deliver services in the same way as private auditing firms the impact of introducing volunteers into distinctive ways which will improve need convincingly and transparently to mainstream public services. Contributors outcomes for service users. We were separate auditing from consulting argued that this changes the dynamic of unable to corroborate that claim’89. activities) or to restrict service contract the service relationship between provider funding so that it does reach such levels and user and that both may require that their organisational viability would be additional support in a period of threatened if the contracts were not transition. renewed. The future of local public services 41
A number of questions were raised that adaptive whole system of support and knowledge about and skills in the Policy Commission was not able to would wish to build on these ideas for collaboration. The opportunity is to answer but which will be need to be application throughout public services redefine all of those engaged in the addressed if volunteers are to become where appropriate. In addition to delivery of public services, from whatever more a part of local public services. providing a clearer focus on improving sector, as ‘public servants’ and to These included: whether not service outcomes, this approach offers a more associate with that role a set of values users’ expectations of service might have considered approach to managing risk by and attributes that begin from a shared to change; whether potential suppliers ensuring a clearer understanding of what ambition to improve outcomes for citizens understood how much it costs to draw risk is, how it should be managed and and service users (see chapter 9). on volunteer support especially in new how accountability should be practiced. areas of work; whether service users This is crucial in a context where Conclusion should expect the same level of service diversification of service delivery in public Public authorities and organisations will from volunteers as private or public services is likely to increase. In turn this continue to face intense pressures to employees; and will the increasing will increase the need for expertise in diversify their supply of services as involvement of the state make all of this commissioning. This will make current financial pressures combine with more expensive, i.e. will it bring in public significant demands on public servants increasing levels of demand and rising sector standards/ways of working that and require them to develop new service user expectations. How far and in add to costs? knowledge and skills, including, what ways they diversify should be driven ‘commercial’ skills for some. by the desire to improve outcomes for The Policy Commission is of the view that service users and communities whilst prevailing circumstances and underlying The growth in hybrid arrangements for protecting social cohesion. Greater trends will increase the likelihood of delivering services eg. partnerships and diversification will require improvements public authorities contemplating networks offer a specific challenge and in commissioning practices and changes diversifying their service supply. A key an opportunity. The challenge is how to to service provider behaviours – both of challenge is how to develop and sustain ensure that diversity of supply does not which are significant challenges. If a genuinely plural system of provision, get in the way of achieving improved diversification is to lead to pluralism while avoiding the dominance of a single outcomes, and understanding the extent rather than privatisation (as some critics sector or group of national providers. to which the cultures and practices of suggest) then the Policy Commission different organisations involved in believes that diversification needs to be Implications for public service delivering services can promote or hinder more locally grounded and with a workers the ambitions behind diversification. This stronger democratic dimension. The Policy Commission acknowledges will necessitate the development of that the removal of the performance regimes and targets established under the New Labour administrations is helpful in so far as their removal permits public service workers to use their own initiative, skill and judgement to improve individual and/or community outcomes. However the Policy Commission is concerned that without sufficient support and culture change nationally and locally, public service workers will not regain the confidence and competence they need to act on their own initiative but will remain confined by institutionalised norms of behaviour. This could be very damaging in a period of public spending cuts when the emphasis will be on working to do more with less.
The Policy Commission supports the findings of the Munro Review92 of child protection which argues for a move from a ‘compliance culture’ to ‘learning culture’ and the development of an intelligent and 42 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Recommendations Form, mode and instrumentation requirement, should not The Policy Commission has the should follow function in the design disadvantage those who cannot following recommendations: and delivery of services but without contribute, and should not Public authorities and risking accountability or the viability become exploitative, commissioners need to be of potential providers. pressurising the weak and confident in their rationale for vulnerable to give more of their service diversification based on a As policy interventions become time and energy than they wish. clear understanding of the action more complex to address required to achieve service and particularly challenging outcomes, Third sector representative community outcomes and an particular attention needs to be organisations need to monitor awareness of the associated paid to the capacity of users to the impact of Big Society and challenges. influence the design and delivery of ‘public service’ proposals to these programmes and for assess how far they act to Public service commissioners need politicians to hold providers to enhance or limit the capacity of to ensure that the model of account. This may require a trade- the third sector to fulfil its commissioning they adopt is off between programme advocacy role. appropriate to the circumstances, complexity and legibility to the that commissioners have the public and their representatives. An Public authorities and service necessary skills and that in cases of alternative localist option is that providers develop an joint or shared commissioning more decisions and power could be understanding of the involving potential providers, robust devolved to localities to assess knowledge and skills accountability arrangements are in whether programmes and associated with collaboration place. partnerships could be devised that and commissioning, identify were more accessible to users and how these need to be Public service providers, from democratic influence while at the distributed within their whatever sector, need to develop same time having sufficient organisations and put in place new ways of working that are more creativity to achieve agreed measures to support their open, responsive and connected to outcomes. development. a locality or service area in order to meet the challenges of joint or As users and other citizens play All of those engaged in the shared commissioning. greater roles in the future in the co- delivery of public services, commissioning, co-design, co- should be identified as ‘public Public authorities need to think management, co-delivery and co- servants’ who work from a more broadly and creatively with assessment of public services, common set of principles users and providers about what clearer protocols will be needed to rooted in a shared ambition to kind of support is required to ensure that the governance of co- improve outcomes for citizens achieve outcomes and who and production is appropriate. In and service users. how can best offer that. particular, it should not become a The future of local public services 43
6 Supporting tomorrow’s learning – success and failure in localism
The radical policy changes proposed by Lessons for Localism from ‘market’ always be put to safer use elsewhere. the Coalition in relation to behaviour and ‘government’ failure The consequences of failure can be change, Localism and diversification of The Policy Commission identified three materially damaging for service users and service supply will stimulate a range of lessons from past experiences of ‘market’ reputationally damaging for the experiments in local public service design and ‘government failure’ that could help organisation involved. However the and delivery. Some of these experiments inform risk management in a Big Society benefits of success can mean significant will fail, eg. partnership arrangements or localist context. improvements for service users, better may fail due to incompatible use of resources and a store of organisational cultures, civic The first lesson was about providing knowledge that can be made available to organisations might fail through lack of support for a diverse range of service other service areas or organisations. citizen capability or commitment, or providers to emerge and flourish so that social enterprises might fail to generate the claimed benefits of this diversity i.e. The Policy Commission believes that for sufficient business. Planning for and more responsive, creative and tailored self-help and self-organisation to flourish developing ways in which to respond to services, could be realised. This support spaces and support are required – both failure will be crucial in order to avoid would vary depending on the specific of which are put at risk in an environment individual services users and needs of potential service providers eg. where all activities are seen as communities being left without services. whether they were new employee expressions of instrumental policy goals. Conversely it will be important that mutuals, embryonic third sector or private It is important that resources are made successful enterprises are able to be sector suppliers. A particular emphasis available to encourage individuals or reproduced. But what evidence do we on growing and supporting smaller, local groups to pursue things that they think have of how and why different organisations to compete with the are valuable. approaches to delivering local public already well established third and private services fail and succeed, and how can sector providers would also be required. Success and ‘scaling-up’ we use this evidence to help anticipate Service commissioners could provide The Policy Commission considers that and mitigate ‘failure’ as well as account some of this support, but some might while reproducing successful initiatives for success in local public services and need to come from national sources. and services is to be encouraged, civic action? ‘scaling up’ should not be at the expense The second lesson concerned coupling of losing organisational characteristics The Policy Commission wanted to effective support with effective regulation that are highly valued eg. flexibility, explore how future learning in public to ensure that providers continue to innovation, limited bureaucracy or being services could be supported by deliver value, however defined, and new locally connected. This requires further examining past experiences of and views or emerging contributors are not work to establish a clearer understanding about success and failure, and by ‘crowded out’ by the established provider of how to prevent mission drift in the considering different approaches to environment. Regulation may take two process of scaling-up. Alternatively it may evaluation. To do this the Policy forms – by the commissioners as part of require a different approach to Commission: ongoing performance review, and by an reproducing successful initiatives which Reflected on past experiences of external independent reviewer. It is could include adopting a franchise model ‘market’ and ‘government failure’ to important that services are not ‘over- and more networked form of organisation. identify lessons that might be of value in regulated’ so that potential creativity is a localist or Big Society context. strangled by ‘red tape’. The particular characteristics of any local Examined evidence of organisations’ context are such that very few successful attempts to ‘scale-up’ or replicate The third lesson focuses on integrating initiatives can be simply transplanted successful initiatives. service users into decision making that from one site to another or one sector to Examined evidence of how affects them, within a wider context of an another. Instead the Policy Commission organisations dealt with failure, and the ongoing democratic debate about local concurs with the view that a process of roles played by support or infrastructure community priorities and values. adaptation or ‘grafting’ is required.93 This organisations. has implications for commissioners and Explored how different forms of Even taking account of these lessons the funders who may want a particular kind of evaluation assessment could contribute Policy Commission’s view is that intervention. to judgements of success or failure. Coalition’s policy and public spending Deliberated about who should step in decisions are so radical that service Dealing with failure following a Big Society or localist (re)designers are working without a The Policy Commission found it difficult failure. blueprint, making experimentation to access many accounts of learning from inevitable. Experimentation is particularly failure in public services, though recent The Policy Commission drew on a range risky in public services as it involves research on organisational turnaround of experiences from children’s services, investing scarce resources that could provides important insights into local housing policy, sport and the third sector. 44 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
