Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

More documents

Recommendations

Info

3. Take-off or tail-off?: the future ofthe programmeIn May 2007, the Civil Service Steering Board (CSSB) commissioned a team fromthe Sunningdale Institute to evaluate the Capability Reviews programme, analysewhat had been achieved so far and make suggestions for how to build on theprogramme to deliver the next stage of Civil Service reform.The evaluation said that the Capability Reviews programme has made a good startand that:‘Few previous attempts to reform the Civil Service, and none where the leadershipcame from within the Civil Service rather than being politically-driven, have hadsuch a good start.’It also warned that the gains made so far could slip away without committed actionand follow-up.Whilst the evaluation is independent, the team involved its clients (CSSB and thewider group of permanent secretaries) at key points in the project, not least toensure that the findings resonated with those who will be charged with acting onthem. This engagement has meant that some of the recommendations are alreadybeing acted upon; in other cases, the Civil Service is still considering how best totake them forward.With the strong sense of ownership that the evaluation has generated amongst thegroup of permanent secretaries across the Civil Service comes the expectation thatthey will act on its findings. Therefore the evaluation team will take stock of theprogress that has been made after a suitable period of time – probably six months –and report back to the Cabinet Secretary.The recommendations of the evaluation form two groups:• those designed to sustain momentum and strengthen the short- to medium-termimpetus of reform; and• more far-reaching recommendations designed to catalyse a more profoundchange in how the Civil Service delivers by introducing dynamic capabilities.Within these two broad headings, recommendations ranged from strategic reforms toprocess changes.Sustaining momentumThe evaluation found that a good start has been made and that, whilst the CivilService reform is not in danger of ‘going backwards’, there is a risk that the gainsmade by the programme will ‘tail off’ if momentum is not maintained. The figureopposite, reproduced from the evaluation report, sets this out.58 TAKE-OFF OR TAIL-OFF?: THE FUTURE OF THE PROGRAMME
Exhibit 3: Change trajectoriesCapability Reviews have generated forward momentum for change.Extentof changeCurrent trajectory:keep goingTail offSprint(Capability Review)‘You are here’Go backwardsPiecemeal changeTimeSource: Take-off or Tail-off? (Sunningdale Institute Evaluation)In order to sustain momentum, the evaluation recommended action in two areas:• the ‘vertical’ dimension within departments; and• the ‘horizontal’ dimension on cross-cutting issues and common capability gaps.Reforming the centreAn effective Whitehall centre is essential to delivering either of these dimensions.The evaluation recommended that the Cabinet Office should focus on developingthree key capabilities:• knowledge capture and transfer: a small and highly expert central unit couldprovide the infrastructure for knowledge transfer;• overcoming common capability gaps: a centre of excellence withunderstanding of the gaps and the capacity to source solutions; and• talent management: much better resourcing of the corporate capability to findthe right people for the right place.The Cabinet Office Capability Review painted a similar picture and the CabinetOffice is already taking action in response. Chapter 2 of this report has bothdemonstrated that there is significant scope for better knowledge capture andtransfer and also set out a picture of real but uneven progress in overcomingcommon capability gaps. Whilst some progress has been made, for exampleCAPABILITY REVIEWS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS59
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 and 44: The recent CSR has emphasised the i
Page 45 and 46: At six months after the review:•
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: • The Sunningdale Institute facil
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
show all

Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?