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[email protected] @jonathanflowers

Creating the OrganisationalConditions for Digital

Jonathan Flowers

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The Question of this Session

How do we help senior leadership understand and embrace the potential of digital not just as whizzy tech but as an organisational and community game changer?

(Then) how do we help them build it into the narrative, culture and ways of working of their council?

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What I’m bringing to this discussion...

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Two Senior Level Interventions● LGA Masterclasses for Elected members on Data and Digital

○ Curated and ran three in 2019 – four planned for 2020

○ Leaders and cabinet members, scrutiny and opposition

● Discussions as part of MHCLG Local Leaders Digital Accelerator

○ Heads of service to chief executive

○ Five in 2019

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What’s on Members’ Minds?● Fears about proper use of data (compliance, security, privacy, ethics)

● Opportunities to use technology in their role as members, such as electronic delivery of committee papers

● Concerns about digital exclusion - and what this means for council service provision

○ rurality/rollout

○ relative poverty (it’s available but I can’t afford it; queues for the library to open to avoid benefit sanctions)

○ educational needs

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What’s on Members’ Minds?● Frustration/bewilderment about how to make innovative change happen in

their council, (especially amongst the more digitally-aware).○ engagement officer-side varies hugely; ○ inflexible legacy systems;

○ inflexible outsourced service providers

● A really positive reception to some of the wider ideas of digital working ○ user-centred design’s focus on the whole person and their actual experience

○ agile working and its drumbeat and pace (and not fazed by the lack of certainty)

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What’s on Officers’ Minds?● Very diverse perspectives and levels of understanding

● Some awesomely seeing the bigger picture

● But in general○ An equating of digital with tech and therefore something that can be delegated○ The difficulty of making the case for spend with uncertain savings○ Profound problems for smaller councils

○ Very little understanding of this as a fundamental leadership issue○ A growing understanding that this is hard

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Why is it hard?● Because it interacts with other complex moving parts of the leadership

agenda

● Because it’s profoundly situational – what to do is likely to be different in different places – no “manual”

● Because this wasn’t around when people were learning their craft

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My Question to You

● (How) can you help your senior leadership address these issues?● (Do you want to?)

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The role of a leader in a digital ageAs with any leadership function at a senior enough level the role of a digitalleader is to

Create the conditions where great digital stuff

happens

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Unpacking that...


happens

Understand:What do we

mean by digital?

Tell the story:Why digital as

a strategic choice?

Drill down:What

conditions need to be created?

Practically:Navigating the

new world

Strategically:Anticipating

further development

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What do we mean by Digital?

Working in the open

Agile methods

Collaborative tools

User-centred design

(And New Technology)

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Unpacking that...


happens

Understand:What do we

mean by digital?


a strategic choice?

Drill down:What



new world


further development

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Why digital - as a strategic choice● There are lots of levers we can pull (many are “new”)

○ New structures (unitaries, mergers, combined authorities)○ Commercialism○ Squeezing more toothpaste out of the tube○ Service cuts○ Growing the economy - inward investment, skills○ Managing housing growth○ Integrating health and social care○ Different delivery models (outsource, insource, shared, spinout)○ Civic entrepreneurialism○ Rethinking corporate services (as a force multiplier)○ Managing the council in a joined up way (understanding eg prevention

even across council services)○ Enlisting the community○ … and Digital

Create the conditions where great digital

stuff happens


a strategic choice?

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Making a choice● Stick to the “tech” definition of digital

● Pivot towards the Organisational Development implications which can provide tools and approaches to help with much more than just service improvement

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Why digital - as a strategic choiceNew structures (unitaries, mergers, combined authorities)CommercialismSqueezing more toothpaste out of the tubeService cutsGrowing the economy - inward investment, skillsManaging housing growthIntegrating health and social careDifferent delivery models (outsource, insource, shared, spinout)Civic entrepreneurialismRethinking corporate services (as a force multiplier)Managing the council in a joined up way (understanding eg prevention even across council services)Enlisting the community… and Digital

Working in the open

Agile methods

Collaborative tools

User-centred design

New technology

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Why digital - as a strategic choice

New structures (unitaries, mergers, combined authorities)CommercialismSqueezing more toothpaste out of the tubeService cutsGrowing the economy - inward investment, skillsManaging housing growthIntegrating health and social careDifferent delivery models (outsource, insource, shared, spinout)Civic entrepreneurialismRethinking corporate services (as a force multiplier)Managing the council in a joined up way (understanding eg prevention even across council services)Enlisting the community… and Digital

Working in the open

Agile methods

Collaborative tools

User-centred design

New technology

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Working in the open

Agile methods

Collaborative tools

User-centred design

New technology

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Working in the open

Agile methods

Collaborative tools

User-centred design

New technology

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What conditions need to be created?● Making the case

○ (How) does it fit your council’s narrative?○ The “Business case” - what standards of proof?○ Building the coalition for this sort of change○ What performance regime is appropriate?

● Building capacity○ Make, buy, share, experiment○ Recruitment (at all levels)○ Skills (training)○ Culture change

● Personal leadership○ What does it mean to be the sponsor of an internet-era project?○ What are the coaching/checking questions to ask?


stuff happens

Drill down:What


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What conditions need to be created? (example)● What’s your current iteration of

the problem statement?● What’s the most surprising thing

you’ve found out so far?● How segmented is the need - ie

universal or highly varied?● Are the team okay?● What is the potential scope of

implementation for this and how can you look ahead to the decision-making?

● How are you engaging members?

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Navigating the new World● How we do things round here

○ Project methods (agile, waterfall)○ Product/service ownership (as defined by user)○ Collaboration models and tools○ Impact of IT architecture on the organisational architecture options

(monolithic versus platform)● What digital/data “ideology”?

○ Eg open source versus commercial?○ Eg role of evidence in informing decisions○ Eg opening up data (freely)○ Eg “digital by default” for services○ Eg standardised national solutions versus local ones○ Eg Local Digital Declaration

● Role of the elected members


stuff happens


new world

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Anticipating Further Development● All of these choices at the partnership level as well as the

org level● Council as a platform for the community - digitally but also

as place and the human network of members and support officers

● Digital infrastructure (connectivity, skills)● Digital Place-Making - what is your place for and how can

internet-era tools and methods help?● Implications for the leadership team and for distributed

leadership


stuff happens


further development

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Why is it hard?● Because it interacts with other complex moving parts of the leadership

agenda

● Because it’s profoundly situational – what to do is likely to be different in different places – there is no “manual”

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Crucial differences...Types of council

Scale of council

Political choices

Legacies

● Technological/Suppliers

● Things that have been tried before

● Innovation history

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Financial Context and its Impact on Innovation

Demand Pressure

Fina

ncia

l Pre

ssur

e

Besieged

Future Innovators

Cost Innovators

Fast Followers

High Potential

High

HighLow

Low

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Digital maturity

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Source: FutureGovBlog


My Question to You

● (How) can you help your senior leadership address these issues?● (Do you want to?)

● What support do you need?

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To help me help my senior leaders, My One Wish is…From:● My Organisation● Jonathan’s Member Masterclasses● Solace● Socitm● MHCLG● LGA● 20th C suppliers● 21st C suppliers● LocalGov Digital

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http://bit.ly/LocalGov2019

http://bit.ly/LocalGov2019

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