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"I shouted at my officials because I cared so much" presupposes that frightened officials do their jobs well.
"I signed off the PPE without checking if it passed quality checks, just to get it to the doctors quickly" ignores the reality that substandard PPE is no use.
"I signed off the PPE without checking if it passed quality checks, just to get it to the doctors quickly" ignores the reality that substandard PPE is no use.
The best leaders work out how to inspire, encourage and empower staff, and that means the leaders get more (instead of less) of what they want
Good procurement includes lots of box ticking. Because it checks that what you're buying actually meets the needs of the people using it
Good procurement includes lots of box ticking. Because it checks that what you're buying actually meets the needs of the people using it
The sad truth is that, far too often in government, staff management and procurement are done badly. So I can understand why, in a crisis, ministers panic, freak out, smash up the rules and start screaming "JUST GET IT DONE I DON'T CARE".
It's an iconoclastic instinct - indulged by ministers it feels good to smash things.
Instead we need to be "iconoplastic" - reshape the institutions and the rules instead of destroying them.
Instead we need to be "iconoplastic" - reshape the institutions and the rules instead of destroying them.
Resilience comes from agility
(as this @demos classic Resilient Nation explains so brilliantly - https://www.demos.co.uk/files/Resilient_Nation_-_web-1.pdf)
(as this @demos classic Resilient Nation explains so brilliantly - https://www.demos.co.uk/files/Resilient_Nation_-_web-1.pdf)
We should be reforming procurement to make it more agile, and more able to cope in a crisis - no better place to start with than the recommendations in @Rose_Lasko's report https://demos.co.uk/project/value-added-how-better-government-procurement-can-build-a-fairer-britain/
And we could make our government agile too, so that even "demanding" ministers get what they want without throwing any toys out of any prams.
https://www.demos.co.uk/files/Towards%20Agile%20Government1.pdf?1240939425
https://www.demos.co.uk/files/Towards%20Agile%20Government1.pdf?1240939425
Because of course... Ministers should be demanding. I'm glad that they care.
We just need them to move away from "virtue signalling" how much they care.
And focus on system change that can actually deliver the change they say they care about.
We just need them to move away from "virtue signalling" how much they care.
And focus on system change that can actually deliver the change they say they care about.
