It feels like a long time ago I used this column to launch our iESE consultation with councils on a single model for transformation. Yet here we are, just a few weeks from the culmination of more than a year’s debate among authorities.
‘From Surviving to Thriving’ was, at that point, little more than the combined thinking of our consultants, following more than a decade of supporting, overseeing and immersing themselves in various council transformation projects.
Now, 18 months later, we have seen it snowball into a real tool for change, and a lever for authorities to talk about and share best practice. It has occupied centre stage at The MJ’s events such as the Future Forum and has filled the pages of The MJ magazine on more than one occasion.
The model seemed to catch the mood of authorities; with cuts coming faster than even the most prepared of authorities could have imagined, the notion of a single framework we can all use to compare and contrast transformation activity was widely welcomed.
We spent 12 months talking to councils in the end – from qualitative discussions at The MJ Future Forum and other events, to quantitative data gained through an online survey of around 100 authorities.
Last year we published the revised model based on the consultation outcomes, and supported by evidence from our own datasets and case studies. Next month, we will reach the end of the ‘Surviving to Thriving’ process, with the final paper showcasing all the case studies and projects which have driven the model.
Publication of the case studies is an important milestone – it is what separates us from other consultancies. Publishing the data, projects and outcomes from the transformations that drove the model means the framework is publicly available and useable by all councils – from the methodology and the input from authorities which shaped the model, through to the individual case studies on shared services, combined authority and commercialising services.
That’s why we created it – to support the sector and showcase cutting edge transformation projects, but to do it in a more collaborative, sector-led way.
We’re already working with authorities on implementation plans for the model, so I hope the journey is far from over for the 3R approach.
Andrew Larner is iESE chief executive
Web: iese.org.uk Twitter: @ieseltd
This column is brought to you by iESE The public sector transformation parnter
Want full article access?
Receive The MJ magazine each week and gain access to all the content on this website with a subscription.
Full website content includes additional, exclusive commentary and analysis on the issues affecting local government.
Already a subscriber? Login
