One extraordinary benefit of working in this industry (once you overcome the fluctuating dislike of the masses), is the amazing people I get to meet and the achievements I am privileged to witness. Now, I know that claiming some kind of glory for placing these amazing people who achieve amazing things may be a stretch too far for some, but it’s not about that, it’s about feeling good by proxy.
But one thing that has struck me recently as we work more with Local Authorities pre LGR and Devolution, is how isolated many of these leaders feel within a single region. Of course, the range of conferences abounds, but what about a peer who can simply validate a strategic decision or planned action in confidence who has local and contextual understanding? Afterall, aren’t we all on occasion still waiting as adults for someone to say, “you’re doing ok you know, go for it”?
I know I am…
One thing about working with Local Authorities is how it closes your view to a region and the public services being delivered, whether by the Council itself, a University, an NHS Trust, emergency services, or charities.
So, this got me thinking…why is it that leaders often get stuck within their sector and is that always the peer group that they truly need? What about people from a totally different organisational type but something else in common.
Yes, staying within your sector peers means you can help one another to solve sector-based problems; but change your thinking to being sector agnostic and it merely becomes a problem of product, of architecture, of customer, of data or, of security. We exist in an era where every sector is embracing digital transformation, but public organisations are under increasing pressure to deliver smarter, faster, and more resilient services for less money.
Apply this to the idiosyncrasies of a region and perhaps some joined up thinking might just add value. This isn’t exactly a new groundbreaking idea, but from what I can see the examples of it working, or even existing, are limited. So just what might it achieve?
1. Shared services: Doing more with less
One of the most tangible benefits of collaboration is the potential for shared services. Instead of duplicating systems and functions across councils, health providers, emergency services, and education bodies, regions can pool resources to deliver core technology services such as cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity operations, or perhaps even ERP systems.
Shared platforms reduce overheads and bring about economies of scale. More importantly, they ensure consistency and interoperability across public services, making life easier for both employees and the citizens they serve. In East Sussex we’ve seen this work with the Orbis Partnership and combined Police forces, but how much further could it go? At the very least there are opportunities for procuring economies of scale via service delivery to multiple organisations.
2. Data sharing: A holistic view of communities
Data is one of the most powerful assets in the public sector, but only when it’s accessible, accurate, and ethically used. When organisations share data effectively, they can build a more complete picture of local challenges and respond with targeted, coordinated action. If, as a talented CTO I witnessed speak recently put it, data is the lightbulb, then imagine the luminescence of multiple data points across a region working in harmony. The NDL at a local level if you will.
Data sharing between local authorities, police, and health services could identify at-risk individuals earlier and coordinate support more effectively. Likewise, integrating data across planning, transport, and environmental services could help create smarter, more sustainable communities.
Of course, data sharing must be underpinned by strong governance, shared standards, and public trust, but the potential is enormous if we can get different systems, and organisations, speaking to one another.
3. Job exchanges and talent sharing: Building a flexible, skilled workforce
Many public sector organisations struggle to attract and retain digital and tech talent. By creating regional job exchanges or secondment opportunities, organisations can retain skilled staff, give them more varied career paths, and fill gaps where expertise is urgently needed.
This collaboration could also help to build a shared culture and network of digital professionals who understand the specific regional landscape, not just their own organisation. This, in turn, can lead to better collaboration on future projects and reduce duplication of effort. It also offers opportunities for fractional and jointly funded posts and therefore cost savings; imagine sharing a CISO across two public organisations where a highly-skilled full time one would be unaffordable, and the benefits to resilience that this would bring.
4. Peer reviews and knowledge exchange: Raising the bar together
Peer reviews and regional learning forums provide a low-cost, high-impact way to improve quality and accelerate innovation. By opening up internal digital strategies, project post-mortems, and technology roadmaps to regional peers, organisations can learn from each other’s successes, and importantly any mistakes.
This kind of transparency fosters a culture of continuous improvement and reduces the risks associated with trying new things. Regional DDaT communities of practice could ensure that smaller or less digitally mature organisations aren’t left behind.
5. Innovation through diversity: Co-creating better services
Each public body serves different communities and faces different challenges, and that diversity can be a strength. Collaborative digital initiatives could harness those varied perspectives to design more inclusive and effective services. Cross-sector hackathons, shared user research, and joint pilots could result in better outcomes for the public and the more efficient use of funding.
Conclusion
Digital transformation shouldn’t be a solo journey in the public sector, but it often is. Even if it’s not solo it’s so very often marching forward in a line all wearing the same uniform, and I’ve seen enough Sunday afternoon Napoleonic war films with my dad to know how that often ends.
Collaboration outside of sector is not just a nice-to-have in my opinion; it’s a necessity. And as we continue to see the wider adoption of things like the DDaT framework to other sectors, it’s never been more important. I don’t mean collaborating with peers whilst hurriedly gathering free pens over coffee and listening to talks driven by a commercial sponsor, and not just a get together for like-minded and like-sectored people, because after all, isn’t that exactly what we should be trying to avoid? What’s wrong with asking the opinion of whatever the opposite of like-minded people is, because isn’t that how we gain new ways of thinking, new ideas, new battle scars, and new innovation?
If the public sector is going to win the battle against rising salaries, falling budgets, increasing customer demands and decreasing team sizes, it’s going to need everyone to pull together.
We’ve all seen the war film where the defiant few stand alone facing the huge army, thinking they’re done for, until, at the very last moment and over the hill to their flank comes another few, this time wearing different colours, and another, and another…until, well you know the ending of Braveheart I don’t need to tell you. (Hang on maybe that’s a bad example.)
Anyway.
Don’t just look for innovation or validation within your tribe, look across the region, look beyond the uniform and beyond those with a similar background. Go and ask someone you’ve never met if indeed they think you are doing OK and whether you should go for it, because, you never know, they might just have gone for it themselves too. If you don’t know who to ask then ask your search consultant to introduce you, it’s something that we don’t have the privilege of doing anywhere near enough and that should change. We are almost uniquely positioned as an industry to facilitate those introductions, so ask us, because there’s a very good chance we’ll know someone who can help and the best part is, it won’t cost you anything.
So yes in the words of Mr Wallace and as we stand in our respective sectors; “there’s a difference between us”, but that difference might just be the source of innovation and action to make all the difference in the coming years.