Cabinet Office

 
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DEC 2001

3. MODERNISING GOVERNMENT - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

3.1 You have accomplished more than you think

3.1.1 The White Paper has played an important role.  It has provided a framework which  helped give coherence to numerous departmental and public service initiatives, many of which were already underway.  It created momentum and helped managers and employees understand that they are not alone in the struggle to strengthen policy or modernise service delivery.

3.1.2 You have increased awareness about the need to bring policy development and service delivery closer together and to give them equal weight.  You have shifted the focus from providers to users, and from input to output and outcomes.

3.1.3 The White Paper and its elements are well known. Many departments have aligned their renewal efforts according to the five chapters.

3.1.4  As you prepare for the next phase, care will be needed to stay the Government agenda.  Otherwise, inadvertent change will cause confusion and lost momentum.

3.2 More is happening than you know

3.2.1  We found evidence of existing and promising reforms at all levels, in every organisation we spoke to. However, no one seems to have a comprehensive view of the scope and scale of the reforms that are currently underway. The Cabinet Office should take time out to visit public sector organisations and document some of the most promising initiatives.

3.2.2   We believe that you would be impressed by the results. It is important to recognise progress and celebrate success to sustain the commitment to ongoing reforms. Success breeds success.

3.3 There is a strong demand for your leadership and support

3.3.1 On this point, the Peer Review Team wants to be very clear. There is no demand for more monitoring, requests, directives, guidelines, papers, or processes. However, there is a strong demand for leadership, the kind of leadership which:

  • provides a clear sense of direction and helps bring cohesion;
  • brings partners together to shape and move the agenda forward;
  • captures and shares the knowledge and best practices;
  • tackles the issues which can only be tackled centrally; and
  • knows when to lead and when to rely on the strength of others.

3.3.2 There is a strong demand for leading by example.

3.4 The Cabinet Office must become a role model for the change agenda you are promoting

3.4.1 Actions speak louder than words. People expect you to be the kind of organisation you want the public service to become, and you to be models of what you want public servants to be.

3.5 You have more levers than you think - use them to the fullest

3.5.1 In a modern world, in a knowledge-based economy and society, the traditional levers of power such as the rule of Law and the power of the purse lose some of their effectiveness.

3.5.2 An organisation like the Cabinet Office must learn new ways to lead. One cannot "command" innovation or "control" creativity. Neither can one buy "breakthroughs" or "foresight".

3.5.3 Part of the authority of the Cabinet Office rests on its access to the Prime Minister. However, this privilege cannot be the only source of authority.

3.5.4 The "true" levers are to be found in the art of leadership:

  • the power to convene;
  • the power of ideas;
  • the power of initiative;
  • the ability to capture and share knowledge;
  • the ability to explain and to teach;
  • the ability to speak with one voice; and
  • the ability to bring in tune the different voices of the public service as a whole.

3.6 Joining up must start at the centre

3.6.1. Joining up is a mind-set and a culture. It is not a system or a structure. The concept of joining up recognises that no one has all the knowledge and resources, or controls all the levers to bring about sustainable solutions to complex issues.

3.6.2 The key to joined-up government is to learn about shared purpose, teamwork, partnerships and building relationships. Joined-up organisations are built around the knowledge and know-how of people. This differs from the organisational model of the past which was built around tasks, units and titles.

3.6.3 The Cabinet Office does not currently operate as a fully joined-up organisation.

Joining up would be strengthened by:

  • the ministerial team working overtly to guide the Modernising Government programme;
  • a seamless Cabinet Office; and
  • a joined-up centre with Number 10 and the Treasury.

3.6.4  A failure to join up at any level should not be seen as a justification to working in isolation at other levels.

3.7 A critical junction

3.7.1 The Peer Review Team believes that the next few years will be critical:

  • for the overall success of the reform agenda;
  • for the evolution of the Cabinet Office; and
  • for the role civil servants will be called upon to play in the future.

3.7.2  We strongly feel that the Cabinet Office is an institution in transition. Not of the past, as it is taking on new roles and responsibilities, but not yet of the future.

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