government and health94. There are also organisations are being encouraged to on the need to monetise or quantify few examples of learning from failure in assess the impact of their work in new benefits but focus instead on a wider the third sector. Contributors to the ways eg. social impact, and where range of measures including user Policy Commission argued that failing shared learning might accelerate assessment, may be appropriate. organisations can be turned around but progress. Possible evaluation options include there is a need to understand the context theory-based evaluations such as in which they are operating and draw on Options for evaluation ‘theories of change’ 98 or ‘realistic the right resources (human and financial) Important in any system of knowledge evaluation’99 which include coverage of to respond. generation is a framework for assessment issues raised at different points in the that enables appropriate judgements to Policy Commission’s work such as: the Umbrella or infrastructure organisations be made about whether or not something impact of context on implementation, the have a key role to playing in avoiding or is a ‘success’ or ‘failure’. Over the last standards of evidence that may be addressing failure in new public/third decade the emphasis on ‘evidence- required for different kinds of programme, sector commissioning arrangements. based’ policy and practice encouraged addressing questions of attribution, the These organisations can help to improve investment in evaluation, an important value of formative evaluation in creating the relationship between the third sector dimension of which was the direct the space for learning and development, and its commissioners by representing engagement of service users, including and the ability to undertake systematic broad concerns to commissioners and young people, in assessing the worth of comparisons of programmes and identifying weaknesses in particular third policy programmes and/or activities outcomes and to clarify the sector organisations and helping to within them, eg. the national evaluation of circumstances under which particular address these through peer review and the Children’s Fund96. interventions will ‘work’. quality assurance processes. They can also help to put in place support to deal While views about the overall impact of In the event of localist failure? with the likely future causes of failure in the ‘evidence-based policy’ movement The Policy Commission is of the view that the third sector, eg. payment by results, are mixed, the Policy Commission the Big Society will not replace the state lack of capital, users with more complex considers that its emphasis on the – at any level but particularly not the local circumstances, commissioners’/funders’ potential power of knowledge and level. It believes that there is a public unrealistic expectations about what can evidence has stimulated a wide range of mandate for an active local government be delivered or what outcomes can be community/user led research that can and local public services albeit in generated. help improve the design and achievement different form. In this context the Policy of outcomes97. Commission considers that decisions While much more should be done to about whether or not the commissioner anticipate and reduce failure, including Equally important is the availability of should step in in cases of service failure the development of ‘failure policies’95 , resources to promote successful depends on a set of prior decisions sometimes crises occur which cannot be initiatives to as wide an audience as relating whether or not the service is anticipated. Such exceptional possible, and the means to learn from statutory. If it is then the commissioner circumstances need to be and communicate lessons about failed has to step in, but if it is not then action acknowledged. initiatives. depends on how the commissioner views the service. If it a service that the The Policy Commission believes that an Outcomes comprise tangible and commissioner has decided it does not apparent public inability to acknowledge intangible impacts making it very difficult wish to/cannot afford to provide any that failure at some point is inevitable has to undertake any kind of cost/benefit longer, then the commissioner can opt contributed to a culture in which evaluation using monetary values when out should failure occur, but if it is a organisations (public, private and third the benefits may be intangible, when service that the commissioner believes to sector) are reluctant to be open about value changes over time and when the be core to the well-being of its their experiences with detrimental cost/benefit of an individual unit or communities, then the commissioner consequences for wider learning. This activity cannot be extracted from the retains a responsibility for making sure it has been exacerbated by the strong wider system of provision. Social Return is provided. The Policy Commission emphasis in public policy on on Investment approaches offer an recognises that this decision is made accountability, responsibility and the adjustment to conventional cost/benefit more complicated should there be a associated tendency towards ‘blame analysis, but they too continue to face the difference of view between a key games’ which contributes toward challenge of quantifying benefits. commissioner and its commissioning organisations hiding failure and talking partners, or the wider local polity about up the promise of progress towards On this basis the Policy Commission the significance of the service. success. This is likely to be particularly believes that alternative approaches to damaging in an environment where evaluation that do not rely wholly or solely The future of local public services 45
Conclusion use of scarce resources. This will require between sectors and will include Radical policy agendas lead to drawing on a range of evaluation experiments in self-help and self- experimentation which generates both approaches and techniques. Learning organisation. This will require more success and failure. Putting in place more about and from failure is likely to openness on the part of ‘failed’ initiatives appropriate and sufficient resources to become more important in a context or organisations. It will also require a enable decision makers to make informed where we have few blueprints to guide us cultural shift in public and policy makers’ judgements about the success or failure so making failure more likely and where attitudes towards failure. of experiments is essential to maximise experimentation is occurring across and
Recommendations Public resources should be moved experiments, and their The Policy Commission has the from ineffective programmes to application in local contexts. following recommendations: evidence based ones, This support does not need to Commissioning processes should accompanied by clarity about what be and indeed ideally should be regularly reviewed for is acceptable as evidence, not be, provided by a single intelligence about how they including young people’s organisation, but comprise a facilitate successful initiatives or perspectives, and attention to network of linked organisations contribute to failures. These reviews questions of fidelity of programme that collectively provide this should involve providers and users design and impact of local support in a way that fits with in addition to commissioning staff. contextual factors on the problem to be addressed. implementation.
There is a need for evidence to be Computer modelling and collected about the failure of self- Independent evaluation of simulation could offer important help and self-organising initiatives interventions is a priority. History insights into the potential and in communities and shows a tendency for proponents limits of proposed experiments, neighbourhoods in relation to of particular methods to make large so helping to refine them prior specific services and in relation to claims, and to marginalise the sort to testing on the ground (for specific groups in order to assess of independent, longitudinal example, as currently being what the potential and limits of self evaluation that avoids a tendency to explored in the ‘Modelling help might be and what kinds of extrapolate findings from small Birmingham’ project of additional support might be needed scale studies to larger populations. Birmingham City Council). in specific circumstances. It is essential that evaluations are Partnerships of public service clear about who is commissioning commissioners and providers
The move from ‘cost’ to ‘price’ and funding them and that and universities and other based contracting should be governments support and resource research institutions should be reversed if it adversely impacts independent evaluations of encouraged to pursue these either on smaller third sector proposed interventions. possibilities and take advantage providers or on service quality. of European and other funding Central government should make where appropriate.
There should be ongoing micro and funding available to support public macro evaluation of the respective service (re)design experiments, to Universities and other research impacts of public, private, third encourage public service and intelligence organisations sector or hybrid service provision in commissioners and providers to should invest directly in working terms of value for money, quality of pursue new ideas, in a context of with service users and provision, equality of access and shared risk and rewards (through community groups to support user experience in order to inform learning and transferability of the development of their future decision making about the successful initiatives). capacity to undertake research extension/contraction of particular and evaluation activities on their initiatives. There is a need for a nationally co- own behalf, enabling them to ordinated system of support to aid develop ideas for public service the design, development and experiments as well as evaluation of public service contributing their own experiments, the innovations that evaluations of experiments in arise from these practice. 46 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
7 Inventing tomorrow’s local government – challenges and opportunities
Local government is facing a number of power and discretion of local government encouragement to this. The implications challenges. Proposals for Localism and and the institution has regularly had to for local government as a service the Big Society challenge its authority by reinvent itself in the face of repeated commissioner and direct provider are devolving power to individuals, Governmental intervention and longer considered in chapter 5 as part of the communities and professionals. Budget term social and political trends100. wider discussion of the diversification of reductions challenge its capacity to act public services. What remains peculiar to to meet the demands of its communities, The Policy Commission believes that the local government, however, is its’ particularly those adversely affected by Coalition’s proposals for Localism lack a democratic underpinning and role. The the recession. Longer term political coherent framework within which to remainder of this chapter will focus on trends such as the disengagement of understand the future role of local the democratic dimension and the citizens from local party politics and from government. The contents of the potential opportunities associated with it. the representative institutions of Localism Bill are at once too broad – government challenge its legitimacy. To focusing on actions in relation to Local government as community meet these challenges local government individuals, communities and local leader will need to reinvent itself. But what do government among others – and too Recent research emphasises the we know about local government’s narrow – exploring only a limited range of importance of local government’s role as capacity for reinvention and the options issues in relation to the role of local community leader in a context of diverse available to it and how can this government. In addition there is and complex communities, fragmented knowledge help shape future local insufficient acknowledgement of and service delivery and a myriad of bi-lateral government? connection to the range of proposals and multi-sectoral partnership from other Government departments, eg. arrangements103. Contributors to the The Policy Commission wanted to housing benefit reform, education reform, Policy Commission from the public, explore how local government might police reform, that will have a significant private and third sectors concurred with reinvent itself, what this would mean for impact on local government’s capacity to this view basing their assessment on a its future role, its relationships with other act in the future. If Localism is to combination of factors: local public, private and third sector become meaningful then it requires a government’s democratic basis, its multi- organisations and with citizens. To do much more coherent narrative about the functionality and its responsibility for the this the Policy Commission: role and purpose of local government well-being of its local communities Reviewed the Coalition’s proposals for which should be developed in discussion (codified in the LGA 2000 under the Localism in the context of previous with local government institutions. power of well-being). reforms. Examined the future of local The Policy Commission considers that The Policy Commission’s view is that government as community leader. the proposed reforms could finally break local government’s continued claim to Explored the prospects for local the link between local government’s community leadership is contingent on councillors, identifying potential roles. democratic role and that of direct service two important linked factors: its capacity Considered the balance of central- delivery that has been an integral element and capability to fulfil this role in the local responsibilities in the context of of UK local government since the ideas context of further limits to its powers and current public debates. and practice of local government became reductions in its budget, and its ability to institutionalised in the late 19th century. enhance its democratic legitimacy in a The Policy Commission drew on a wide This is not new - this connection has context of declining faith in representative range of expertise and experience from been repeatedly challenged by politics and institutions. Local the public, private and third sectors and government reform programmes as well government’s claim to community 101 from representative organisations, local as some academic observers since the leadership needs to be matched by an government workers, advisers and 1980s. In its place it has typically been ability to renew the community leadership researchers. proposed local government become an role to meet current and future ‘enabling’ institution, although very challenges and opportunities. The Policy Localism and local government different versions of what ‘enabling’ might Commission has identified six 102 reform be have been offered . contemporary tensions that provide Local government is no stranger to challenge and opportunity for future local reform. Its constitutionally subordinate Many local authorities have moved some community leadership. position means that national governments way towards an ‘enabling’ model which can and regularly do intervene to ‘reform’ has included diversifying service The first tension is the increasing its duties, functions, how it is organised provision to private and third sector emphasis on individualisation versus the and funded. Since the 1980s bodies and redefining the roles and continued desire that citizens have to be programmes of ‘reform’ or ‘modernisation’ relationships of councillors. The connected, expressed most vividly have dramatically reduced the level of Coalition’s proposals offer further perhaps through the use of social media. The future of local public services 47
