10 Steps To Transformation

3. Search for solutions where you don't expect to find them

Ruth Puttick - 27.10.2010

Cuts of an unprecedented scale require radical new thinking of the resources available.

We’ve made the case for radical reform, but with local services facing budget cuts of 20% or more, where do you find cheaper, better solutions that meet the scale of the challenge that our public services face?

Radical Efficiency is one approach gaining recognition by offering local authorities and government real, credible ways of delivering much better public services at lower cost. Rather than tweaking existing services, it is about finding genuinely new insights and perspectives on problems to generate new innovative solutions. Rethinking the challenges in your service creates a shift in how these should be approached and the resources available for you to tackle them.

Looking beyond the ‘usual suspects’ and outside your field of reference to broaden who is involved in problem solving will garner new perspectives on the challenge. This approach - known as Open Innovation - is commonly used in the private sector where companies throw open their innovation challenges to a wide audience, but it is still gaining momentum in the public sector. 

This approach can lead to radical partnerships across sectors. Take staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital, for example, who worked with a Formula 1 team to adopt their approach to managing activity in pit stops to moving dangerously ill patients out of an operating theatre. Or at Southwark Council where a partnership with Participle, Sky TV and Department for Work and Pensions has enabled Southwark to better understand the needs of older people and their families, tailoring services better towards what users want and need. 

We’ve seen enormous value in adopting an open innovation approach with staff. As part of our work with health services, we’ve found that frontline staff – who can be closer to the user experience of services - can tailor delivery to what people need, achieving better, cheaper outcomes. Transferring power and responsibility to staff is crucial. Kent County Council, for instance, demand innovation from every staff member and distribute ‘pledge cards’ to spell out their roles as innovators.

You don’t have to come up with all the answers.  Sustainable public services will be those that draw upon the experiences of staff, users, communities, and beyond, to effectively redesign delivery. Now is the time to investigate what solutions are out there.