OPM

An OPM public services briefing paper by Clive Miller. Personalisation aims to allow people to live fuller lives by giving people control, rather than treating them as passive consumers. This requires redesigning services to support what people and their social networks can do for themselves.This briefing outlines what will be required to make the most of what personalisation can offer.

An OPM public interest briefing by Catherine Staite. Efficiency – which usually means ‘more for less’ – has been a constant theme in the public sector for the past five or six years. Many approaches have been taken, including outsourcing services, sharing services, restructuring and de-layering, integrating services and organisations, and reducing or increasing charges for services. In this briefing, Catherine Staite argues that while there are still opportunities for making further savings in local public services by improving the way that local partners ‘buy’ and ‘do’, opportunities for much greater savings lie in changing the way in which partners work together to deliver ‘change’ for individuals, families and communities. It draws on OPM’s research and the work we do with clients to improve efficiency in holistic and sustainable ways.

This public service briefing by Sue Goss looks at how to use public policy to influence people to help promote positive outcomes. It argues that: you need to understand the reasons behind people’s behaviour and the role emotions play in our motivation. It discusses the role of frontline staff whose own behaviour establishes the nature of the relationship people have with public agencies. And it argues that an organisation talking with citizens about behaviour change needs a pro-active, curious culture, set from the top.

This public service briefing by Lesley Campbell looks at how the current recession is exacerbating the dilemmas that public sector leaders face. It argues that leaders need to create the potential for service commissioners, providers and users to work in different and more effective ways to enhance well-being. Leaders need to ‘read’ themselves, others and the environment in order to make appropriate choices about how best to deploy their leadership energy and skills. Public value is underpinned by a strong sense of purpose, legitimacy, improved value and creative decisions about capacity. Leadership is built on relationships. Leaders need to continue their investment in leadership development throughout their organisations, partnerships and communities.

In this public service briefing, Hilary Thompson examines the relevance of employee or user ownership for public services of the future. The paper argues that the potential benefits are: motivating employees; increasing productivity and innovation; and making performance more resilient and services more responsive to users and communities. But one size will not fit all. The national and local system would need to create an environment that accommodates new models and to learn how best to do this. For new organisations, key issues will be choosing an appropriate and good-quality model, culture change, strong leadership and the ability to take a longer-term view.