eGovernment
and Shaping Our Future
CHANGE is not about tinkering with the edges and small
improvements in admin. It is about thoughts and feelings and therefore needs to
be seen , felt and heard (eg touching the senses). It’s the films we watch, the
music we hear and the flags we wave which excite us. Admin just doesn’t do it!
The States invited public sector workers to talk about
change within the States and the vast majority said it isn’t happening fast
enough. The response was that lots has been done on policies, terms and
conditions and many more processes will be automated by technology. I can’t
help feeling that whilst commendable a focus on admin and process doesn’t
inspire and apparently isn’t actually recognised as change.
It is true that PERFORMANCE is achieved by the
accumulation of marginal gains (eg British Cycling) but this (admin and
process) is often invisible and the results appear magic eg the performance of
Bradly Wiggins or Chris Froome. In government, there is much to commend about
Lean Processes and Six-Sigma approach to becoming more efficient and effective
but this doesn’t necessarily lead to change nor have much cultural impact. It
does however have the merit of getting some people active.
If you were in a ship and you want to go faster your
focus should be in the engine room. If you want to change direction then
perhaps your emphasis should be on the bridge-deck. This is essential the
difference between doing things right (faster, cheaper, better) and doping the
right things (delivering the desired products and services) . In triathlon we
often say there is no point in going fast if it is in the wrong direction.
What is it that eGovernment and Shaping Our Future are
trying to achieve PERFORMANCE or CHANGE?
They are not mutually exclusive, but they do have an impact on the approach,
priorities, audience and communication.
I think Shaping Our Future is a brilliant initiative, and
ironically I see huge parallels with Guernsey’s Danelion Project which is much
more “power to the people” and “community against government” but the ambitions
for both are to make a better, healthier, happier Islands.
 |
These are governments’ areas of focus and the coloured
counters indicate which the public sector believes are the priorities. The
red counters indicate Jersey’s greatest asset, which must be protected.
|
I suspect however that Shaping Our Future could benefit
from better community engagement and maybe Guernsey’s Danelion Project might
value some measures of performance to better direct the time, money and talent
of participants.
If you have a view, why not contribute to the debate
#sofjsy
Post-Script
This blog was emailed to the Shaping Our Future people
for their comment prior to publishing. It was sent 18 July and despite several
reminders no reply has yet been received.
What is ironic about this is that the people attending Shaping
Our Future voted to say that change is not happening fast enough, and it seems
that there isn’t the capacity to deliver change quickly. If it takes nearly a
month to reply to an email I anticipate that the people attending Shaping Our
Future will continue to be frustrated by the pace of change.
No wonder Guernsey’s Danelion Project is advocating
revolution, and with the elections in October maybe Jersey will vote in that
direction.
MORE INFORMATION
Shaping Our Future
Or follow #sofjsy on twitter!
Guernsey’s
Danelion Project
http://guernseypress.com/news/2014/04/16/make-island-best-place-to-live-says-dandelion-project-group/
http://dandelion.gg/
#believeinguernsey
on Twitter
ciCHANGE FEEDBACK
Please share your thoughts: what do you want to happen
next and what can I do to make that possible? Please
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THE AUTHOR
Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader.
He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com (next event 11
April 2014). He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey
Harbours and Jersey Airport. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World
Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a
Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses.
Email: TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com
Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype
timhjrogers
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