“Just come and do a short, nine-month project to set up a new arm’s-length body” was the pitch on the telephone from the then-Northern Ireland Office permanent secretary, Madeleine. “I need someone who can get the sponsorship arrangements in place and get a board appointed, get them an office with a name plate and they can take it from there.” Just over two years later, I’m handing on the baton as the first chief executive of the recently formed Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, and returning to Whitehall.
To say that the manner in which the commission came about was "contested" is the civil service equivalent of labelling a course of action to a minister as "courageous". The idea was for a single organisation with strong powers to replace a myriad of different processes for families to obtain information and justice about what happened during the Troubles/Conflict, and therefore to promote a more reconciled society. But the lack of detail, suspected ulterior motives and a lack of consultation meant that no party in Northern Ireland supported the proposals, victims' groups were opposed, the international community raised human-rights concerns and there was much debate over the legislation in parliament. And the timetable required by the bill for the organisation to be capable of accepting cases was half the time it usually takes to set up a new ALB!
If that were not enough, the stakes of what we were actually trying to do were very high. While in Great Britain, "the Troubles" is something firmly in the past for the vast majority, in Northern Ireland, the continued trauma and impact of a violent and brutal time in recent history still weighs heavily on a significant proportion of the community.
But, with very low expectations from the public and stakeholders, that gave us the freedom to take risks and not be afraid of failure. With a rare alignment in government of policy and resource, we had the internal tools to make progress. And with plenty of recent experiences across Whitehall of setting up new organisations to draw from – such as the Independent Monitoring Authority, the Trade Remedies Authority, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency – we were able to focus most of our attention on the substance.
“The stakes of what we were trying to do were high: in Northern Ireland, the continued trauma and impact of a violent and brutal time in recent history still weighs heavily”
In just 24 months, we saw: one change of government confirming that the commission will continue; two court judgments upholding the commission’s independence and capability of meeting ECHR requirements; five values in the ICRIR Code of Conduct; seven commissioners appointed; over 10 board meetings held; 12 surveys, consultations and feedback papers; over 20 meetings with delegations at the Council of Europe; and 85 victims, survivors or families actively engaging with the commission about the possibility of an investigation.
How did we achieve this? We focused on purpose, planning and people.
Purpose
From two of us at the start (me and the excellent business manager, Corinne), to an organisation of over 100, constantly coming together as a team and discussing our purpose was key. For some from Northern Ireland, this felt very personal; for others, there was the professional pride in bringing their skills to bear to try to have a real-world positive impact. It allowed us to focus on why independence mattered and in what ways; and to concentrate on the activities that mattered most to help achieve the purpose. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority reviews consistently highlighted the strength of purpose across all team members as driving an empowered and cohesive approach to a challenging deadline.
Planning
Bringing cross-civil service and consultancy expertise to ensure risk management and regular planning was essential. Project Portfolio Management methodology, in a proportionate way, meant we could demonstrate what resource we needed and identify bottlenecks. We could explain to ministers or the board why we needed decisions when we did, and could check our overall progress. A programme board – including those from the Treasury, Cabinet Office, IPA, our lead non-executive board member, Les Philpott, and the SRO who had set up the Independent Monitoring Authority – were an excellent combined critical friend. They were not only encouraging when it looked difficult, but brought their own expertise and didn’t let us duck the key issues. Their focus meant we got a good balance between the ideal outcome we wanted, and what was realistic in the timeframe (and what could come later).
People
Building a team with the range of skills that we needed and with different perspectives took a lot of time, but it was worth it. I saw it as my responsibility to think about how people would challenge and complement each other and come together focused on the shared purpose. Our team was spread across Northern Ireland and Great Britain. This meant we had direct understanding of how things were feeling, and also enough distance to stand back and evaluate next steps. We focused on stepping outside of government – how did it feel not to trust the state? What was the experience of the victim trying to interact with the commission? Getting the commissioners on board in shadow form also meant we had Sir Declan Morgan, a distinguished legal mind and true public servant to begin providing public leadership before the commission was even formed. We spent a lot of time coming together – remotely and physically to share problems (and solutions) and we drew on a range of experts, Policy Lab, former senior police officers and headhunters to get jobs done or help us hone our approach. It was a genuine, collaborative effort and everyone put in the extra mile.
What do we hope to share with the wider civil service from our experience?
We’ve already fed many of the lessons we learnt into some practical Cabinet Office guidance about setting up ALBs. Despite government routinely setting up new organisations, there were no templates and checklists for the common ingredients to consider. We used personal contacts to speak to others who had just done the same and copied their documents, but templates and central expertise would have saved some time (and worry) reinventing things others had already solved.
Through the use of precedent and templates, this means the team should be free to really sweat the difficult stuff – for example, what precisely is the organisation’s purpose and how will it achieve benefits? These can often be the areas that ministers are struggling to articulate too – but getting this right unlocks better board appointments, better governance and a clearer focus on having a positive real-world impact rather than just consuming public resource.
And the most difficult area to get right is usually "independence". In setting up a new organisation to carry out activities, it is inherent that there is some reason why the department itself cannot carry out those activities. However, the civil service either overly worries about giving up control, or gives so much space that legitimate accountability mechanisms and interactions are not created. The right level of autonomy should be given in the areas that will give the organisation the ability to deliver its objectives and achieve the desired outcomes. When this is done alongside thinking through the potential risks from independence to help design the accountability and internal governance arrangements, this starts to enhance the new organisation’s ability to deliver. The new board and the leadership team are clear on the areas where they have freedom and flexibility, and central government gets out of their way to get on with it as they are comfortable that risks are managed through levers and checks and balances.
For the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, it is now over the first hurdle in its journey. There will doubtless be many more to come. But to navigate this, it is led by a board who will continually focus on the needs of victims, survivors and families being served and promoting reconciliation. Alongside the ingredients and space for a relentless focus on meeting its promises, and on learning and adapting based on values of respect and objectivity. And, for the next ALB that Whitehall has the challenge to set up, I hope sharing our experience and what we learnt from it will make their journey that bit easier.
Tristan Pedelty was the first chief executive officer and commissioner of the ICRIR, having been the senior responsible owner for the programme to establish the new Commission. Over his career he has had roles in the Prime Minister’s Implementation Unit, the BBC Trust, HM Treasury and in the Cabinet Office