Who do you run to...

...when there's no place to hide?

Lord Bruce Lockhart, Chair of the Local Government Association, is headlining a new ambitious approach to improving performance, outcomes and ways of working.

"The LGA is determined to seek radical solutions, and determined to put in place a robust and challenging action plan to ensure implementation. Many councils are leading through outstanding innovation. But there will be no hiding place for the poor performers"

Council leaders from across the political spectrum will today launch a
campaign to raise the game of authorities across the country.The key themes
include:

• Building visionary and ambitious leadership: making best use of both the political and managerial role
• Leading trusted and effective partnerships across the whole public sector
• Creating radically enhanced scrutiny: holding to account the council, the wider public sector, and service suppliers
• Devolving to residents and local organisations: engaging and communicating effectively, and enhancing frontline councillors' roles
• Ensuring outstanding improvement and transformation in service performance:innovation, value, efficiency and public access and satisfaction
  

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I think there's a growing awareness that we're all going to have raise our game in terms of performance management. I recently spoke to a group of officers from both North and South Tyneside about the challenges of the new policy environment as well as the lessons of the best in terms of what local government has already done on performance management. They were certainly ready to embrace those challenges and are making links across the water to support each other in that work.

Just like in North and South Tyneside, with this recognition that we're going to have raise our game, I think we're going to have to lean on each other a little bit more, too. And by that I mean sharing ideas and innovations (proactively) and asking for help with ideas and implementation from local authority and partner colleagues.

The IDeA wants to support the development of this approach and is creating spaces for online communties of practice at www.communities.idea.gov.uk. And we're not just creating spaces, we're also helping to facilitate online and face-to-face groups in collaborative working across the public sector, too. I and the team I work with facilitiate the Policy and Performance Community of Practice and a more specific group focused on performance management. And in the latter group, it just so happens you can find the slides (you'll need to be registered to view them) from my day long workshop with North and South Tyneside officers.

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