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Archive for February, 2012

Widening the lens on public services

Fri 24th Feb 2012No Comments »

A new project at the RSA looks at how the UK can learn from public services in the developing world, many of whom face similar pressures. Henry Kippin outlines its scope and invites readers to get engaged.

The politics of debt looms large in the mind of policymakers. Fiscal rectitude trumps social spending.  International financial institutions argue that the state is too big and that public spending must be cut back. Over-arching frameworks for public service reform are struggling to change the day-to-day reality of a fundamental mismatch between social demand and fiscal resources. Doing more with less is mandatory, particularly at a local level, where NGOs and community-based organisations are being asked to do more to build the resilience and mobilise the latent capacity of communities.

Public services – long the preserve of an allegedly inefficient and overly-bureaucratic state – are being reshaped through decentralisation, multi-sector delivery chains and an injection of private capital.  Citizens are politically aware and media-savvy, yet have low expectations of the ability of their government to transform social outcomes for the better in their lifetimes.  Are we describing the UK? Somewhere in Europe? Asia? Africa? It is hard to tell.  (more…)

In need of marriage counselling

Mon 20th Feb 20121 Comment »

The Millennium Development Goals will remain an impossible dream unless local governance is wedded to better global stewardship, argues Philip Monaghan FRSA.

‘Eco cities’, urban ‘place-making’, and the ‘big society’; what do these things have in common? The answer is they are all concepts of sustainable settlements (low carbon, more equal and prosperous living) that are likely to be doomed to failure. But why? Because these concepts are based on local self-determination and this remains fragile if not connected to resolving trans-national governance problems ranging from reform of the international banking system through to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Vice versa, global efforts to move beyond GDP as the primary measure of development or to adapt to climate change can be undermined by weak local leadership.

Seminal thinking over the past four decades from Schumacher’s  Small is Beautiful (in the 1970′s) to Resilient Planet, Resilient People by the recent UN High-Level Panel Global on Sustainability have gone some way to highlighting the point, without quite being able to square this circle.The bottom line is that we live in a complex and interconnected world. Opting-out of the system at the household or national level is simply not a viable option.

Take for instance, the proliferation of credit unions or other alternative forms of responsible lending that aim to help regenerate poor neighbourhoods. These communities are not insulated from the failings of global market mechanisms. If we do not reign in the credit ratings agencies, as a first step towards sorting out the financial ecosystem, then firms like Moody’s, Fitch and S&P will still have the power to make nations go bust. When they downgrade the credit worthiness of countries like Italy and the United States, the cost of borrowing goes up. This slows the pace of recovery from the recession, but more than this it hurts the poor the most. (more…)

The Innovation Partnership Paradox

Fri 17th Feb 2012No Comments »

Most organisations do not practice what they preach when it comes to partnerships and collaborations. Andrew Armour FRSA asks why this paradox exists and how can it be overcome.

The latest General Electric Innovation Barometer  found that 80 percent of top executives agree their organisations need to innovate differently and 86 percent say that partnerships and collaboration are the key to this. Yet there is a ‘partnership paradox’: only 21 percent are practicing what they preach.  A year earlier the 2011 Barometer highlighted the importance of local small businesses, local community and partnerships as the key elements of innovation.

Beth Comstock, GE’s Global Chief Marketing Officer stated in Harvard Business Review that she sees collaboration as the most vital part of her senior marketer’s role; leading from the front, focusing activity on building alliances, research partnerships and exploring connections across industries.

For Comstock the heart of innovation is all about partnership and collaboration. Large businesses need to partner with SME’s, entrepreneurs, think tanks, innovation centers and industry allies. They need to be open and build long-term relationships that give them an advantage; a collaborative advantage. The Barometer research, which was conducted across cultures and industries shows that executives acknowledge that partnerships are vital. (more…)

Closing the gap on manufacturing

Wed 1st Feb 20124 Comments »

MPs, economists and academics are largely ill-informed when it comes to the issue of design for manufacturing. Given the importance of manufacturing to economic recovery, Peter Mucci FRSA argues for a new approach.

Despite the fact that the modern world relies heavily on manufactured goods from domestic products to telecommunications, IT, energy, transport and defence, politicians seem to ignore them as a huge driver in society.

It is astonishing that a government thinks it can function effectively when virtually none of the 650 MPs – and most civil servants and advisors – have qualifications relating to manufacturing. It is perhaps not surprising that we have seen a string of failures of large state-managed engineering systems.

The long-term aim should be to increase the number of qualified engineers in parliament and Whitehall. In the shorter-term those MPs and officials who are directly involved in departments where technology plays an important role should be kept up to date with industrial practice using continuous professional development (CPD) as is commonplace in industry. (more…)