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Theme : public_services
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People, collaboration and public choice
Anyone else watch Adam Curtis's film The Trap on the BBC the other night? I really enjoyed the way that it nailed public choice theory - essentially the assumption that we tend to compete rather than collaborative, to be selfish rather than altruistic. One result is the kind of inspection, incentive and market based reforms we've seen in public services over the past decade. And while it's produced results, that approach very clearly has not delivered the kind of transformation the public...
from : simonparker
14th March 2007
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The Collaborative State
Demos and the Innovation Unit are hosting a panel discussion to launch The Collaborative State, a new Demos publication. Building on its predecessor The Adaptive State, it is a collection of cutting-edge essays and case studies from leading international practitioners and scholars. Presenting insights and lessons of inter-organisational collaboration around the world, it offers a valuable addition to the debate on emerging trends in government.
from : peterharrington
12th March 2007
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If this is the future, can I go back to the 1970s?
I was at the Guardian public services summit yesterday listening to people like Phillip Bobbitt, Gus O'Donnell and a surprisingly good Michael Gove speaking about the future of government. Lots of talk of markets states, enabling states, commissioning and 'transformation' - a word so abused in government that it's rapidly becoming meaningless.Ever since I left the event last night I've been under a cloud of doom. For some reason I can't quite put my finger on, I know their future isn't one I...
from : simonparker
26th January 2007
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The Case for a National Security Strategy
The Case for a National Security Strategy While the British Government continues to focus on, and direct resources to counter-terrorism, the UK faces a broad spectrum of complex and interrelated threats at home and abroad. The challenges of serious and organised crime, WMD proliferation, pandemics, natural and man-made disasters, as well as failed states, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, demand an increasingly joined-up approach from the British government’s security architecture. An...
from : charlieedwards
13th January 2007
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Gerry'll fix it
Can Gerry Robinson, one time chairman of Granada, management guru, and Labour donor fix the NHS? Find out tonight in the first part of this new series on BBC at 9pm.
from : charlieedwards
8th January 2007
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Who'd win a fight between a Fabian and a social entrepreneur?
The public service battle lines are being drawn... by Charles Clarke of all people. Apparently the real battle in the Labour party is between 'traditional Fabians' and 'social entrepreneurs'. The former still believe the central state is the best way of securing equity and improving lives. The latter think that local freedom and engagement are the better route.Clarke was obviously playing politics with his lecture yesterday - the example he gives of Fabian reform is the working families tax...
from : simonparker
6th September 2006
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Pensions, risk and the social contract
It's hardly original to argue that we're entering an age of greater risk. From employment to healthcare, the trend is towards less certainty and greater individual responsibility. But if this is a renegotiation of the social contract, shouldn't individuals be demanding a little more in return? Shouldn't the payoff for greater risk be greater control over our lives and communities?I started thinking about this because of pension reform. The Turner commission's idea is to create a new...
from : simonparker
14th August 2006
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1997 and all that
Not that I'm addicted to the net or anything, but I read Tom's valedictory Guardian piece at home last night on the mighty Comment is Free. What strikes me most about this site is the way it's become a home for people who REALLY hate Blair's Labour. The problem with that attitude, as with the general liberal melancholia about Blair, is that it tends to manifest itself in a generalised sense of failure. Not only has Labour failed to live up to its promise, and not only has it made some awful...
from : simonparker
8th August 2006
