DELIVERING EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SERVICES JON BARBER

DELIVERING EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SERVICES. JON BARBER SOFIA 31 MARCH 2016

2 Agenda…… üStrategic Community Planning üPerformance Management ü Key Performance Indicators ü The UK Experience of Performance Management including assessing comparative performance üBest Practice Programmes

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4 Delivering effective municipal services – the strategic approach Corporate Strategy Service Strategy Specific Strategies e. g. Environmental Strategy There are clear linkages between strategies that cascade from the vision. STRATEGIC DRIVE KEY CHALLENGES CASCADE DOWN Corporate Strategies e. g. Property Strategy Community Strategy Business / Service Plans Strategies are developed through stakeholder consultation (including communities). Performance Management links the levels

5 Performance Management & Community Planning • Ensure you ‘live’ the strategy – it must not become a document that fails to drive organisation activity • Prioritise those key areas that underpin the strategy – some UK Councils had vague aspirations and this did not focus the organisation and led to ‘strategic drift’ • Some Councils found delivery difficult as the high level strategy was developed in isolation from other public sector organisations such as police, health, central government. • Improving public services requires all public sector and voluntary sector organisations to WORK TOGETHER

Performance Measurement and Performance Management • “Performance Measurement” uses performance information to provide a council with a basis for understanding and comparing its own performance in delivering specific services both with others • “Performance management” is a tool to improve the quality of public services for citizens. It allows an organisation to set out what it wants to achieve and how it will deliver its aims.

• • Performance management is the systematic approach to identifying, collecting and using performance data to improve standards of service provision. Citizens deserve and expect services of good quality; performance management facilitates the setting of realistic targets for service performance that can be used to drive up service standards. Performance information is available to leaders, managers and elected representatives. They can see the actual level of performance and how they might deliver better efficiency, effectiveness and value for money in specific services. It provides a council, of whatever size, with a basis for comparing its own performance in specific services both with best practice and with performance in other councils. 7

Attributes of high performing organisations • Organisations that are good at performance management have demonstrated that they: • are willing to be challenged and are keen to learn from others • have managers who play an active/key role • have managers who lead by example, seek opportunities for challenge, learn and create an atmosphere where people feel able to learn • work with elected representatives • encourage strong review and are supportive • effective resource allocation • consider diversity of community 8

9 The Types of Performance Indicators The four main types of indicators: INPUTS (resources) ACTIVITIES (processes) OUTPUTS (services) OUTCOMES (community impact) Input indicators provide information on the resources committed to a service in terms of finance, staffing, equipment, land … - number of staff - area of property or land in use Activity indicators provide information on - trend in use of information technology the processes, systems, cultures and procedures needed to deliver a service - response times to complaints - speed of telephone answering Output indicators provide information on - no. of service users the performance of the service provided - no. of hours of service provided Outcome indicators provide information - increased level of public participation - reduction in long term unemployment on the impact the service has on users and on the wider community

10 Effective Indicators • Targets should have the following attributes; • Specific: Clear, unambiguous and easy to understand • Measurable: Set a target for which success can be gauged by referring to a specific measure or measures. • Achievable: Involve staff in the process and ask them what needs to be done to achieve the target. • Relevant: Targets need to be relevant to those who will be required to deliver and contribute to corporate priorities. • Timed: There should be a set timescale for achieving a target; open -ended targets do not encourage a focused effort on improving performance.

Example of a target to improve services. 11

Common mistakes • Targets focus on maintaining current position. • Not specifying a responsible officer – lack of accountability. • Failing to put in place a robust system for collating performance information. • Failure to monitor performance on a regular basis at operational level. There can be a tendency to just check up on performance quarterly. • A lack of focus on priority areas. • • • Targets set for incremental improvement. Allocate officer to manage achievement of target Design collection techniques in advance of setting targets and agreed with allocated officer Regular monitoring systems in place to review progress against milestones (interim targets). Maintain a focus on priority areas whilst ensuring quality of non priority areas is maintained. 12

The Maltese Performance Management Guide 13

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – THE UK EXPERIENCE

15 UK - Pre 1997 • Public services badly managed and poorly delivered. • In 1980’s externalisation of key services resulted in poor contract • • monitoring, variable standards and public dissatisfaction remained. Demand for easier and more customer friendly ways to interact with public services – like increasingly seen in competitive private sector. Range of statutory targets set for improving public services Legislation introduced in 1999 for annual reporting of performance against targets Audit Commission tasked with monitoring and driving improvement in public services

