The current UK government has made much of procurement, outsourcing and commercial acumen as a means to deliver significant cost savings to support their deficit reduction plans. However, although there has been success on cost reduction, no strategic vision or delivery blueprint has been issued to define how the private and not-for-profit sectors can support the radical transformation of public service delivery.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it - and now is the opportunity to change government delivery. Government must define the vision and service delivery blueprint to lead a radical transformation of government services.
Understand the role of the private sector in public provision
There is now a real opportunity to fundamentally re-define the role of private provision of public service delivery. Currently there is no general understanding of what the 'Big Society' is, nor is there a universally agreed definition of a front-line service. Therefore it is difficult for the private and not-for-profit sectors to be able to fully support radical transformation and greater efficiencies within government.
We have seen the consequences of not defining and explaining the boundary and hence failing to get acceptance by citizens. Suffolk County Council’s1 virtual council strategy has been scaled back and recent Cabinet Office leaks2 have suggested that wholesale outsourcing will be reduced because of an actual or perceived public backlash.
As proposed in our article Big Society, Bold State changes to the architecture of the state are necessary to make the Big Society a reality. Such definition will allow for a proper understanding of the type of market needed and provide the best opportunity for service providers to propose innovative solutions within a clear framework. It will also give a focus for public servants to allow them to better understand career paths and skills that will be of long term value.
Establishing a service delivery blueprint
Once the role of private provision is decided, the detailed blueprint of how, and indeed who, will deliver the services must be developed. Interesting delivery models are already being used across government, for example National Savings and Investments is taking on the management of the Ministry of Justice’s court funds transactions3. However, these examples are isolated and without an overarching blueprint there is a risk of sub-optimal service delivery, confusion over delivery responsibility and a perception of government being fragmented.
A joined-up blueprint should consider how each type of provider, be they public, mutual, private or not-for-profit sector, will be contracted to deliver. This includes making sure that the terms of the engagement are appropriate to the provider and which risks government should retain, either for value for money reasons or to support policy objectives. The blueprint would guide and drive improvements in how procurement is organised how to procure more swiftly and how to drive sustainable procurement. Just as importantly, the blueprint should consider how in-house service provision will be structured. Formalising this on the same basis as external provision - with clear obligations and responsibilities, delivery structures and performance measures - will allow departments to demonstrate value for money and provide contestability.
Creating service delivery leadership
To make coherent service delivery happen every organisation needs a service delivery leader at the top of the organisation. This role must be accountable for end-to-end service delivery and manage the commercial relationships, (either Memorandum of Understanding or contractual). In our experience, commercial directors are starting to assume this role as they already have the required skills. Their commercial acumen means they are able to free suppliers to deliver more and better without loss of control and ensure that service delivery is maintained.
However, the challenge in augmenting the commercial director’s role is that they do not typically sit upon departmental boards and therefore restructuring is required to give them authority and accountability to deliver effectively.
Understanding what needs to be achieved is only the beginning. As government starts to implement this approach it will need to consider how to radically improve its acquisition process, how to engage the market and significantly augment its skill base to fully realise the transformation.
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