Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

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The Tranche 3 report identified the following areas for focus:Managing againstprioritiesEffective performancemanagementStrategy to deliveryGetting the basics rightSetting clear priorities and then managing against them,taking tough decisions to stop programmes wherenecessary and allocating resources consistently topriority areasEffective performance management driven by the boardand embedded throughout the organisation and deliverychainTurning the department’s strategy into effectively realiseddelivery and consistently ensuring that delivery plans arealigned to meet strategic objectivesConsistent application of project managementdisciplines, from planning to benefits realisation; a cultureof continuous improvement and sharing and embeddingbest practiceHigh-level view of progress on delivery and performanceThe Capability Reviews painted a picture of good practice in some areas, but notsystematically applied. The abilities to prioritise effectively and to turn effectivestrategy making into actual delivery both require a strong grasp of strategy. ‘Gettingthe basics right’ means a rigorous application of good practice, consistent sharingof learning and an ability not to be blown off course by events. Departments havefound this a challenging area in which to make progress. However, Senior CivilServants are clear that Capability Reviews are helping to move their departmentsforward:• 63 per cent thought the Capability Review was quite or very effective in ensuringthat the department knows how well it is performing; and• 31 per cent identified changes in strategic planning, including:‘more clarity in the corporate business planning process, disseminating theresults to everybody – hence a clear link between everybody’s jobs and thepriorities of the department’‘We have a whole new business planning framework.’Positive progress we are seeing includes:At three months after the review:• Developing an action plan for improving performance management informationand redrafting the vision and strategy to focus on outcomes for customers (CPS).44 COMMON CAPABILITY GAPS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS
At six months after the review:• A corporate business plan setting out a ‘top 20’ list of priorities, circulated to allstaff; strengthened business planning and balanced scorecard; strong financialmanagement and a clear ‘line of sight’ from the top priorities to individualperformance (BERR/Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)).Case study: Planning and prioritising in BERR‘BERR implemented a completely new business planning framework for 2007/08,with the goal of achieving greater clarity on the department’s role, objectives andkey priorities. The result was a new Corporate Plan that was acclaimed as a modelby the non-executive members of the department’s management board.The BERR Corporate Plan sets out the department’s overall purpose, high-levelobjectives and strategic context. From these flow the top priorities, main deliverablesand key risks for the year, and these are clearly linked to the department’s resourcesand structure. An important innovation was the development of a departmental ‘top20’ list of priorities. The management board was heavily involved in the developmentof this list and it forms the main focus of their in-year reviews of delivery.Underpinning the Corporate Plan is a series of group plans, which follow thecorporate model and set out in more detail each group’s objectives, priorities andresources.The Corporate Plan and group plans were the subject of extensive internalcommunications activity, including a flyer sent to all staff, explaining the plans andhow to use them, and team-by-team discussions examining how their workcontributes to the group plans and Corporate Plan. Each member of staff should beable to see how their individual objectives feed up through team and groupobjectives to the departmental objectives set out in the Corporate Plan.The new plan is the subject of rigorous performance reviews during the year. Themanagement board reviews key risks and the ‘top 20’ by exception on a monthlybasis and conducts a full review of departmental performance each quarter.This is underpinned by a new and more extensive series of half-yearly three-tierperformance reviews. First, each director general reviews the teams in their groups,and then the Permanent Secretary reviews the performance of each group. Theheadlines of these performance reviews are communicated to all staff so they canfeed through to individual performance.BERR will be looking to further develop this model next year. Its next plan will bestructured around the department’s new strategic objectives and will provide moredetailed information on the deployment of resources to actions and objectives.’CAPABILITY REVIEWS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS45
Page 1 and 2: Capability Reviews:Progress and Nex
Page 3 and 4: This has been an excellent example
Page 5 and 6: 1. Tranche 1 departments: a year on
Page 7 and 8: Department for Children, Schools an
Page 9 and 10: This will act as an innovative and
Page 11 and 12: • ‘Managing for improvement’:
Page 13 and 14: Home OfficeStarting from a low base
Page 15 and 16: Department’s wider agenda. Develo
Page 17 and 18: Ministry of JusticeThe MoJ was crea
Page 19 and 20: A number of significant programmes
Page 21 and 22: 2. Common capability gaps: progress
Page 23 and 24: later tranches have not been able t
Page 25 and 26: or hinder it:‘lack of leadership
Page 27 and 28: All of these aspects came together
Page 29 and 30: Case study: Collective leadership i
Page 31 and 32: • Engaging the wider SCS. This is
Page 33 and 34: Participants’ comments included:
Page 35 and 36: Consequently, the areas of focus su
Page 37 and 38: Building up the supply and demand s
Page 39 and 40: Case study: Development work with d
Page 41 and 42: Case study: A skills strategy for g
Page 43: The recent CSR has emphasised the i
Page 47 and 48: Our challenge now is to ensure that
Page 49 and 50: • a more comprehensive approach t
Page 51 and 52: The Tranche 3 report identified the
Page 53 and 54: Case study: The Home Office Strateg
Page 55 and 56: The group is expanding to include l
Page 57 and 58: • The Sunningdale Institute facil
Page 59 and 60: Exhibit 3: Change trajectoriesCapab
Page 61 and 62: original reviews. The re-review wil
Page 63 and 64: Departments increasingly have to wo
Page 65 and 66: LeadershipKey questions that test c
Page 67 and 68: DeliveryKey questions that test cur
Page 69: Capability Reviews TeamCabinet Offi

Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

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