This provides an opportunity for local The fifth tension is managing the Scrutineer – councillors scrutinize government to work with its citizens to increasing fragmentation of local services decisions and policies to improve local explore how this desire for prompted by diversification alongside the accountability. connectedness can translate into public emphasis on providing a more integrated policies which express particular values and co-ordinated system of services and These roles are overlapping and will not e.g. friendship, solidarity and sharing, support to achieve agreed outcomes. The apply to all councillors at all points in while at the same time posing questions challenge and opportunity here is to time. However the Policy Commission about what else might need to be added promote collaboration amongst different believes that these roles will continue to to round out those values, eg. reciprocity providers and to promote co-ordination be important in the future and that some and attention. across commissioners. roles e.g. meta-governor, mobiliser and scrutineer will become more important in The second tension is that between an The final tension is how to manage the a new context of multiple providers and increasing emphasis on people being promotion of economic development and user interests, where it may be unclear encouraged to take responsibility for growth whilst also promoting where formal democratic control ends themselves and local government’s environmental sustainability. This is not a and informal legitimacy over decisions continued role to safeguard or protect new challenge but it remains a key one. begins. Consequently the Policy individuals, who either cannot or refuse to Commission believes that local take full responsibility for their own Of course local government also needs government will need to be very attentive actions. This provides an opportunity for to manage the service-specific tensions to the relationship between local government to support those who identified in chapter 5 that apply to all representative modes of democratic are willing and able to act on their own local public bodies involved in decision making and the growth in more behalves, but it also challenges local commissioning and delivering services: participative and deliberative democratic government to work with others eg. quality and cost, prevention and practices in order to both maximise the (providers and users) to agree what responsiveness. benefit of participative practices in might be acceptable levels of risk in themselves and also to enhance the different circumstances. Options for local councillors legitimacy of representative democratic The third tension is between user well- The Policy Commission’s examination of processes as a result. being and/or community well-being, local councillors focused on two main where the uninhibited pursuit of the areas: the roles that they play, and the It will also continue to need to work with former diminishes the latter, eg. through ways that they engage with citizens. A long standing and new ‘community anti-social behaviour, the over or under number of different councillor roles were champions’ who themselves have development of a village etc. The identified in the discussions of the Policy different sources of legitimacy. The form challenge for local government here is Commission, each of which imply a of this relationship between those twofold: how to ensure that individuals different kind of relationship with citizens elected representatives whose are equipped with the necessary skills and others104: legitimation comes through the ballot box and resources to make good decisions, Advocate – councillors take action on and those whose legitimation comes whether or not they choose to do so and behalf of particular individuals or through their ability to mobilise strong how to establish the parameters of interests; support amongst fellow citizens or support that will be available to Co-ordinator – councillors work to ‘join service users may take many forms but individuals should they make poor or up’ relevant actions and/or services in will require both groups of selfish decisions which have negative their localities on behalf of their ‘representatives’ to show respect for the consequences not only for themselves communities; role which each other can play in helping but also for the wider community. Executive - councillors shape the collective outcomes to be debated and meaning of policy for their locality and achieved. The fourth tension is to respect the take key decisions re resourcing, diversity of and within communities while modes of delivery, etc; Balancing central-local at the same time working to promote Meta-governor- councillors design and responsibilities social cohesion. This requires among guide the space and framework within The Policy Commission believes that the other things an ability to plan and which others act; cumulative impact of decades of reform forecast future public service Representative – councillors represent has left many citizens confused about requirements across the range of particular views, interests or demands what local government can and should services– a task that is likely to be more to decision makers; be held accountable for. Debates about challenging in the absence of public Mobiliser – councillors initiate local education and adult social care dominate institutions that held those planning and activism in support of particular the media and while these have a forecasting capabilities such as strategic community concerns; and distorting effect, not least because a health authorities. sizeable proportion of local government is 48 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
not and never has been responsible for increase of demand for services has so nationally or centrally, it becomes difficult them, they are debates that typify some far outstripped available funds that a to understand how these can be of the difficulties for local government in national commission has been considered in any way the responsibility managing its relationships with users and established to consider funding options of local government. The Policy citizens. In the case of education and the Law Society is proposing both to Commission considers this requires a repeated reform has limited the power of clarify individual’s rights to services and national dialogue with the public about Local Education Authorities and also to establish a code of practice that all how such services are resourced and reduced the resources that they have to local authorities must follow in their delivered. provide specialist support as more delivery of these services. funding is channelled directly to schools. Conclusion In adult social care local government The Policy Commission believes that, in Local government needs to reinvent itself retains formal responsibility but in a circumstances where most meaningful as local community leader to meet the context where the predicted rate of decisions about services are made demands of future local public governance. To secure this role local government needs legitimacy with other public, private and third sector actors Recommendations needs to support citizens to based on its capacity to act competently, The Policy Commission has the become independent actors able to justly and in the interests of local well- following recommendations: critique public policy and public being in a context of scarce resources. It services. It also has a role in National and local government also needs democratic legitimacy with reviewing the use of ‘nudge’ tactics should work together to develop a citizens and communities in a context to change young people’s vision for the future role and where faith in representative politics and behaviour to ensure that they are purpose of local government in a institutions is declining. This means being used appropriately. new environment. This should developing meaningful roles for local Improvements to transparency need include a review of local councillors and going beyond to be accompanied by a more government finance that goes representative institutions to work directly expansive and robust expression of beyond the remit of the current with and alongside citizens and accountability. Our understanding resources review and builds on the communities to shape the values, policies of accountability has narrowed so work of the Lyons Inquiry to give and outcomes that will define the locality. local government sources of that we tend to conceive of it simply finance which are driven more by as accounting for how money is local decisions and are more spent and /or the achievement of independent of central government certain tasks. This encourages a interference. practice of compliance to stated As community leaders local measures and inhibits creativity. authorities should provide a We should return to a broader democratically anchored framework conception of accountability in within which local priorities can be which more attention is paid to set, reviewed and renewed. These local circumstances and the need to be considered in the construction of mechanisms for context of support that must be giving and holding to account that provided, support that is locally go beyond the financial/ needed and support that could be performance measures, but provided. Citizens and users need embrace narratives of why things to be involved in the processes of happened and what might be priority setting in a truly interactive learned. Local councillors have a fashion so that there is space for key role as ward representatives, views to be represented, heard and mediators of local interests and opinions changed or new opinions scrutineers of the actions of local formed. government and other providers. Local government has a key role in Local authorities should consider promoting citizenship amongst whether it is easier for councillors to young people. To do this with perform their democratic role if credibility it needs to acknowledge services are commissioned through its actions that young externally – does this avoid conflicts people are part of its communities of interest for councillors or does it and not separate from them. It reveal a lack of capacity on their part to be responsible? The future of local public services 49
Shaping tomorrow’s Localism – squeeze in general and the dramatic A system of Local Public Support will From deliberation to design impact of front loaded local government make new demands of citizens, outline The Coalition’s package of reforms for spending cuts in particular, and new roles and skills for a more broadly public services if implemented in full will regretting the apparent lack of coherence defined group of public servants in the bring into being a new settlement of in thinking about the impact of the public, private and third sectors, place ‘local public services’ - with significant Coalition’s public service reforms on local government and local democracy at implications for how we define and localities, the Policy Commission believes its centre, and require a new settlement describe public services in the future, for that the demands of the future will require between communities and central any emerging social contract, and for public services to be delivered in government. These conditions for local government, public service different ways. success are described in chapter 9. providers, workers and citizens. At present some of these proposed reforms The Policy Commission’s response is to Moving from our existing system to are ‘paused’ and it is possible that the propose a system of Local Public towards a system of Local Public Coalition’s proposals will suffer the same Support which continues to acknowledge Support requires action across a range of fate as previous attempts and fail to the vital importance of an active state but areas. The Policy Commission’s generate the kind of ‘transformation’ that also recognises that fulfilling citizens’ recommendations at the end of chapters some supporters wish. The lack of any aspirations and meeting their needs in 3-7 will help localities make that move. clearly defined formal framework for the the future will require the provision of current array of proposals arguably new kinds of resources, interventions implies that they deserve this fate. and/or services, involving citizens in new ways as well as contributions from the The Policy Commission takes a rather public, private and third sectors. The different view. While not wishing to deny system of Local Public Support is the significance of the public spending described in chapter 8. 50 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
8 Local Public Support – a system for tomorrow
