Relational public services
Reforming the public sector, using test and learn methods to create local relational public services
What are relational public services?
Relational services provide responsive methods designed to deal with the complexity of how the public sector can support people with the multiple needs that are affecting their lives. Rather than individually fixing single issues by separate transactional services, relational services are designed around what matters to people. They allow relationships across the public sector to create flexible ways of working, where local government staff can mobilise themselves dynamically to work with people and other organisations at a local neighbourhood level. Where front line staff engage with people in a way that allows people themselves to decide where and how to begin their journey back into a balanced life.
Relational working is less about 'delivering services', and more about engaging and supporting, with staff able to make the right decisions at the right time.
Relational services utilises strengths inherent in our communities and the voluntary sector, using techniques that recognise the complex systemic nature of supporting people. This is not new, many local government agencies have been working in these ways around the world. What there its now an evidence base of knowledge that demonstrates this, and proven methods to make it happen. One of these is Human Learning Systems. This resource and group of organisations provides a common way to understand, design and manage a relational public sector. It provides a foundation of principles, concepts and methods that have been derived from a tried and tested evidence base that allow us all to learn and act from this perspective.
It allows us to understand and design the public sector from a missions based citizens perspective.
Relational public services are needed because the majority of cost and resources spent in the public sector are those that focus on supporting people and families that are trying to get their lives back in control. Examples of this are health and wellbeing, supporting people back into work, caring for others, poor housing, and the various times our lives when we just cannot cope. The current design of our public services are highly fragmented, and focused on simplistic models of delivering standard 'things' to citizens. They do not allow us to deal with complex situations early or well, allowing these issues to escalate, increasing demand and costs, and increasing the strain on citizens and communities.
Relational working is less about 'delivering services', and more about engaging and supporting, with staff able to make the right decisions at the right time.
Relational services utilises strengths inherent in our communities and the voluntary sector, using techniques that recognise the complex systemic nature of supporting people. This is not new, many local government agencies have been working in these ways around the world. What there its now an evidence base of knowledge that demonstrates this, and proven methods to make it happen. One of these is Human Learning Systems. This resource and group of organisations provides a common way to understand, design and manage a relational public sector. It provides a foundation of principles, concepts and methods that have been derived from a tried and tested evidence base that allow us all to learn and act from this perspective.
It allows us to understand and design the public sector from a missions based citizens perspective.
Relational public services are needed because the majority of cost and resources spent in the public sector are those that focus on supporting people and families that are trying to get their lives back in control. Examples of this are health and wellbeing, supporting people back into work, caring for others, poor housing, and the various times our lives when we just cannot cope. The current design of our public services are highly fragmented, and focused on simplistic models of delivering standard 'things' to citizens. They do not allow us to deal with complex situations early or well, allowing these issues to escalate, increasing demand and costs, and increasing the strain on citizens and communities.
Relational public services at the national level
Probably Relational public services most important point is:
this way of working is not about government alone, it is in-fact a way to link central government, policy, civil service, local government and communities together, through a purpose defined by how we wish to live and work.
For example, Sweden and Denmark have a person and family oriented mission driven ethos that is inherent in the roots of its society. In everything that they do, has this at its heart.
What we have found, from applying this 'test and learn' approach of working and evaluation through research for over 20 years, is that this approach is both more effective and efficient. It is more productive across the public sector, while at the same time outcomes significantly increase compared to the current design of services. People are supported back to a better place, both through the public sector, but also through their own efforts and through their communities.
Counterintuitively, the amount of resource needed is actually lower. Costs for the public sector fall, often dramatically.
this way of working is not about government alone, it is in-fact a way to link central government, policy, civil service, local government and communities together, through a purpose defined by how we wish to live and work.
For example, Sweden and Denmark have a person and family oriented mission driven ethos that is inherent in the roots of its society. In everything that they do, has this at its heart.
