Hello,

My name's Jesper and I’m guest editing the States of Change newsletter this month. I’m the Head of Strategy and Development in the Innovation Skills team at Nesta.

Hope you find it useful. Let me know what you think on Twitter!

Jesper

“The history of government might well be written as a history of problematizations, in which politicians, intellectuals, philosophers, medics, military strategists, feminists and philanthropists have measured the real against the ideal and found it wanting.”
 

Miller & Rose

As we continue to write “the history of government”, current ‘problematizations’ are very much focused on the function and legitimacy of government itself: its tools, processes, structures and even human resources. And while the ideal may always be an imaginative horizon, I think that these problematizations are motivating. 

States of Change tries to enable a collective learning process to discover new impactful capacities of government. Personally, I’m seeking inspiration from the kinds of ‘problematizations” that enable governments to understand and adapt to the environment around them; helping them to (re)create its legitimacy and better connect with people in the process. 

Here are some recent inspiring items that I think make parts of a new imaginative horizon for government.

• Government as a platform.  As Richard Pope clarifies, what we are dealing with is not merely a question of new tools and processes, but actual institutional reform installing a new logic and function that will change “how the work of government is organized”.

• To organise government differently, we need to govern with a new set of principles. The Centre for Public Impact have recently shared work on what they call “Shared Power Principles”. They’re about leadership and governance that redistribute decision-making power, foster new and stronger relationships and build a culture of continuous learning. Very much agree. 

• Over and above this, Hilary Cottam calls for giving people the control to improve their own lives. She describes this in practical terms and detail in her book Radical Help where we get to learn from various attempts to redesign the core logic and approach of failing welfare systems. Lots to learn still, but this is an inspiring account.  

• I think that any success in all the above will rely on our ability to design for resilience. Jesse Weaver reminds us of our failure to create institutions and organisations that can deal effectively with radical complexity and constant change (and not aim to create the perfect plan or business model). “This means we have to change the way we think about everything we create.”

• So how we develop innovative mindsets is core to government transformation. Changing how we think is a huge challenge, but we should keep trying. This effort by Nesta working with Essex County Council described by Kelly Duggan and Sonja Dahl puts it literally to the challenge.

• Fostering mindset shifts in government poses several challenges - not least of leadership. But what does good leadership actually look like? Christian Bason shares his experience and highlights the combined traits of strong interpersonal skills, high individual integrity, and huge strategic bandwidth - as well as leading a diverse portfolio of change processes simultaneously. Is this currently prioritised in government?

• This means there are a number of approaches that should be a part of a portfolio of methods, often owned and used by multiple organisations - not just one “branded” toolkit to leverage a defined business approach. I like the work that Sitra is doing on this in the field of systems change to recognise this. 

• Navigating this space both as a leader and policy maker is extremely tricky. Good thing that Nesta developed a game where you can rehearse what the new role of policymakers tasked with enabling and driving innovation. I haven’t played but it looks fun.

These are all elements that we need to support culture change in government organisations to develop an innovation craft better suited to deal with the problems governments are facing. Are you also on this path and doing something like this? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch and share your experiences.

• Applications for the next Australia and New Zealand programme are still open. Following feedback from prospective teams about the challenges of getting approvals in time, we have extended the application timeline to the end of November. The new programme dates will commence in early 2020. 
   
• Planning is underway to launch a UK States of Change programme in early 2020. Applications will be open soon - watch this space!
   
• Building on the success of our initial programme with the Privy Council in Canada, we are in discussions with partners and departments interested in a Canada-wide programme. If this is of interest to you, please get in touch!