Fulfilling citizens’ aspirations and meeting Our expectation is that any system of help overcome some of the resistance their needs in the future will require the Local Public Support will be as diverse expressed to the Policy Commission provision of new kinds of resources, as the range of localities, about Government’s right to try and interventions and/or services. In this neighbourhoods, regions etc. influence them while they could not chapter we offer one way of meeting this Acknowledging this diversity our influence it, i.e. they were not eligible to challenge through the development of a proposal is presented as a framework of vote. new system of Local Public Support. By individual features each of which offers A system of Local Public Support this we mean the co-ordination of all scope for experimentation in its cannot override those rights and available resources (including development, but which, when realised entitlements determined elsewhere eg. public, private, civic and personal) together, will create a new adaptive Human Rights, statutory national to offer ‘helpful acts’ of various system of Local Public Support. kinds (eg. connections, ideas, standards. Rather it acts to interventions, products, resources, The key features we have identified are: complement them by engaging users and other community members directly services) that are appropriate to Democratically determined rights and need and circumstance and which entitlements to local public support. in debates about how these rights and entitlements may be locally codified promote individual and collective Local priority setting in a democratic well-being. framework. and expressed in areas where localities Outcome based commissioning. have discretion. The Policy Commission advocates a Co-production in the design and In addition to codifying what the system of Local Public Support that is delivery of support. particular rights and entitlements of underpinned by seven re-design Dedicated resources for citizen/ ‘local citizenship’, local deliberations principles derived from our analysis of community action. could also consider ways in which current circumstance and trends outlined Combining preventative and responsive those rights and entitlements might be in the previous chapters. These are: activity. promoted, protected, incentivised, Plural provision where this supports Citizen centred: the system begins rationed or enforced. There are outcomes. from the circumstances and aspirations opportunities here to consider the Local public support budget. of the citizen and proceeds in contribution of ‘nudge’ type initiatives Powerful local politicians. participation with them; recognising as well as consider the scope for Systematic and shared learning. citizens’ dual desires to be charging and for local sanctions. acknowledged as individuals but also 1. Democratically determined rights 2. Local priority setting in a to be connected to a wider society. and entitlements to local public democratic framework Cost effective: use of resources in the support The system of Local Public Support is system is assessed via considerations In a system of Local Public Support driven by the local community priorities of quality and cost but undertaken with rights and entitlements to support is negotiated and agreed within a reference to how all available resources decided and determined through democratic framework that is anchored have been used. democratic deliberation involving the in the representative institution of local Democratically accountable: the system whole community. As much local public government but operationalised has transparent decision making, support in the future is likely to be through a range of participative and meaningful scrutiny and opportunities combination of that which is universal; deliberative mechanisms. The priority for redress. targeted; niche; and discretionary, it is setting process cuts across all of those Legible institutions: all arrangements for vital that decisions about how support areas that influence individual and determining and offering support in the is organised and who is eligible are community well-being regardless of system are as simple and accessible as undertaken with existing users and the where those services and resources are possible. wider social and spatial communities. commissioned from or located. Once Outcome orientated: system resources All democratic deliberation needs to be priorities are set negotiations with are organised in ways that support the undertaken in the context of the commissioners and budget holders objective of individual and collective principles of social justice and outside the locality, eg. Whitehall may well-being. sustainability and public authorities, be necessary in order that agreements Socially just: the system promotes particularly local government, will have may be reached about how specific equality of opportunity, respect for a responsibility to ensure that weaker/ priorities and outcomes may be human rights and the dignity and value unpopular ‘voices’ are not marginalised achieved. of all citizens and redistributes in these deliberations, including by resources fairly. establishing a framework for In a system of Local Public Support Sustainable: the system balances deliberation based on the promotion of priority setting and the outcomes social, economic, environmental and individual and community well-being. derived from it are not rational and political impacts. Engaging young people in this way may technical but the result of a political The future of local public services 51
innovation in service or support through the exchanges with public service workers that may arise from co- produced activities.
The experiences of some of the young people who gave evidence to the Policy Commission suggested that engaging in co-production with service providers not only helped to create a better system of support but also enhanced their sense of being independent and responsible individuals, attributes they prized.
Engaging in and benefitting from co- production can occur in a variety of ways. A system of Local Public Support would pursue some or all of these. However a key challenge is the transformation of co-production from process in which local communities disagreement about whether the something that largely attaches to and come to a consensus about what their problem is structural (so give power to benefits individuals, i.e. individuals priorities are. Other approaches to GPs) or clinical (more chronic acting alone or in individual priority setting may inform this conditions imply more primary care and relationships with public service 105 process but do not override it. fewer hospitals), or what kind of workers, to ‘collective co-production’ problem it is - political, technical etc. 3. Outcome based commissioning where the benefits accrue to the wider 106 In a system of Local Public Support Outcome based commissioning community . Public authorities and outcome based commissioning plays a demands new behaviours and service providers are likely to be key to key role as it is through this process approaches from commissioners and stimulating any move to ‘collective co- that the range of support to be offered providers, from whatever sector, production’ partly due to their co- will be established. Commissioning is particularly where commissioning is ordinating capacity but also because undertaken within the framework of joint or shared. Openness, they have existing assets eg. agreed local community priorities and responsiveness and connectedness are community buildings and other outcomes and in the context of co- key features of commissioner-provider resources that could be made available production with citizens and service relationships in a system of Local to users and communities as part of users. Public Support. developing new collective co- production. A system of Local Public Support 4. Co-production in the design and should offer considerable flexibility to Other areas to explore in the delivery of support decision makers and commissioners to development of co-production in a Co-production is a significant feature of try out a range of approaches to system of Local Public Support include: a system of Local Public Support. It is achieving outcomes in order to The management of risk in co- seen as a way of saving scarce establish which works best for which production; the role of trust, agreed resources, by getting individuals and users and communities in which standards and accountability. communities to make more of a circumstances. This is important as it The potential of co-production to contribution to their own and possibly will allow for testing of the appropriate generate new uses of social media others’ well-being, eg. using less and relationships between interventions and in a system of public support - recycling more. It is also seen as a outcomes, for example how realistic is it particularly perhaps in the means of generating new resources by to connect crime reduction compared development of relationships with increasing individual and community to improved health with sporting more social media savvy young capability eg. the knowledge and skills activities for young people? It will also people. gained by participating as a school permit the exploration of a range of The opportunities co-production governor and the associated increase interventions where outcomes may be might offer to a new kind of in local governance capability in a agreed but there is no agreement on volunteer and the potential of co- neighbourhood. Finally it is seen as a what the key problem is, eg. the production to attract different kinds way of stimulating creativity and outcome is improved health but there is of people to become volunteers. 52 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
5. Dedicated resources for citizen/ search app’ which allowed young scarce resources. There is scope here community action people to share their experiences of to explore the potential and limits of A system of Local Public Support being stopped by the police as well as behaviour change approaches and to makes resources available for citizens giving them access to information examine the likely contribution of and communities to take action on their about their rights, and O2’s support for working with asset based models of own behalf. These resources may come ‘think big’ a £5m programme that intervention and support. A key in a variety of forms eg. they may be awards young people money and offers instrument for such approaches is likely physical assets, they may be mentoring to support the development to be ‘capabilities analysis’, which represented in the support given by of good ideas into practical projects explores what local people can do and are willing to do to contribute to local intermediary or infrastructure and outcomes. public support, without reducing either organisations and/or they may be In a context of increasing social to measurable and trainable ‘skills’, to financial resources such as grants or diversity it is likely that some set alongside more traditional ‘needs loans that enable citizens and communities’ aspirations will remain analysis’. When a system of Local communities to provide their own outside of or on the margins of the Public Support is driven by ‘needs services and support. mainstream. A system of Local Public analysis’, it is typically triggered only Some of these resources will be made Support can make available resources when urgent needs for ‘treatment’ type available by or transferred from local for community members to work with support are becoming evident, which public authorities or public service academics and others or to undertake inevitably results in underplaying the role of early preventative activities. A providers. However as important will be their own research to contribute to a ‘capabilities’ approach identifies early the resources that are available from better understanding of how a system those who have important contributions other sources eg. the private sector and of Local Public Support can benefit to make to the system of Local Public third sector that enable citizens and them 107. Support, encourages these communities to improve their own and 6. Combining preventative and contributions to be made in effective others’ well-being. Examples offered to responsive activity ways, and thereby helps the people the Policy Commission included Iris A system of Local Public Support whose contributions are built into the Lapinski’s training programme ‘Apps for focuses on preventative activity as this system to benefit from the all positives Good’ www.appsforgood.org which can provide a more direct route to which follow from feeling needed, enables young people to learn to achieving positive outcomes for appreciated and empowered, all of develop social media applications to individuals and communities and can which are likely to result in more address problems particular to them, reduce the need for expensive positive behaviour and less need for eg. the development of a ‘stop and responsive interventions so saving later intensive interventions. The future of local public services 53
7. Plural provision where this There are opportunities for experiments order that different aspects of support supports outcomes in new kinds of funding for local public can be regularly reviewed and revised Form follows function in a system of support including payment by results, or replaced if they are not contributing Local Public Support. Who supplies social impact bonds, Tax Increment to individual and community well-being. support, of what type, in what way and Financing, new local government fees Learning should be derived from a how funded are all questions that are and charges and more joined-up range of mechanisms that are already in answered in relation to what offers the central government funding. place in a system of Local Public best outcome for individuals and the Support including: the findings of wider community. Evidence about this A local public support budget also take deliberations with the public, evidence will be derived from national data and account of local social as well as from community based research, the intelligence as well as from past local financial resources – and the reviews of support undertaken as part experience. As outcomes for individuals ‘capabilities analysis’ mentioned above of the commissioning process, users’ and those for the wider community may contributes to this. reviews of specific forms of support, sometimes conflict, and there will be formal independent evaluations of major occasions when trade-offs need to be 9. Powerful local politicians initiatives, outcomes of research into made, e.g. between diversity and A system of Local Public Support public support provision undertaken by integration, these decisions are as requires powerful local politicians who universities and others, results of much political as technical ones and are able to: shape and guide the internal and external scrutiny and need to be taken democratically. system in ways that reflect local inspections, and intelligence about new community priorities, direct resources in developments and practice elsewhere. Local government has a key role in support of co-production and shaping the operating environment for innovation; stimulate and respond to All evidence should be published on a this system which includes making and community action and challenge; dedicated website to make it as managing markets and community represent the views of those with transparent and accessible as possible. support spaces, co-ordinating activity limited resource power in decision It should also be subject to a process and holding suppliers to account. making; and provide a robust of ‘meta – review’ by independent framework for local accountability. observers so that the overall health of There are opportunities here for Elected politicians will need to work the system of Local Public Support can innovations in new kinds of supply closely with other recognised be assessed and debated. Local arrangements involving public, private, community leaders and influencers and universities might have a key role to third sector and community bodies. different localities will have different play here. However it should also be mechanisms for engaging with and possible for community organisations or 8. Local public support budget drawing on the resources of citizens others to undertake analyses of the A local public support budget operates and communities. evidence and upload their own flexibly within and between the judgements about a particular aspect of resource streams of local public 10. Systematic and shared learning local public service support for others authorities and providers. It makes use A system of Local Public Support to review. of the range of financial resources should contain multiple opportunities available from private, charitable and for systematic and shared learning in philanthropic sources. 54 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
9 Making the system work - the conditions for success
The Policy Commission identified four conditions for a system of Local Public Support to operate successfully.
