The Public Service Transformation Academy

RedQuadrant-produced infographics: Our Vision for the Future | The Heritage Council

Here are six infographics we are proud to have produced with The Heritage Council Ireland! If you need similar work, drop me a line: natasa.sears@redquadrant.com https://lnkd.in/d4sVS58S

LG Inform LG Inform is the Local Government Association's data benchmarking tool for councils and the public. We are delighted to share the newest LG Inform Report on digital inclusion: this report provides an overview of digital inclusion and exclusion in a local authority area. Read more here: https://buff.ly/3P607cq

We are really looking forward to hosting our first conference in London in just under two months focusing on systems innovation in the public sector in collaboration with Si London Hub. The lineup of speakers is taking shape, take a look at this slide to see who is coming. You can find full event info and booking here: https://lnkd.in/ezzistvx Mariell Juhlin Isaac Reilly Toby Lowe Rowan Conway Maarten Lens-FitzGerald Joss Colchester Florian Schwendinger Benjamin P. Taylor Karen den Hertog Louis Klein Dr Rachel Lilley John Mortimer Tim Hobbs About the event: Systems Innovation Public Sector Conference will be a unique in-person one-day gathering for systems thinkers, innovators, and change-makers in the public sector taking place in London on Feb 14th.     Through a combination of presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and open spaces hosted by people working on systems innovation in the public sector, the event offers the opportunity to connect, discuss, and learn about the state of systems innovation in government today. Who should join     The conference is for anyone working in or around government at all levels from local to national to international and across all departments for you to learn about a new set of ideas and approaches for tackling wicked challenges, while also making valuable new connections.     This event is hosted by the Si Governance and London hub as we believe these "systems approach" now offer huge potential for really changing the way we do things in the public sector at a scale relevant to the most significant challenges we face as civil servants.

A refreshed curriculum: four learning outcomes and seven capabilities for systems change In 2017, the first School of System Change Basecamp, a deep dive into the foundations of systems change practice, designed to stimulate five capabilities for systems change. Read more here:

Local Government Association - Strengthening adult social care and support for us all A group of over 100 organisations set out the need for the government to work with the sector to mitigate the pressures on councils, providers and charities. Find out more here:

So we're discussing serious local government reform in 2024. There's a new White Paper out. It's a rational, forward-looking document that cites #innovation and #leadership, that seems to be the culmination of Treasury's century-long campaign to 'make local government make sense' (to it), and is laser-focused on removing planning obstructions as 'barriers to growth'. There are some good ideas, and some ideas that seem like good ideas. If you've ever read 'Seeing Like A State', it's the perfect example of the authorities clearing away the rich dense thick forests and planting 'normalbaum', standardised trees at standardised distances in rows that are easy to assess for quantity of wood for taxation. And Conway's Law reads thus: “Any organization that designs a system… will inevitably produce a design whose structure is a copy of the organization’s communication structure.” __ There are many good arguments to be had about efficiency, representation, mayors, subsidiarity, trust. But now is not the time to have them. Because councils, and the good folk within them, are barely holding on; without quiet bailouts and frantic work behind the scenes, dozens would have declared insolvency already. Those with #socialcare responsibilities are focused only on them and the associated finances. Districts and Boroughs are doing really interesting actual place-based work. The broken NHS, supposedly spared from another shake-up, is currently working hard to align with current structures. All at a time when energy and resources are already stretched to breaking point. What's needed is breathing room, recovery time, life support and rehabilitation. Not for the real local costs—political, financial, human—to be swept under the rug, as if disruption itself were a strategy. And then, a gentle rewilding, to listen to the call of #relationalpublicservices, for adaptive services that truly meet local needs. Who truly benefits from these neat, standardised patterns imposed on messy, human places? If we keep designing power structures that assume local priorities are a nuisance to be removed, then what exactly are we empowering? And still, it seems nobody is focused the real costs of all this: money, political capital, and, above all, time and energy that might have gone on more urgent, basics-first fixes. This isn't rearranging deckchairs, it's replacing all the hull panels on the Titanic. I'm ready - not with despair, not with hope, but with determination - to roll up my sleeves with those who make it through, to make it work, to bring out the best, to adapt. I'm a consultant - and consultants will do well from this. But it could be otherwise - we could be having an appreciative conversation based on understanding local government and helping it to meet the needs of local people.

Human Learning Systems and Relational Public Service The Human Learning System Collaborative are delighted to invite you to an exclusive in person event hosted by the Policy Evaluation & Research Unit (PERU) at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Find out more here:

Back from the brink: radical ideas for sustainable local finances - REFORM https://buff.ly/3D8vmAS And excellent Twitter thread here https://buff.ly/4fehD91

Commissioning - Solving our costly care commissioning mistake Reforms to the care commissioning and procurement system have failed and now need a major overhaul, says Richard Selwyn, service director children’s commissioning at Somerset Council. Read more here: https://buff.ly/4gJ4Tsf