Service Transformation Needs A Single Vision
By Robin Morrison, Chief Executive, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council
 

Britain's local authorities have made step changes in modernising services and delivering cost efficiencies in the last decade. But councils are already raising their sights. They are now building a common purpose with trusted partners as they start to fulfill the Government's vision of services based around the citizen: the service transformation agenda.

 While local authorities were once function-driven and risk averse, adjusting services incrementally over time, they are now readily accepting real change. They are remodeling and broadening local community services. They are harnessing online and social media tools to better communicate with residents. Increasingly, authorities are putting greater resources into understanding and acting on local residents' changing needs and lifestyles. Our lives are being ever more influenced by globalisation, changing employment models, and the online world is delivering new lifestyle choices. As a result, customers have 24/7 needs and councils can't act in isolation any more.
 
Remodelling the way authorities deliver services so radically is a massive challenge but the rise of a unified, inclusive approach to the way we and our suppliers deliver services, is starting to bring striking results.  Britain's local government is moving towards larger administrative areas (unitary authorities) and planning service through regionally-focused multi-organisation partnerships. Councils are realizing wider strategic plans and working more openly and collaboratively with other public bodies - such as health trusts, police forces and fire services - as well as trusted private sector partners and the third sector, to transform services and minimise the risks of doing so.
These different partner organisations are building a shared vision of success, agreeing plans that will improve community services and quality of life and then working with organisations to identify the critical steps for achieving them. The building of trusted relationships is a demanding and complicated process, but we are seeing progress towards customer-focused local plans with a much clearer view of local needs and a common purpose to achieve it, than ever before.

The change agenda is having a massive operational impact at local level. Aware that local government has to provide services on a business footing, with streamlined processes and knowing the cost of what we deliver, Blaenau Gwent, with the support of Civica, is building corporate-wide service transformation that reaches across all our operations. Our resources and financing are now being planned in longer 3 year cycles, instead of the 12 months 'closed book' mindset of before.  This multi-year transformation programme will streamline services and generate at least £1.1 million in efficiency savings. More will follow.

We also recognise that fundamental to the delivery of this agenda is the need to prepare and develop our people differently. Future success will increasingly come down to the ability of all our employees to become innovators and for them to be able to take responsibility for designing solutions that make improvements to service delivery. Working alongside partners from the University of Glamorgan we have begun to do this by introducing what some have described as a radical programme. This begins by challenging the traditional role of managers and sets out the values and competencies needed to provide a new kind of leadership in the modern work environment. This combination ensures that our programme of business transformation is sustainable and will be delivered successfully.  
 
Transformation at Blaenau and other Welsh authorities is succeeding because of strong vision and support from all sides - councilors, officers and customers - on what we need. That common purpose also includes encouragement from the Welsh Assembly, which sets the overall vision but crucially, leaves us to deliver the detail, as it understands the operational constraints we work under.  

We're at an early stage on this journey of change, but we now have a clear vision of success and the practical steps to take to achieve it. It's important to note though that, in reality, change is never ending, however the rewards to be achieved on this journey outweigh the risks that change can bring.

The time for councils to drive through change is now.