This presentation summarises what local councils might do to achieve more major innovations, more quickly. It is based on the findings from the Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project.
5. Local government examples
Annual
magic
festival
Pay on
mobile
Report
rubbish
on
mobile
Portable
traffic
lights
App for
tourists
Local
forums
New ways
of avoiding
potholes
Dementia
friendly
cafes
Elected
Youth
Council
Community
run libraries
Residentsâ
personal
computer links
Publish data
for open use
Community
volunteers
mentoring
unemployed
Older
peoplesâ
mutual
support
âcirclesâ
Building low
carbon
homes
Social
enterprises
Shared
services
âTell Us
Onceâ
Personal
budgets
Private
sector
partnerships
Contact
centres
Integrating
assessments
Co-operative
Council
Childfriendly city
Community
budgets
Interagency
working
Tele-care
Councilowned
private
company
8. Taking A
Strategic
Approach to
Innovation
Politicians set the
strategic context for
innovation
Senior & middle
managers lead for
innovation
Frontline managers &
employees are engaged
in key innovations
Effective innovation delivery
mechanisms
10. Council Leaders
âThe first conversation
has to be with your
community about âwhat
do we want this place to
look like?â Then you
build your innovation
priorities.â
âThere is no point in
attempting to
innovate if you
have no idea what
your vision is.â
âYou need a picture of
the future. Where are
the finances of the
country & local
government going.â
âYou canât do
everything at once.
You have to
understand the
capacity of your
organisation for
change.â
12. Employeesâ
views
âUse our
resources
more
flexiblyâ
âWe need
more time &
resources to
make things
happenâ
âBuild in time to
discuss innovation in
team meetingsâ
âWe need
more
opportunities
to come up
with ideasâ
âPeople need
time & space
to come
together &
develop their
ideasâ
âGive staff
more time
to be
creativeâ
âPeople at
the top need
to throw their
weight
behind good
ideasâ
âIf we are
overstretched
we canât
innovateâ
âCarve out
the space
for
creativityâ
âWe need
an
innovation
fundâ
âWe have
the ideas,
but not the
time to
implement
themâ
13. Build a bold, united, leadership
approach to innovation
14. âYou will leap to a âeurekaâ
moment, and you will
assume that everyone has
understood it with you. You
have got to take them
through the same process.
And that takes time.â
Council
leaders
âI have been leader for 8
years. I understand the
importance of building
consensus, particularly
political consensus in my
group. Otherwise I am
never going to get
anything through.â
16. âThe old senior
managers used
to be all glossâ
Employees
âThe new chief
exec is very
positive, he wants
to change thingsâ
âNow we feel
that we are in
this togetherâ
âThere is a
corporate
drive to
encourage
innovationâ
âSenior
managers are
open & up
frontâ
âThe vision is
vague: we need
a clearer
directionâ
âWe need more
feedback on
progress, savings
achievedâ
âSenior
managers
need to be
honest, get rid
of spinâ
âWe need top
down reminders
of why we are
doing what we
are doingâ
âWe would like
to see the chief
executive
moreâ
17. Create the organisational
climate for innovation
âInnovation is often understood
as a mysterious fringe practice by
geeks. What we are about is
trying to create an eco-system,
and the DNA of innovation, as a
daily part of the way the
organisation organises itself to
deliver.â
Kersten England City of York
Chief Executive, October 2013
18. Employees
âWe need
more
proactive
managersâ
âManagers
need a new
attitude to riskâ
âAgreeing
targets helps
you to organise
& prioritiseâ
âIt helps when
managers
encourage you
to think outside
the boxâ
âManagers are too
âManagers here
complacent, need
encourage you
to look outside
to have a goâ
moreâ
âIt helps when
managers
value you, &
recognise your
contributionâ
âManagers need
to trust you moreâ
âManagers need
to encourage
experimentation,
even when things
are not perfectâ
âManagers
need to allow
you to take
risks & failâ
19. Use an innovation process
Investigate
issues to fully
understand
problems &
opportunities
Generate &
consider many
potential
creative
solutions
Select,
prototype,
test &
develop
most
promising
potential
solutions
Execute
23. Take calculated vital risks
âIt is not about taking risks, it is
about whether you think the
thing you are doing is right. If
you are absolutely convinced
that what you are doing is right,
then you have to mitigate the
risks.â
Council leader
25. Employees
âSenior managers
need to involve
people more, tap
into their passionsâ
âSenior
managers
attending
team meetings
provides
opportunity for
feedbackâ
âSenior managers
need to involve us
in planning
innovations from
the startâ
âSenior managers
need to understand
frontline servicesâ
âWe need more
two way
communicationâ
âWe have good
systems for feeding
back comments &
ideas to the topâ
âSenior
managers should
spend time at
the coalface &
listen to what the
problems areâ
âThey want us to
look as if we are
contributingâ
âManagers need
to listen to every
idea & justify why
not usingâ
âYou can tell
them your ideas
& they will listenâ
27. âWe need
a more
âOne
Councilââ
âBuild more peer
groups, make
connections across
the councilâ
âWe need to
promote
relationships
between services
to make
innovations
happenâ
âSenior
managers need
to make âOne
Councilâ a
realityâ
âThe council needs
to address silo
workingâ
âWe need more
cross silo
working around
issuesâ
âWe need more
cross-council
communicationâ
âWe need to
understand what
other departments
do, so that we can
hook onto themâ
âThe council should
get innovators
together, create an
innovation spaceâ
âDirectors need to
stop just defending
their departmentsâ
âRemove barriers
between
servicesâ
29. Council leaders
âEven when it gets
rocky you have to
maintain your
resolve, because
you strongly
believe that what
you are doing is
right.â
âThings always take
longer, and are
always more complex
than you expect.â
âInnovating is something that
doesnât happen quickly. Our
innovation has taken 20
years. There is something to
be said for that little valued
virtue of constancy.â
30. âHow does progress occur?
To begin with, if you come up
with a radical idea, it is
ignored. Then if you go on
you are told it is unrealistic.
Then, if you go on after that,
youâre mad. Then there is a
pause and you canât find
anyone at the top who
doesnât claim to have been
in favour of it in the first
place.â
Tony Benn, Guardian
28.10.13
31. Local Council Innovation Framework
Strategic
approach
to
innovation
Cross
boundary
innovation
Clear
political
vision &
priorities
Leaders &
managers
driving
innovation
Citizen &
Culture
service user
promotes
focus
innovation
Effective
Employees
delivery
skilled &
mechanisms
motivated for
for innovation
innovation
32. For more details contact:
Joan Munro
Director
Accelerating Innovation in Councils
joan.munro@btopenworld.com
Tel: 0779 2952 498
@JoanMICL