16 Developing Performance management • Performance Management • • Frameworks developed to support service delivery. Enabled a clear comparison between councils Priorities developed through community consultation. High performing Councils became models of good practice – ‘Beacon Status’. Services measurably improved – shown through improved public satisfaction indicators. • Monitored by elected members and senior officers. • Priorities supported by a limited number of outcome focused key performance indicators • But too many targets so it became an bureaucratic process • Reduced number of targets & improved accountability has improved public services – now less bureaucratic. •

17 One Council’s Approach to Develop Performance Management • Council consulted its community and identified priorities • ‘Clean streets and well maintained local environment’ (46%); • ‘Reduce the fear of crime’ (33%) • ‘Regenerate and build the local economy’ (22%) • Long Term Vision to 2012 “A community where everyone can live in a high quality environment, be safe & healthy and prosper” • Annual priorities • Improve the standard of the local environment, especially street cleaning, and deliver a quality waste collection and recycling service. • Work with partners to tackle anti-social behaviour; through effective enforcement and providing facilities for young people • Improve the quality of development through effective planning, produce more affordable housing.

18 Targets and outcomes • Service targets set; • Reduce the number of missed waste collections from 67 per 100, 000 homes to 20 per 100, 000 homes. • Increase the amount of domestic waste recycled from 18% to 30% • Increase the percentage of people who are satisfied • With the quality of the local environment from 55% to 70% • With waste and recycling services from 65% to 80%

19 Corporate approach to performance management - Lessons Learnt from the Audit Commission (regulator of UK Public Sector) • Drive to establish corporate priorities must be based on community expectations and statutory requirements • Consultation with community to find out their priorities. • Monitored by elected members and senior officers. • Priorities supported by key performance indicators • Councils now have around 20 key priorities to demonstrate organisational effectiveness – need to keep focused. • Locally determined service specific targets also in place to demonstrate service effectiveness. • Reduced number of targets & improved accountability that has improved public services – now less bureaucratic. • Audit Commission was the key regulator – now scaled back and reporting to local communities with limited national overview

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT - BEST PRACTICE SCHEMES

21 Why adopt a Best Practice Programme? • First class councils will search out best practices for themselves because of their determination to improve themselves and their services to the local community. • But in reality only a systematic effort to create a forum for the exchange of proven experiences may bring real changes to local government. • The most important elements of a Best Practice programme are: • the identification of good practices through a formal process, • an evaluation of each of them against specific criteria, • their dissemination to other councils, using a wide variety of methods; and • a new programme every year with different themes.

22 Introduction to the UK ‘Beacon’ Scheme “Beacon councils – the very best performing councils – will set the pace of change and encourage the rest to innovate and to modernise” UK Government Two key objectives to improve corporate and service performance in local public services: • To provide national recognition to those authorities seen to be the best performing in terms of innovation and excellence. • To share good practice between public services through learning from the innovative and/or excellent practices of the Beacon. Therefore contributing to raising standards and the sustainability of improvements across the whole field of local public services.

23 UK Beacon Scheme To support authorities to improve their services by: Excellence and innovation around: • Publicising best practice • leadership (vision and strategy) • Identifying lessons underpinning • Community and customer this best practice • Providing access to experienced practitioners • Influencing Government policy and national guidance • Outcomes engagement • Action • Partnership • Equality and Diversity

24 Beacon Scheme - Outcomes • Data from independently commissioned research • 83% of councils felt the scheme informed best practice • 75% felt it encouraged networking • 79% of those who attended a Beacon event subsequently made a change in their own Council • ‘Our view is that the Beacon Council scheme has been an important improvement lever in raising standards and promoting, coherent outcome focused service delivery. ’ London Borough of Lewisham • ‘The Beacon scheme helps to identify those authorities that can demonstrate thorough and workable solutions. ’ Hampshire CC

25 Learning from Beacon Authorities Shaping Behaviour Sharing Information Publications • • • Info packs, Website, Articles, Exhibitions Videos, Newsletters Events / Activities Tailored • • • Peer to peer support • Mentoring • Secondments • Networks • Twinning • Action Learning Workshops Seminars Conferences Learning Exchange Toolkits

26 Thank-you for listening Do you have any questions?