Geoff's blog

Can government think long-term?

Geoff Mulgan - 19.01.2012

I appeared recently in front of the Public Administration Select Committee, chaired by Bernard Jenkin.  PASC has long been one of the most thoughtful parliamentary committees and is now continuing its inquiry into strategy, and asking some good, probing questions about government's ability to handle the long-term. 

My view is that it's pretty vital for government to be as systematic in dealing with medium to long-term issues as in handling day to day political and media crises. Generally the countries doing best in the world are also ones that do this better - though the patterns aren't simple.  That means consistency - on things like education, infrastructures, investing in science - but also agility when crises hit or conditions change. 

The UK model of a central strategy team, half made up of insiders, working on projects, and coming up with implementable recommendations rather than just reports, has been emulated around the world.  It's a shame the new government decided in the end to close it down.  

It seems to take new governments a few years to realise how much they need serious strategy. In the first year or two, they tend to rely on intuition, manifesto commitments, or the belief that political strategy is all that matters.

Then they come to realise they need, not just a few big strategic hunches, but also the ability to translate that into middle level plans for everything from the NHS to borders.  So watch this space. My guess is that we'll see some kind of strategy function being recreated in 2013/14.