The old joke that consultants borrow your watch and then charge you if you want to be told the time has finally come true. The UK Treasury has announced it will step in to provide the finance for £8bn worth of PFI (private finance initiative) deals this year, as other sources of finance dry up (see Nick Timmins in the FT today). Continue reading “Government bails out “Private” Finance Initiative”
Government Learning – an oxymoron?
A new NAO Report – Helping Government Learn – sets out to encourage better policies and practice for ‘organisational learning’ in government. Continue reading “Government Learning – an oxymoron?”
Public Value – the next ‘Big Thing’ in public management?
Are we about to enter a new era of public management? There are good reasons to think that this may be the case. Continue reading “Public Value – the next ‘Big Thing’ in public management?”
Hard Times for Public Services
Whoever is in power at Westminster, public services are facing hard times over the next few years. Continue reading “Hard Times for Public Services”
Sir Fred Goodwin’s Pension: Pay for Performance?
One thing that the current financial crisis ought to do is raise a serious debate amongst public policy makers about pay for performance – in the private and public sectors. Continue reading “Sir Fred Goodwin’s Pension: Pay for Performance?”
Caring for Carers?
There are about 6m unpaid carers in the UK, of whom 883,000 receive about £2bn a year in support – in benefits and employment support – from the government. But they contribute the equivalent of £23bn in unpaid caring to society, according to a new NAO study. Continue reading “Caring for Carers?”
Recruiting civil servants efficiently?
One the NAO’s latest reports points to a small but significant area of inefficiency in Whitehall – recruitment: Continue reading “Recruiting civil servants efficiently?”
‘Made to Stick’ – how to make your key messages memorable
This book looks at what makes ideas “stick” – why some ideas spread easily whilst others don’t.
Being able to communicate effectively has become increasingly important for public managers in democratic states. “A medium-sized ‘butter’ popcorn at a typical neighborhood movie theatre contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries lunch, and a steak dinner – combined!” Continue reading “‘Made to Stick’ – how to make your key messages memorable”
So What Would You Do?
In December I appeared as a witness before two Select Committees in the Westminster parliament: the Treasury Committee (TSC) which was responding to the government’s Pre-Budget Report; and the Public Administration Committee (PASC) which was investigating what standards of ‘good government’ might look like. Continue reading “So What Would You Do?”
NUDGE – influential book points to new policy directions?
The influential new book “Nudge” (Thaler and Sunstein 2008) comes from the emerging field of behavioral economics, which investigates the non-rational ways in which people make decisions. Continue reading “NUDGE – influential book points to new policy directions?”
Colin Talbot - my blog 