Discussion is rife about what the cuts will mean for public services. But the focus is still not on what services will look like in the future and the innovation needed to get there. Both cuts and investment are a choice; what you cut now will start to define where you are going to end up. So what does this mean for your service?
First, the question you should ask is not how to save money, but how to make better use of resources. This not only helps to re-think what you're trying to achieve, but might help to realise your ambitions for a better service. It may seem counter-intuitive to be thinking about better services now, but at NESTA we've come across countless examples of organisations doing just that. Take Swindon Council, for instance, who rethought the issue of dealing with families in crisis by listening to the individual needs and aspirations of each family and co-designing a package of support to suit them. By working to improve outcomes and enabling families to depend less on formal service provision helped save over £200,000 in 12 weeks.
Next, take stock of the resources available. What ways could you help the social sector help you? How could communities participate in service delivery? How can services draw upon the knowledge and skills offered by service users, their families and friends? This will help give new perspectives on the problem and prompt radical thinking about the emphasis and design of the service. The HOPE Service in Lincolnshire, for instance, with some of the best patient outcomes nationally, is an excellent example of engaging users to create an effective service. By 'buddying' patients with lung and respiratory conditions with the multidisciplinary professional team enables a careful evaluation of what they want and need from the programme, making the most of available resources.
Third, give genuine power to frontline staff, service users and the public. What links many of the most successful innovations we've seen is that they are led by those with a close understanding of the lives and needs of those involved in the service and the problems that are being tackled. Take Restorative Justice, a project trialled in a number of communities across the UK. By encouraging local people to take responsibility for justice and building community capacity to understand the needs of offenders, this approach reduced re-offending rates by 27% and for every £1 spent has saved £9 in reconviction costs.
Tough decisions are going to be made and the journey to securing innovative, better services may seem daunting. But you are not alone. There are many organisations –Surrey Council's young people's services, for example – who are already doing this and demonstrating that the scale of the challenge can act to spur innovation. Don't put aside your ambition for better services. Indeed, it is the route to saving money.
Ruth Puttick is a knowledge and insight specialist with NESTA. For further information see NESTA's Ten Steps to Transformation blog series.
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