1. Citizens as co-authors of their valuable of itself as it provides access Context. Citizens’ capacity to act as well-being to ways of communicating and working co-authors will be influenced by the A system of Local Public Support is that are becoming part of the social, cultural and economic based on the idea that citizens are mainstream. Finally understanding how conditions of their neighbourhoods, genuine co-authors108 of their well- individuals are connected to each other localities or regions. Discrimination, being. By this we mean that citizens and to wider society opens up poverty and inequality will place are active contributors to creating and discussions about belonging, fairness significant limits on the ‘scope of sustaining the good outcomes that they and solidarity and what it means to be possibility’ for some individuals and wish for themselves and their wider a citizen ‘co-author’ whose actions communities. This in turn places a communities, but crucially, that they do impact both on individual and responsibility on a system of Local not do so alone, but in conjunction with community well-being. Public Support to take action to a range of other actors and forces that address, as far as it is able, the causes shape what is possible, including the A system of Local Public Support and the expressions of structural family, friends, state, third sector and contributes to connectedness in discrimination and disadvantage and to market. numerous ways: it provides a resource engage with other actors eg. national for building individual social capital eg. government to take action that is For citizens to become co-authors in through engagement with third sector outwith its scope. the way that we propose requires organisations; it offers access to and attention to a number of key conditions. training in new media; and finally it can Co-authorship does not imply that all Meeting these conditions places help citizens develop a critical citizen action needs to be undertaken in particular demands on different aspects understanding of their position in a concert with agents of the state, but it of a Local Public Support system but globalised society in the context of does insist that all citizen action is serves to emphasise the importance of wider structures and processes of affected one way or another by wider the whole system in ‘co-authoring’ change eg. through citizen education. social forces which include but are not future citizens: Osler’s109 argument for citizen restricted to the state. Independent self education undertaken in support of the help activities with no connection to the Capacity. To act as co-authors citizens development of cosmopolitan citizens state or acting in resistance to the state need agency; the wherewithal to act on and based on human rights principles are essential and in a system of Local their own behalves in relations with and reflexive learning identifies a range Public Support there will always be others. Agency is an expression of of benefits from this approach that clear boundaries between the personal power linked to factors would complement the kinds of skills distinctive contributions of the state including an individual’s competence and attributes of putative citizen co- and civil society. eg. being literate and numerate, authors including: cooperative capability eg. having good health, practice, democratic decision-making, Co-authorship is also something that enough work, and confidence, eg. able including participation in the continues to develop over time and in to make decisions. Agency may be management of learning, independent response to new circumstances. expressed directly or through reasoning and critical awareness, and Reeves and Collins described it as a advocates. A system of Local Public effective communication skills, ‘state of becoming, not a state of Support makes an essential including those for transnational and being’110. The National Youth Reference contribution to the development of an intercultural communication. Group described it rather differently but individual’s overall capacity to act equally effectively in their evidence to through the work of local schools, Control. Co-authorship implies a the Policy Commission. For them ‘every health centres, and economic degree of power and control, both over day is a school day’111. development initiatives in combination one’s own actions as discussed in with the work of families, social relation to capacity but also in 2. Twenty-first century public servants networks and third sector exchanges with those who have ‘Community members envision a organisations. traditionally exercised power on behalf world, professionals envision a of, and indeed over, citizens eg. local service’112 Connectedness. Connectedness is government, public service providers. If important in a number of ways for citizens are to be active contributors to Our proposals for a system of Local citizen co-authors. Connections with their own well-being then this requires Public Support have significant others can increase the resources that politicians, professionals and implications for the people who provide (expertise, time, support) that citizens practitioners cede control over public services. Public services have have at their disposal to contribute to decisions, budgets and services and continued to be designed around their well-being. Mastery of new media help create the conditions for co- professional specialisms even though can add to these resources but also is authorship to flourish. the silo institutions these designs The future of local public services 55
communicate options for the future, however tentative and experimental, will be crucial in engaging services users, citizens and staff in the project of redesign.
The second is resource-weaver, the ability to make creative use of existing resources regardless of their intended/ original use; weaving together miscellaneous and disparate materials to generate something new and useful for service users and citizens. The Policy Commission heard evidence created have long since ceased to be matched by possession of other from youth workers and others in the useful in achieving local well-being. attributes and competence in other third sector of the need to develop skills Public services have continued to be skills relevant to all public servants. We in bidding for and putting together a viewed through the lens of the public also recognise that as career paths and patchwork of funds and looking for new sector even though voluntary and opportunities change people are likely ideas and ways of delivering services. latterly private sector providers are well to move between the public, private Resource-weavers will do this but are established in many areas of service and third sectors and this may happen likely to need to focus more on delivery. throughout their lives. We outline our developing new uses for existing proposals for the ‘Twenty-first century resources. The persistence of these ideas has public servant’ below. been perpetuated by the way in which The third is system architect, training, development and support for Who are they? Twenty-first century someone who is able to describe and public service workers is provided. In public servants may be: professionals, compile coherent local systems of higher education and elsewhere managers and/or practitioners from public support from the myriad of training, development and support across the public, private and third public, private, third sector and other continues to be offered along highly sectors who are working in a system of resources. This is a role that combines specialised professionalised pathways Local Public Support. prescription with compilation and it is that lead to distinct professional an ongoing task as system resources qualifications. Our post qualification What do they do? Twenty-first are likely to vary over time and space. training and development remains too century public servants fulfil a The fourth is navigator, a role sectorally focused and where we do combination of roles, some of which are specifically focused on guiding citizens create opportunities for cross sectoral new, some evolving and some and service users around the range of development they tend to be at the top longstanding. There are four key new possibilities that might be available in a end eg. leadership programmes. We roles that will need to be developed. system of Local Public Support. This is continue to assume that people’s the kind of role that some area based careers in public service (or anywhere The first is storyteller, the ability to regeneration workers and else) will be ‘linear, definite, specialised author and communicate stories of how neighbourhood co-ordinators and and predictable’113. In practice they are new worlds of Local Public Support managers have developed in the past likely to be anything but. might be envisioned in the absence of on a ‘patch’ basis. existing blueprints, drawing on Our proposals for a system of Local experience and evidence from a range In addition there are three evolving Public Support require the generation of sources. The Policy Commission roles. The first is commissioner, a role of a new kind of public servant, able to heard from numerous respondents which the Policy Commission spent a fulfil a variety of roles and equipped about the uncertainty and insecurity long time considering and which a with a range of skills regardless of their created by current economic and policy great deal is already known about. The professional identity. We recognise that context but was struck by how few key issue here is ensuring that there are particular public support functions references were made to people able sufficient commissioners with the right demand a level of specialist skill, to envision what might be possible in range of skills to be able to commission knowledge and know-how that needs the future and to communicate it services and support on a system to be developed through appropriate effectively. This is not to underestimate rather than simply a service basis. specialist training and education. But the significance of the likely reductions we argue that this emphasis on in staffing and resources, but it is to The second is broker, a role closely professional specialism needs to be suggest that the ability to fashion and associated with but distinct from that of 56 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