What we have found, from applying this 'test and learn' approach of working and evaluation through research for over 20 years, is that this approach is both more effective and efficient. It is more productive across the public sector, while at the same time outcomes significantly increase compared to the current design of services. People are supported back to a better place, both through the public sector, but also through their own efforts and through their communities.
Counterintuitively, the amount of resource needed is actually lower. Costs for the public sector fall, often dramatically.
"The unifying goal for public services should be to enable citizens to be, and remain, in charge of their own lives.
This implies a profound shift in our thinking and practice. It requires an approach to mobilise the citizen’s energy, resilience and hinterland in the drive to secure personal autonomy – the process known as co-production.
Co-production is a collaborative process enjoining the citizen and practitioner. It thus requires the rehabilitation of the public service workforce from its current subsidiary and problematic status. Practitioners should become co-authors of public service improvement."
Sir Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
This implies a profound shift in our thinking and practice. It requires an approach to mobilise the citizen’s energy, resilience and hinterland in the drive to secure personal autonomy – the process known as co-production.
Co-production is a collaborative process enjoining the citizen and practitioner. It thus requires the rehabilitation of the public service workforce from its current subsidiary and problematic status. Practitioners should become co-authors of public service improvement."
Sir Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Collaborative relational working with community, locality and neighbourhoods
This is the impact that we have seen in public services using these proven approaches:
- Multi-service hubs and focus on localities . Engaging with community groups.
- Strength based community based person centred services, helping people to take responsibility.
- Whole service design, where digital supports, rather than narrows your service workflow.
- Collaborative working across services, reducing silos between departments.
- New ways of working within local authorities, that are focused on a culture of learning and applying relational working principles.
- Collaborative and supportive management behaviours.
What relational working means for an organisation
Relational working is organisation wide, and even bigger, it is systemic across different organisations. But for one organisation, relational working applies to:
- In direct service delivery: between the practitioner and person or community being helped.
- In service management: between the manager and practitioner.
- In service leadership: between the leader/senior manager and operational manager.
- In service commissioning: between the commissioner and service leaders.
- In policy-making: between academics, policy-makers and commissioners.
The methods to design relational public services
Implementing Human Learning Systems
Human Learning Systems is a collaborative initiative where we have gathered concepts and approaches that demonstrate the mission driven approach to public service design. We have also pulled together examples of progressive relational systemic redesigns in the public sector across the UK and the EU.
the human learning systems website
​Relational public services & 'test and learn'
'Local government delivers services, but it also deals with people with complex needs and with communities. We go into more detail as to how to implement this way of working. Since 2003 we use test and learn methods as our core approach, to develop better ways of working in local authorities and health.
A description of Relational public services as described by Human Learning Systems
https://youtu.be/4N2Z5Xyj-_s
Examples & case studies
Several examples of different public sector redesigns, locality and place based working
Look at our work in The Guardian
click the picture
What are Mission driven relational services?
Looking at public service as a whole system, through a mission lens focused on people and communities, allows us to understand the complex issues that public services can work with. This focus emanates from our communities, it is a significant shift from focusing on legislation, policy documents and individual services. The shift needed to accomplish this is to liberate front line staff to be allowed to work with people by supporting them to get back on their feet. This organisation design is based on focusing value supporting what is needed by the local government and the local community, developed through test and learn methods. The way we think, design and behave in the public sector requires a shift for this to occur.
Mission driven examples are:
- to live a good life...
- to have a safe and nurturing place to live...
- to fulfil that which I am capable of...
- to contribute through fulfilling work...
Mission driven examples are:
- to live a good life...
- to have a safe and nurturing place to live...
- to fulfil that which I am capable of...
- to contribute through fulfilling work...
Moving from where we are today, to the intended future is not so difficult, it requires a strategy, framework of change, plans. The three horizons can help us with that.
Linking mission, with government, policy, civil service, local government, and citizens
Linking mission together with national and local government is a concept based around a way of designing and working that is different to how this has been designed with traditional policy making and new public management. It is about using a test and learn approach to uncovering the most suitable solutions. This blog post here describes the approach in further detail.