Government chief information officer, Cabinet Office
In a year of political and economic change, what was your highlight of 2010?
The first 100 days of the coalition government. These saw us make no friends by implementing the government’s ICT moratorium; reviewing all of the ICT projects above £1m; kicking off the transparency agenda; and starting the renegotiations with the top 19 ICT suppliers. We had to retrain the majority of our staff in this period, move them into different roles, and act as the buffer between departments – where many lacked comprehensive knowledge about their projects – and ministers intent on cutting out waste.
What is the biggest opportunity that coalition policies have created for the civil service?
The opportunity to reinvent itself. Much of the civil service is built for comfort and carefulness, not speed, efficiency and effectiveness. The civil service has a once in a generation opportunity to step back and ask: ‘What do we need to look like?’ ‘How do we need to operate?’ ‘What culture do we need to drive accountability, efficiency, effectiveness?’ This is about the civil service positioning itself for the role it needs to do in 5-10 years time, not focussing on just fixing yesterday’s or even today’s challenges.
What is the most challenging management task facing the civil service now?
Reinventing itself in a professional way. I am disheartened that we seem to be continuing with the ‘old ways must be the best ways’ mentality, and that one of the core values of open competition now seems to be being swept aside in favour of appointing people without a clear transparent process that would be the envy of many private sector organisations. We should be asking the truly transformational questions about the structure of the civil service, lift our heads and focus on the bigger picture. That bigger picture shows, in part, that an £81bn [spending reduction] is the first tranche and that, even if we deliver this, we need to consider how we will fund the NHS, for example. Some analysts believe NHS costs will increase by half by 2020, which would require another £55bn.
And what’s the key to succeeding in that task?
First of all, recognise that our track record of delivering transformational change has not been as good as many of us would like; certainly, NAO reports would suggest that our chances of delivering the £80+bn are somewhat slim. This means that we have to run faster; to look through this Parliament and position ourselves for the next; to bring in different people with different skills to drive us through this next period. If I may be provocative, one wonders if a starting point would be to run an open competition for all the top 200 roles. It is what you’d do in many mergers and corporate restructurings: ensure that the very best people with the skills for the next period, not the last, hold the positions to drive through change.
Most importantly, we should teach people how to solve problems in a systematic way. What problem am I trying to solve? What measurable objectives must I achieve? What constraints must I work within? What are the options for best achieving these objectives, with the best chance of success and at the lowest cost? This is a better framework for ensuring we select the right approach to core problems and outcomes.
What was the best Christmas present that you’ve ever given or received? And the worst?
Not for me to say on giving; though I do like buying presents. On receiving – well, it’s the thought that counts... grrr.