advocate. It requires working closely - Organising skills for group work, their locality. The emphasis would be with and on behalf of service users to collaboration and peer review; on developing a continuum of exchange access the appropriate portfolio of - Communication skills, making more of knowledge and reinvestment. support. Its development is linked to the and better use of new and multi – Alongside this universities could growing emphasis on personalisation media resources. develop programmes of experiential and individual budgets and ‘brokers’ will practice, testing out and developing make a key contribution to processes of To develop these new roles and skills new policies, models of delivery and co-production in these contexts. Twenty-first century public servants will enhanced business processes in need appropriate and adequate particular localities or social The third role is reticulist, a role that is support. Foremost among these is a communities. These potential one element of the collaboration Government that publicly values and opportunities challenge universities to domain and focuses on the supports public service and promotes recover their criticality in teaching and development and use of networking careers in public services. learning, something that has been skills to identify new sources of squeezed in the last two decades expertise and support and /or to bring Educational and training programmes following the introduction of together agents who together can for public servants at all levels including competence-based training achieve desired outcomes. at national level will need to be programmes. redesigned to accommodate these new Finally, there are four longstanding roles roles and skills and to address the 3. A connected and connective local that will continue to be important, all of existing skills gaps. In addition the government which are closely associated with the ongoing support offered from national Local government will become more different elements of the roles of public infrastructure organisations will need to important in the future. The redesigned service professionals. The first is be pooled so that they can use their system of Local Public Support that we regulator, associated with assessing resources to provide the kind of cross are envisaging provides important the performance of resources against sectoral support that public servants opportunities but also presents difficult agreed standards; the second is will need. In amongst this support will challenges. Local government will need protector, where the emphasis is on be on-line intelligence about to manage the different tensions intervening to prevent harm; the third is developing trends e.g. demography, created by a new system of support as adjudicator, the requirement to make social relations, that can support public well as changing the way it relates to decisions on balance of evidence; and servants make good decisions with citizens. To achieve this local the fourth is expert, specifically the users and citizens about changes to government needs to be both exercise of judgement in decision systems of Local Public Support. connected and connective. making drawing on relevant skills and experience. Universities have a significant role to In its relationships with citizens and play in supporting the generation of service users: 115 What support do they need? Twenty-first Century public servants . Local government needs to be Davidson’s critique of university Their extensive international connected directly into local spatial and education draws attention to twenty- connections and networks are valuable social communities in order to develop 114 first century ‘literacies’ – the specific for the intelligence that they offer about a deeper understanding of their skills that are required in the new ‘how the world works’ and what might aspirations and concerns and the working environment. These resonate be applicable in the English context. In outcomes which they most value, and strongly with the issues that the Policy addition their research can offer so be better able to connect them to Commission has been discussing and insights into how things might be done resources that can offer appropriate are relevant both to the domains of co- differently. support or mobilise for those resources production, collaboration, and to be developed where they are not commissioning identified in chapters 3 In a system of Local Public Support available. This requires that that local and 5 and also to the roles outlined with an emphasis on systematic and politicians are perceived to be both here. The twenty-first century literacies shared learning, universities could work credible and legitimate by their are: with different actors in the local system constituents. - Interpersonal skills specifically to develop collaborative research Local government needs to be facilitation, empathy and political programmes where securing policy connected to the views and skills; impact is integral and iterative. Just as experiences of those accessing local - Synthesising skills, including sorting shared services can create efficiencies public support in order to develop a evidence from range of sources, within a given locality, so too shared more rounded assessment of the analysing, making judgements, learning can lead to increased performance of the system of Local offering critique and being creative; investment and outcomes for citizens in Public Support, hold service and The future of local public services 57
support providers to account and work Local government functioning as a located within localities central with them to re-allocate resources to ‘failsafe, evening out inconsistencies or government should respect that and improve performance. gaps in service provision, and helping not seek to intervene unless there are community groups and the voluntary legal breaches or concerns about In its relationships with providers of sector to grow their own capacity’116. public safety. public support: Local government needs to be 4. A new national government/ Localism will enable systems of Local connected to the range of potential community settlement Public Support to develop in diverse providers of local public support in Flourishing systems of Local Public ways in response to the aspirations of order to improve its commissioning Support depend on action beyond the local citizens and communities. This will capacity and connect existing locality, specifically changes in the way generate increased variation in how resources together more effectively. that central government relates to local resources are allocated and which This includes identifying opportunities government and other local public outcomes are pursued across localities. for co-production and ensuring plurality institutions, and changes to the Central government has two roles here: of provision. relationship between central to set national standards for support in government and citizens. Some of those areas that the public nationally Finally, local government needs to these actions are about the appropriate have declared to be important, and to develop a way of governing that use of power to effect change that is act on those issues that are outside the engages individual citizens and beyond the scope of systems of Local scope of systems of Local Public communities and providers in and Public Support. Other actions are Support eg. action to address structural connects them to the construction of a about changing the culture of public inequalities and economic larger project of social solidarity discourse. They are linked. disadvantage. fundamental to a system of local public support. This will require: The contribution of nationally organised Public views about where responsibility public services and systems of Local for particular public policy issues Local government and local politicians Public Support to the public who should lie changes over time in becoming more attuned to how citizens benefit directly from them but also the response to changing circumstances. and communities organise, and work contribution they make to creating the Where an issue has become a matter with these arrangements (providing conditions for a prosperous private of significant public concern eg. as the they are in keeping with broader sector and wider social cohesion must funding of adult social care is currently, democratic values) rather than simply be acknowledged by central then it should become the subject of a introducing its own ‘participation’ government. This includes national debate facilitated through a mechanisms. acknowledging the contribution of all commission of enquiry and reporting to Local government working with other ‘public servants’, whichever sector they Parliament. actors in the local polity to shape place happen to be delivering services and and space in different ways in relation support from. There is also a need for a more to different policy priorities e.g. informed dialogue between national sustainable economic development, Highlighting concerns about public government and the public about the health and well-being. safety will be one of the roles played by expectations of and possibilities for Local government having the freedom national regulators in relation to public services in the future. to work with other local authorities and systems of Local Public Support. providers to make proposals to central Another will be to offer assessments of There are at least three issues here: government for a ‘local’ take- over of progress towards outcomes. National the running of a range of services Whether the public’s expectations regulators will have no role in promoting where benefits to individual and about the levels and quality of public particular modes of providing support community well-being can be services and support can be met eg. encouraging competition or the demonstrated. without addressing questions of extension of third sector engagement – Local government having sufficient general taxation. these should be decisions made by capacity to act, i.e. it needs to have How the provision of public services localities themselves. sufficient power and resource at its and support should be rewarded in a disposal to influence the conduct of plural system, including questions Localism should result in a much others and to be influenced by them. about the impact of significant pay clearer framework of responsibility and This includes greater financial capacity differentials between executives and accountability between ‘the centre’ and and flexibility locally, including, but those at the ‘front line’. localities. These divisions need to be going beyond the reform of ‘business What ‘risk’ and ‘failure’ means in a made clear to the public. Where rates’. system of public services and support. responsibility and accountability is 58 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Notes
1 Communities and Local Government 16 Clark, G. MP. (2011) ‘Action to boost 38 See table 10, Technical Appendix 1 (2010) Decentralisation and the support for voluntary sector and cut red 39 See table 11, Technical Appendix 1 Localism Bill: an essential guide, tape for councils’, CLG Press Release, 40 See table 12, Technical Appendix 1 London, HM Government 13th April 41 See table 13, Technical Appendix 1 2 ACEVO (2011) Powerful People, 17 Barnes, M., Newman, J. and Sullivan, H. 42 See table 13, Technical Appendix 1 Responsible Society: The report of the (2007) Power, participation and political 43 See table 14, Technical Appendix 1 Commission on Big Society London, renewal, Bristol, Policy Press 44 See table 15, Technical Appendix 1 ACEVO 18 Alcock, P. and Scott, D. (2002) 45 See Technical Appendix 2 for full details 3 Young people were defined as between ‘Partnerships with the voluntary sector: 46 Plantsbrook School, Birmingham, focus 11-21 years. can Compacts work?’ in Partnerships, group 4 National Council for Voluntary New Labour and the Governance of 47 Plantsbrook School, Birmingham, focus Organisations (2011): Participation: Welfare, Glendinning, C., Powell, M. and group trends, facts and figures London: Rummery. K. eds., Policy Press, pp. 48 Plantsbrook School, Birmingham, focus NCVO, p.34 113-31; Bovaird, T. (2006) ‘Developing group 5 Ecclestone, K., Clack, B., Hayes, D. and new relationships with the “market” in 49 George Dixon School, Birmingham, Pupavac, V. (2010) Changing the the procurement of public services’, focus group subject?: emotional well-being and Public Administration Vol. 84, No.1, pp. 50 King Edward V1 School, Birmingham, social justice, Final Report to the 81-102; Macmillan, R. (2010) focus group Economic and Social Research Council The third sector delivering public 51 Fiona Blacke, Chief Executive, National Seminar Series Competition, services: an evidence review Working Youth Agency, evidence to Commission Birmingham, University of Birmingham Paper 20 TSRC; Sullivan, H. and workshop ‘Redesigning public service 6 The survey was conducted by LVQ Skelcher, C. (2002) Working across relationships’, 27/01/11 Research between April 26 and 29th as boundaries. Collaboration in public 52 Cheryl Garvey, Chief Executive, part of the Children’s Omnibus Survey. services, London, Palgrave Birmingham Association of Youth Clubs, 782 young people aged between 11 19 Osborne, S. and Brown, L. (2010) evidence to Commission workshop and 21 were interviewed. See the ‘Innovation, public policy and public Reproducing success and mitigating technical appendix for detail services delivery in the UK. The word failure’, 10/03/11 7 Envision undertook four focus groups that would be king?’, paper presented at 53 See Technical Appendix 3 for full details with 50 school children aged 16-18 EGPA conference, Toulouse, of the cases. between March and May 2011. See the September 08-10 54 Right Here team member, structured technical appendix for details 20 Gillinson, S., Horne, M. and Baeck, P. interview, May 2011 8 Identified and undertaken by Demos. (2010) Radical Efficiency. Different, 55 Higher Croft Action Group team See the technical appendix for detail better, lower cost public services, member, interview, May 2011 9 The technical appendix is downloadable London, NESTA. 