ACCOUNTABILITY

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ACCOUNTABILITY

• ENABLER OR INHIBITOR OF INNOVATION IN SCOTTISH
  PUBLIC SERVICES?

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THE REFORM INHERITANCE

• Financial Management Initiative (FMI)
• Departmental Running Cost control
• Next Steps Executive Agencies
• Market testing and contracting out
• Performance management/KPIs and targets
• Performance related pay
• Citizens Charter
• Continuity and Change
• Modernising Government

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RISK AND INNOVATION

• Risk aversion the cultures of Parliament,
  Ministers and the civil service create a
  situation in which the rewards for success are
  limited and penalties for failure can be severe.
  The system is too often risk averse.
• Creating a more innovative and less
  risk-averse culture in the civil service
• Source Modernising Government (1999)
  Cabinet Office Cm 4310

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MORE RISK AVERSION

• .appropriate levels of risk taking
• Source Excellence and Fairness Achieving
  world class public services (2008) Cabinet Office
• Civil Servants and agency staff are widely
  seen as more risk-averse than private sector
  personnel
• Source Achieving Innovation in Central
  Government Departments (2006) NAO

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WHAT THE UK GOVERNMENT SAYS

• Achieving world class services requires high
  performers to have the freedoms and flexibilities
  to respond to the needs of those who use the
  service and to drive innovation ..
• Departments will ensure that incentives are in
  place to encourage innovation
• Government has an important role to play .
  ensuring that.incentives are in place to
  encourage innovation and appropriate levels of
  risk taking.
• It means unlocking the creativity and ambition of
  public sector workers to innovate .
• Source Excellence and Fairness Achieving
  world class public services (2008) Cabinet Office

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NATIONAL OUTCOMES

• We are better educated, more skilled and more
  successful, renowned for our research and
  innovation
• Our public services are high quality,
  continually improving, efficient and responsive
  to local peoples needs
• Source National Performance Framework
  (Scottish Government)

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INNOVATE IF YOU DARE

• You can score a 'high' if..you can
  demonstrate greater contribution to the selected
  regional priority through adoption of new and
  sound ideas, technology, skills or methods of
  delivery which, at a minimum, are novel for the
  region in which the proposal is based.
• Note, however, that adopting an untried
  innovative approach, the risk of potential
  failure is increased and so this may be reflected
  in the score given against the Group 3 criteria -
  Demonstrate Feasibility.
• Source Scotland Rural Development
  Programme 2007-13 (Scottish Government website)

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TRANSFORMING GOVERNMENT

• as a small, well-connected country, Scotland
  has the conditions to be a public sector hothouse
  for innovation finding new solutions to old
  problems, and tackling emerging issues. .We need
  to create a culture which recognises innovation,
  builds on it and spreads it around the system,
  and we need to ensure that we have the structures
  and incentives that allow innovation to flourish.
• Source Transforming Government (2006) The
  Scottish Executive

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WHAT IS INNOVATION?

• An innovation is an idea, practice, or object
  perceived as new by an individual. It matters
  little.whether or not an idea is objectively
  new as measured by the lapse of time since its
  first use or discoveryIf an idea seems new to
  the individual, it is an innovation.
• Rogers, E. and F. Shoemaker (1971) Communication
  of Innovation, NY
• A new method, idea, product, etc.
• Source The Concise Oxford Dictionary

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THE WHITEHALL INNOVATION HUB ..

• a solution to a particular social, economic and
  environment problem
• those coming up with a solution tend to be close
  to the problem and to frontline staff
• new ways of working, new relationships and
  radical new ways of delivering public services -
  rather than new ideas or products
• collaboration is at the heart of public service
  innovation
• innovation has moved beyond improvement, which is
  more concerned with making existing systems work
  faster - and involves a redesign of systems,
  relationships and practices
• being galvanised by champions of change

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ACCOUNTABILITY RESPONSIBILITY?

• .a Minister is "accountable" to Parliament
  for everything which goes on within his
  Department, in the sense that Parliament can call
  the Minister to account for it. The Minister is
  responsible for the policies of the
  Departmentfor the resources allocated.. But a
  Minister cannot sensibly be held responsible for
  everything which goes on in his Department in the
  sense of having personal knowledge and control of
  every action taken and being personally
  blameworthy when delegated tasks are carried out
  incompetently, or when mistakes or errors of
  judgement are made at operational level.
• Source Taking Forward Continuity and Change
  (1995)

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ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY AND DELEGATION

• .if Ministers were to be held personally
  responsible for every action of the Department,
  delegation and efficiency would be much
  inhibited. Nor must Ministers ..be expected
  to be personally responsible, in the sense of
  being creditworthy or blameworthy, for every
  action of their department.
• Source Taking Forward Continuity and Change
  (1995)
• In practice, you will have delegated authority
  widely, but cannot on that account disclaim
  responsibility.
• Memorandum to Accountable Officers in the
  Scottish Executive from the Principal Accountable
  Officer under the Public Finance and
  Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000

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ACCOUNTABILITY IN SCOTLAND

• Scottish Parliament
• PR and 4 year Parliaments
• PQs/Debates/Committees
• Letters from MSPs to Ministers
• Published plans KPIs and targets
• PfG/PA/ NPF/Scotland Performs
• Business Plans and Annual Reports
• Inspection and Audit
• Outcome Agreements
• Media and FOI
• Elections to Health Boards

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Source Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007
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ENABLED OR INHIBITED?

• Inhibited by
• KPIs/targets
• Short-termism
• Audit and inspection
• Bureaucracy
• Lack of space
• Command and control
• Lack of incentives
• Blame culture
• Galvanisers?

• Enabled by
• Outcomes
• Longer term-ism
• Crerar?
• Customer focus
• Technology
• Empowerment
• Partnership working
• Community planning?

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CONCLUSION

• Inhibitors outweigh enablers
• We need
• Real progress on outcomes and scrutiny
• Political champions
• New messages/new accountabilities
• Mature approach to arms length delivery
• Empowerment and trust
• Incentives
• End to the blame culture

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