56 Higher Croft Action Group team from the Policy Commission website, 21 Jeffares, S., Sullivan, H. and Farrelly, M. member, interview, May 2011 www.birmingham.ac.uk/ (2009) Consuming public service 57 Streetgames Senior Manager, interview, policycommissions partnerships, A report to Consumer May 2011 10 Greenhalgh, T. and Russell, J. (2005) Focus, CPSP, University of Birmingham 58 Right Here team member, interview, May ‘Reframing evidence synthesis as 22 Watt, P.A. (2006) ‘Principles and 2011 rhetorical action in the policy making theories of local government’, Economic 59 Phoenix member, interview, June 2011 drama’ Healthcare Policy, Vol. 1, No. 1, Affairs Vol.26, No.1, March 2006, p.8 60 Us Creates service designer, interview, pp.31-39 23 See table 1, Technical Appendix 1 May 2011 11 Sullivan, H. ‘Truth Junkies’. Using 24 See table 1, Technical Appendix 1 61 TSRC is exploring this issue in its evaluation in UK public policy’, Policy 25 See table 2, Technical Appendix 1 ‘Below the Radar’ work which includes a and Politics, forthcoming 26 See table 1, Technical Appendix 1 micro-mapping of voluntary and 12 Greenhalgh and Russell, (2005) op cit, 27 See table 3, Technical Appendix 1 community activity. p.36 28 See table 4, Technical Appendix 1 62 Mol, A. (2008) The logic of care. Health 13 Communities and Local Government 29 See table 5, Technical Appendix 1 and the problem of patient choice, (2010) op cit, p.2 30 See table 6, Technical Appendix 1 Abingdon, Routledge. 14 ibid 31 Gyford, J. (1991) Citizens, consumers 63 National Youth Reference Group 15 Lepine, E. and Sullivan, H. (2007) ‘More and councils. Local government and the presentation to the Commission local than local government: the public, London, Macmillan workshop, ‘Changing Citizens’ relationship between local government 32 adapted from Barnes et al, (2007) op cit Behaviour’, 17/02/11 and the neighbourhood agenda’ in 33 See table 7, Technical Appendix 1 64 Bovaird, T. and Loeffler, E. (2008) User Smith, I., Lepine, E. and Taylor, M. eds., 34 See table 8, Technical Appendix 1 and community co-production of public Disadvantaged by where you live, 35 See table 9, Technical Appendix 1 services: fad or fact, nuisance or Bristol, Policy Press, pp.83-104 36 See table 10, Technical Appendix 1 necessity? Third Sector Research 37 See table 9, Technical Appendix 1 Sector Briefing Paper 12, TSRC The future of local public services 59
65 Needham, C. (2011) Personalising 84 Campbell Collaboration is an 97 Goodson, L. and Phillimore, J. eds., public services, Bristol, Policy Press international research network that (2011) Community research. From 66 Crosby, N. (2011) Making produces systematic reviews of the theory to method, Bristol, Policy Press personalisation a reality for children, effects of social interventions. It is based 98 Aspen Institute (1997) Voices from the young people and their families, on voluntary cooperation among Field: Learning from the Early Work of InControl researchers of a variety of backgrounds. Comprehensive Community Initiatives. 67 Bovaird, T. and Loeffler, E. (2008) op cit 85 Ipsos Mori. (2010a) Citizen Washington, DC, Aspen Institute 68 See McCabe, A. (2010) Below the engagement: testing policy ideas for 99 Pawson, R. and Tilley, N. (1997) radar in a big society?: Reflections on public service reform, London, 2020 Realistic evaluation, London, Sage community engagement, empowerment Public Services Trust 100 See Wilson, D. and Game, C. (2011) and social action in a changing policy 86 Ipsos Mori. (2010b) What do people Local Government in the UK, context, Third Sector Research Sector want, need and expect from public Basingstoke, Palgrave, for a Working Paper 51, TSRC, for a broader services?, London, 2020 Public comprehensive account of changes to discussion of this issue. Services Trust local government discretion 69 Barnes et al, (2007) op cit 87 Ipsos Mori. (2010a) op cit 101 See Stoker, G. (1996) ‘Redefining local 70 Munro, E. (2011) The Munro review of 88 Dickinson, H. and Glasby, J. (2010) The democracy’ in Pratchett, L. and Wilson, child protection: Final report – a child personalisation agenda: implications for D. eds., Local Democracy and Local centred system, London, The Stationery the third sector, Third Sector Research Government, London, Macmillan Office p.8 Centre, Working Paper 30, TSRC pp.188-209 for a critique of this 71 Stoker, G. and Moseley, A. (2010) 89 quoted in Macmillan, R. (2010) The connection; Stewart, J. (1995) ’A future Motivation, Behaviour and the third sector delivering public services: for local authorities as community Microfoundations of Public Services, an evidence review, Third Sector government’ in Stewart, J. and Stoker, London, 2020 Public Services Trust at Research Centre, Working Paper 20, G. eds., Local Government in the the RSA p.23 TSRC, p.3 1990’s, Basingstoke, Macmillan, 727272 Szmigin, I., Griffin, C., Mistral, W., 90 TSRC is undertaking qualitative and pp.249-268 for a different perspective Bengry-Howell, A., Weale, L. and quantitative work to explore the sector’s 102 See Sullivan, H. (2010) ‘Governing the Hackley, C. (2008) ‘ Re-framing ‘binge distinctiveness. mix: How local government still matters’ drinking’ as calculated hedonism: 91 Evidence from Tiger de Souza, ‘v’, to the in Richardson, J. ed., From recession to Empirical evidence from the UK’ Commission workshop ‘Changing renewal, Bristol, Policy Press, pp. 179- International Journal of Drug Policy. Vol. Citizens’ Behaviour’, 17/02/11 90 for a review 19, No. 5, pp.359-366 92 Munro, E. (2011) op cit 103 CLG (2011) National evaluation of 73 Liz Richardson, University of 93 Hartley, J, and Bennington, J, (2006) Local Area Agreements and Local Manchester, evidence to the ‘Copy and paste, or graft and Strategic Partnerships: Final Report, Commission workshop on Changing transplant? Knowledge sharing in inter- Liverpool John Moores, University of Citizens’ Behaviour, 17/02/11 organisational networks’, Public Money Birmingham, Office for Public www.bloomsburyacademic.com/view/ and Management, Vol, 26. pp.101-8 Management, SQW Consulting, Nudge-Nudge-Think-Think/book-ba- 94 Harvey, G., Jas, P., Walshe, K. and University of Warwick and the University 9781849662284.xml Skelcher, C. (2010) ‘Absorptive of the West of England, London, CLG, 74 See table 16, Technical Appendix 1 capacity: How organisations assimilate www.communities.gov.uk/archived/ 75 See table 17, Technical Appendix 1 and apply knowledge to improve general-content/corporate/ 76 See table 18, Technical Appendix 1 performance’ in Walshe, K., Harvey, G. researcharchive/volume6housinglocal/ 77 See table 19, Technical Appendix 1 and Jas, P. eds., Connecting knowledge 104 Skelcher, C., Sullivan, H. and Jeffares, 78 See table 20, Technical Appendix 1 and performance in public services. S. Hybrid governance in European 79 See table 21, Technical Appendix 1 From knowing to doing, Cambridge, cities, Basingstoke, Palgrave, 80 Plantsbrook School, Birmingham, focus Cambridge University Press, pp.226- forthcoming, provides a discussion of group 250 some of these roles in a European 81 See table 22, Technical Appendix 1 95 Scott, D. (2010) Black boxes in the context 82 See table 23, Technical Appendix 1 wreckage? Making sense of failure in a 105 See Williams, I., Robinson, S. and 83 www.philanthropyuk.org/quarterly/ third sector social enterprise, Third Dickinson, H, (2011) Rationing in health articles/giving-numbers-how- Sector Research Centre Working Paper care, Bristol, Policy Press for a range of measuring-social-impact-stacks; 31, TSRC methods and approaches to priority www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/ 96 Edwards, A., Barnes, M., Plewis, I., setting publications/pdfs/ Morris, K. et al. (2006) Working to 106 Bovaird, T. and Loeffler, E. (2008) op cit EveryChildaReader.pdf prevent the social exclusion of children 107 Goodson, L. and Phillimore, J. eds., and young people: Final lessons from (2011) op cit the national evaluation of the Children’s Fund, London, DfES 60 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
108 The idea of co-authorship was 110 Reeves and Collins (2009) op cit p. 41 113 Davidson, C. (2011) ‘So last century’, prompted by the arguments for ‘self- 111 National Youth Reference Group Times Higher Education, 28th April, authorship’ in Reeves, R, and Collins, P, presentation to the Commission pp.32-36 (2009) The liberal republic, London, workshop on ‘Changing Citizens’ 114 ibid Demos Behaviour’, 17/02/11 115 Written evidence from Lisa Trickett, 109 Osler, A, (2011) ‘Education policy, 112 Haki Kapasi, Chief Executive, Inspire University of Birmingham, to the social cohesion and citizenship’ in Consultancy Ltd, evidence to the Commission, April 2011 Newman, I and Radcliffe, P eds., Commission workshop on ‘Redesigning 116 CLG (2011) Localism, Third report of Promoting social cohesion: Implications Public Service Relationships’, 27/01/11 the Communities and Local Government for policy and evaluation, Bristol, Policy Select Committee, 9th June, London, Press, pp. 66-84 CLG, recommendation 23 The future of local public services 61
Appendices
Appendix 1. Policy Commission working principles
1. The Policy Commission’s main focus is on ‘local public services’ and it will direct its research and activities towards ‘the local’. However, its recommendations will be made to those institutions that have influence over the resourcing, planning and provision of local public services, which may include central as well as local government.
2. The Policy Commission will explore ‘the local’ in a variety of contexts including the urban, suburban and rural.
3. The Policy Commission has chosen young people as the specific group through which it will explore the future of local public services in the short, medium and long terms. The Policy Commission acknowledges the great diversity that exists within the group ‘young people’, and the services that they require, and will take account of this within its work.
4. While the specific focus of the Policy Commission is the future role of local public services in the context of the ‘Big Society’ initiative of the UK Coalition Government, it acknowledges that, the state has a crucial and ongoing role to play as an enabler, supporter, protector and regulator.
5. The Policy Commission will seek advice and evidence from a range of sources including: academics, practitioners, policy makers and service users. It will work through a variety of means including: taking evidence in hearings, holding workshops and other events and conducting further research where necessary (eg. surveys, focus groups and deliberative events).
6. The Policy Commission will also engage directly with young people, acknowledging the powerful contribution which young people already make to shaping the quality of their own lives and those of their peers, and exploring how this contribution might better be supported and shaped by local agencies to ensure more appropriate local public services. 62 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Appendix 2. Policy Commission work programme The Policy Commission’s work had three phases. Phase one involved establishing the Policy Commission and scoping its topic. In Phase two - the main phase – the Policy Commission heard and deliberated evidence from a range of sources. Phase three focused on agreeing conclusions and recommendations and promoting them through the media and national and local events.
Phase One (August to December 2010) Activities included: Developing the idea for the Policy Commission with University of Birmingham academics and Demos Launching the Policy Commission with a debate on ‘the role of the state and civil society’, Chaired by the Vice Chancellor at the Conservative Party Conference (October 2010) www.inlogov.bham.ac.uk/News/2010/10/launch-birmingham-policy- commissions.shtml Speakers at this event hosted by Demos included Rory Stewart, MP and Ben Lucas Director of the Public Services 2020 Trust Appointing the Commissioners Commissioners’ meeting to agree the content and process of the Policy Commission (01/12/10) Review of existing University of Birmingham research Developing the Policy Commission website www.birmingham.ac.uk/policycommissions ‘Table for Ten’ event – Helen Sullivan (the Policy Commission’s academic lead) hosted a dinner for University of Birmingham alumni on theme of ‘Where now for the Public Sector and the aspiring Public Service Professional?’ www.inlogov.bham.ac.uk/News/2010/11/ table-for-ten-policy-commission-future-local-public-services.shtml University of Birmingham Online Debate: ‘Does the Big Society approach have a future?’ www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact debate/big-society.aspx The Birmingham Brief: ‘Enabling’ – the future of local public services in the Big Society? www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/ thebirminghambrief/items/publicservices,bigsociety.aspx Conferences attended Young People – the Big Problem or the Big Solution, Envision (11/11/10)
Phase Two (January to April 2011) Activities included: Workshops to hear and deliberate evidence from witnesses working in the public, business and voluntary/community sectors, focused on the Policy Commission’s key themes: - Workshop 1: Redesigning public service relationships (27/01/2011) - Workshop 2: Changing citizens’ behaviour (17/02/2011) - Workshop 3: Reproducing success and mitigating failure (10/03/2011) Commissioners’ meetings to reflect on the issues raised at the workshops and deliberate policy options (09/02/11, 21/03/11) Primary research led by Demos - survey and practical cases exploring the views of young people, innovations in practice and implications for future service design and delivery Consultations with young people in schools across Birmingham - University of Birmingham in conjunction with Envision - a national youth empowerment charity. 4 focus group discussions starting in the week beginning 21/03/11 Additional meetings organised to fill gaps identified by Commissioners: - Roundtable event with the CBI Public Services Strategy Board (28/03/11) - Meeting with Sir Bob Kerslake, Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government, (07/04/11) Vice Chancellor’s Select Dinner (29/03/11) to test out initial findings/questions with national experts on the ‘Big Society’ not otherwise involved with the Policy Commission’s work University of Birmingham Debate: The Big Society: Can a Government change behaviour? www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/ debate/big-society-behaviour.aspx Developing the Policy Commission’s conclusions and drafting the report (Commissioners’ meetings – 08/04/11) Conferences attended - “Young People, Decision Making and the Big Society” Faith Matters (26/05/11) - “Coproducing the Big Society” Resident University, Chamberlain Forum (18/03/11 & 19/03/11) - “Transforming Local Government: Lessons for the Future” Birmingham City Council (02/03/2011) - “Young People – the Big Problem or the Big Solution” Envision (11/11/10) The future of local public services 63
Phase Three (May to July 2011) Activities included:
Meeting with Sir Michael Lyons (11/05/11) Commissioners’ meetings to finalise the findings and recommendations (16/05/11, 10/06/11) A Birmingham focused workshop organised with the University’s ‘civic engagement’ team, to consider the implications of the Policy Commission’s findings and recommendations for the city (01/07/11) Launch of Policy Commission Report (11/07/11) 64 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
Appendix 3. Contributors to the Policy Commission Lord Victor Adebowale Chief Executive, Turning Point Steven Altman-Richer Policy Adviser - Public Services, CBI Edward Andersson Deputy Director, Involve Kathleen Armour Professor of Education and Sport, University of Birmingham James Arthur Professor of Education and Civic Engagement, University of Birmingham Malin Arvidson Research Fellow, Third Sector Research Centre Andrew Bacon Business Development Director, Public Sector, BT Global Services Chris Banks Chair of the Public Chairs Forum and Deputy Pro Chancellor, University of Birmingham Fiona Blacke Chief Executive, National Youth Agency James Blake Chief Policy and Partnership Officer, St Albans City and District Council Mark Bramah Assistant Chief Executive, Association for Public Service Excellence Brian Carr Chief Executive, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council Mary Cook Co-founder and Managing Director, Uscreates Nic Crosby Director, Children and Young People, In Control Peter Davies Professor of Education Policy Research, University of Birmingham Johnny Davis VP Student Welfare, University of Birmingham, Guild of Students Stuart Derbyshire Reader in Psychology, University of Birmingham Tiger de Souza Knowledge and Innovation Manager, v Helen Dickinson Lecturer in Health Care Policy and Management, University of Birmingham Ade Duncan Support Officer, National Youth Reference Group Cheryl Garvey Chief Executive, Birmingham Association of Youth Clubs Jon Glasby Professor Health and Social Care and Director of Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham Jonathan Grix Senior Lecturer in Sport Politics and Policy, University of Birmingham Ed Hammond Research and Information Manager, Centre for Public Scrutiny Matthew Horne Managing Partner, Innovation Unit Carole Ann Jasilek Commissioning Locality General Manager, Leicestershire County Council Haki Kapasi Founder and Chief Executive, Inspire Nigel Keohane Head of Research, New Local Government Network Sir Bob Kerslake Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government Zubair Khan Crime Scene Investigator, West Midlands Police Ben Kyneswood Community radio worker and community education tutor for young people; Doctoral researcher, University of Birmingham Elizabeth Ladimeji Head of National Partnerships Development, Citizens Advice Bureau Peter Latchford Chair, Urban Living; visiting Professor of Enterprise, Birmingham City University; Chair, Healthcare Improvement Partnership Andrea Legal-Miller Youth Council Development Manager, Lambeth Youth Council Will Leggett Senior Lecturer in Political Sociology and Social Theory, University of Birmingham The future of local public services 65
Julia Lowndes Birmingham Safer Community Partnership Sir Michael Lyons former Chairman of the BBC Trust Rob Macmillan Research Fellow, Third Sector Research Centre Sir Bert Massie Commissioner, Commission for the Compact Angus McCabe Senior Research Fellow, University of Birmingham Stephen McKay Professor of Social Research, University of Birmingham Afsa Mitha Performance Improvement Officer, Leicestershire City Council Domenico Moro Research Fellow, Third Sector Research Centre Louise Morpeth Co-Director, The Social Research Unit, Dartington Kevin Myers Senior Lecturer in Social History and Education, University of Birmingham Spike Orion Member, National Youth Reference Group Therese O’Toole Lecturer in Sociology, Department of Sociology and Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, University of Bristol Ben Page Chief Executive, Ipsos Mori Sharon Palmer Chief Executive, Regional Action West Midlands (RAWM) Aaron Porter President, National Union of Students Denika Porter Member, National Youth Reference Group Ukeila Prophet Member, National Youth Reference Group Aidan Rave Director of Interim and Consulting, Pinnacle PSG James Rees Research Fellow, Third Sector Research Centre Oliver Reichardt Head of the Public Services and Partnerships Team, NCVO Liz Richardson Research Fellow, Institute for Political and Economic Governance, University of Manchester and Director of Trafford Hall, home of the National Communities Resource Centre Richard Selwyn National Lead on Efficiency, Commissioning Support Programme Baroness Maeve Sherlock Baroness of Durham, House of Lords Richard Simmons Co-Director, Mutuality Research Programme, University of Stirling Charlotte Slater Operations Director, Moo Moo Youth Marketing Judith Smith Head of Policy, The Nuffield Trust Catherine Staite Director of Organisational Development, Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham Garath Symonds Assistant Director, Young People’s Services, Surrey County Council Tamzin Taylor-Rosser Co-ordinator, National Youth Reference Group Jean Templeton Chief Executive, St Basil’s Andy Thornton Chief Executive, Citizenship Foundation Alan Tien Member, National Youth Reference Group Aaron Towler Member, National Youth Reference Group Lisa Trickett Director of Knowledge Transfer, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham Lord Nathanial Wei former Government Advisor, Big Society Sue White Professor of Social Work (Children and Families), University of Birmingham 66 WHEN TOMORROW COMES
About the University of Birmingham College of Social Sciences
The College of Social Sciences is public resources, the University’s The breadth and depth of the home to the Birmingham Policy academics examine the workings of research base provides a fertile Commissions. Its mission is ‘to whole public service systems as well resource for exploring the public generate new knowledge about offering expertise in specific areas service challenges presented by the society, and to transform this in ways including as citizen engagement and civic current policy context and economic that improve well-being.’ action, crime and community safety, climate. economic development, equality and The College has extensive expertise diversity, education, health and social in charting the changing shape and care, local government and welfare. nature of public services in a global context. Working with governments, The University also hosts the Third politicians, civil servants, Sector Research Centre which is professionals and communities to exploring the role of the community and Find out more about our work at generate new knowledge about how voluntary sectors and social enterprises www.birmingham.ac.uk to deliver better services with limited in redesigned systems of public service.
About Demos Demos is a think-tank focused on power and politics. Demos search for and communicate ideas to give people more power to shape their own lives. Demos’ vision is a democracy of free citizens, with an equal stake in society. Find out more about our work at www.demos.co.uk ‘WHEN ‘ TOMORROW COMES
Contact Audrey Nganwa University of Birmingham The future of local public services Birmingham B15 2TT
Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)121 415 1058 www.birmingham.ac.uk/policycommissions
College of Social Sciences University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham, Policy Commission In collaboration with Demos B15 2TT, United Kingdom
www.birmingham.ac.uk . The report
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