Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Government Consulting HubA new centre of expertise for
management consultancy.
Foreword
As the Minister for Efficiency and Transformation in Cabinet Office and Her Majesty’s Treasury, I am aware of the enormous potential that the Civil Service has to deliver work for this country. I am committed to ensuring that the work of the Civil Service offers public value and upholds the highest standards of performance. To support this goal, I asked the Cabinet Office to create a new HMG centre of expertise for management consultancy.
As our centre of excellence for consultancy, the Government Consulting Hub will deliver six core elements; the implementation of the Consultancy Playbook; a Knowledge Platform; Capability and Training;
“The Government’s new centre of expertise for management consultancy.”
a Senior Strategic Advisory Service; Strategy Consulting; and a Triage service.
These core elements will provide the Civil Service with a powerful resource - helping to reduce the amount spent on consultancy, maximise value where consultants are needed, and grow the skills and capability of our own people to deliver consultancy-type work and to deploy consultancy type skills.
This is not just a savings exercise. This is a real opportunity to invest in the future of the Civil Service. To build capability, skills and experience, and to have a much greater impact in the work that is delivered.
Lord AgnewMinister for Efficiency
and Transformation
Foreword
Across the Civil Service, officials work to deliver the government’s priorities, developing and implementing policies that will have huge impacts on the people of this country. At this moment, that work is more important than ever - as we face some of the most complex policy challenges in a generation. The response and recovery from the global COVID19 pandemic, seizing opportunities available as a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union, and delivering the UK’s ambitious climate targets to name a few.
I know that the Civil Service has the capacity to deliver these and any policy challenges it faces. But too often we are reliant on the support of expensive external consultants for this complex work, rather than investing in and upskilling ourselves.
“The Government Consulting Hub represents a clear investment in the future of the Civil Service and in its people”
That’s why I am proud to formally launch the Government Consulting Hub. This new team, working at the heart of government has already begun to deliver on an ambitious commitment:
● To reduce HMG’s spending on external consultants;● To maximise value when external consultants are used;
and● To support the continuous growth of the Civil Service’s
internal capability and confidence. Via our six key workstrands, GCH will remodel every stage of the consulting process - from triaging early project ideas, to providing internal consultancy services, to offering skills, training and knowledge to Civil Servants across every department.
Rupert McNeilChief People Officer
About the Government Consulting HubThe Government Consulting Hub is a new cross-government management consultancy team working at the centre of Government. We are based in the Cabinet Office and funded by all Government departments.
GCH provides senior civil servants and Ministers with an option to use internal civil service resource for complex and time-bound projects, and ensures with CCS and GCF that we get most value when HMG does go to market for external consultancy.
The team works with departments on HMG's highest priorities in a focussed, fast-paced, dynamic and exciting environment. We work at speed and with rigour on the most challenging problems across government.
We provide impactful and evidenced strategic advice and use our specialist skills to deliver results and meet clients' needs.
The programme has three key objectives:
Impacts and Outcomes3
Supporting enhanced Knowledge approach
By setting new expectations of knowledge generations, use and re-use.
Doing more ourselves
Leveraging the new GCH HMG Advisory Network to act as a virtual source of knowledge and expertise, well supported, signposted and with collaborative approaches across teams.
2Increase HMG’s in-house capability
Through upskilling, learning and development and knowledge generation and access.
1
5 Recognised Career Path
For internal consultants, with exciting opportunities to work differently whilst remaining within the Civil Service.
4 Learning and Development offers
New ways of thinking and working through new Learning and Development offers with the Government Curriculum.
6 Reducing external spend
By asking the optimum question, by re-using thinking, tools and methodologies, and creating blended teams.
7 Measurable skills transfer
To teams, whilst providing further insights to our Strategic Workforce Planning colleagues.
The Six Core Components of GCHConsultancy Playbook
Set rules and guidelines for using consultancy. Supporting the work to instil a culture shift in the Civil Service, encouraging civil servants tasked with commissioning and managing consultants to look for internal delivery models, to place greater value on knowledge, and to strive for better data.
TriageOffer an expert and market centric perspective to challenge spend proposals. Triage will either endorse the spend or not, providing recommendations on how the commission could be improved to ensure better value for money; potentially by using internal resourcing options.
Knowledge Ensure that knowledge generated on consultancy engagement is transferred to the Civil Service both to support individuals' personal development and to build institutional knowledge.
Capability and TrainingDeliver a core consultancy skills programme in partnership with the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit (GSCU). To uplift core consultancy capability across HMG, empower people, reduce consultancy spend and extend learning and development across HMG.
Strategic AdvisoryProvide on-the-shoulder support to Directors and Director Generals acting as SROs for complex programmes. This will reduce reliance on Partner / Director time from external firms and ensure we are re-using our own expertise and skills.
Strategy Consulting Deliver strategy consultancy projects to central government departments.
GCH will draw from internal and external capability to deliver across HMG
SMEHMG
Experts
GCH
Centre
HMGAdvisoryNetwork
Senior Leaders
Fast Streamers
Core Consultancy
skills
Engagement Lifecycle
Outside in Thinking
Problem Solving
Impactful business writing
Disruptive Technology
Confidence and
Credibility
Influence and Impact
Teaming in a Temporary
Organisation
Actively using your network.
Growth Mindset
Build Capability
Continue growth Senior AdvisorsInternal/External
Knowledge
Consultancy PlaybookThe Consultancy Playbook will help buyers across HMG get the best out of their consultancy engagements. It will provide best practice guidance on setting procurements up for success, engaging meaningfully with the market, and collaborating with suppliers to strengthen contract management and achieve meaningful and measurable knowledge transfer.
The Consultancy Playbook will be launched in May 2021. It has been co-developed by the Government Consulting Hub and the Government Commercial Function, with extensive input from both the external market and internal stakeholders from across government.
Going to market
How to structure procurements to allow the market to offer effective and innovative solutions
Right at the Start
How to decide whether we need consultancy, and when we do, set up for success
Maximising value throughout
How to add value through knowledge transfer, strong contract management and collaborative ways of working.
TriageThe Management Consultancy Triage Service is designed to help ensure that HMG only uses external consultancy when it needs to and then does so with maximum return for its spend. The Triage service will offer a senior expert and market centric perspective to challenge spend proposals; providing an opportunity for experienced users and deliverers of consultancy, together with a broader set of senior functional / professional experts, to help shape proposals before they are too
“The Management Consultancy Triage Service was integral to our successful request to use management consultants in 2021. The expertise they provided as a critical friend enhanced the quality of our spend control application and ensured that we achieved better value for money in the use of consultants, avoided the need for potential re-procurement and challenged us to think in more detail about knowledge transfer and the longer term sustainability and resourcing of our work.”
advanced to meaningfully support.
A pilot has been underway since February 2021 and already shown that Triage can demonstrably improve the quality of proposals before they go through the controls process; enabling teams and HMG to take a longer term strategic view of when, where and how it spends on consultants. Triage enables thematic, actionable, insights to be pulled from the diverse
proposals that it appraises; helping provide a clearer picture of the internal capacity and capability HMG requires.
By refining the ‘question’ being asked, Triage will help HMG reduce the amount it spends on consultancy and maximises return for its spend; operating, where appropriate, as a gateway to those internal HMG teams that may be able to support instead or alongside.
INTERNATIONAL COUNTER FRAUD TEAM, TRIAGE PILOT USER
KnowledgeWhen working with external consultants, HMG should be working to capture, retain and reuse the knowledge that is gained from these projects.
The Government Consulting Hub will act as an overarching HMG Advisory Network. This will bring together a highly respected cadre of Civil Servants and wider colleagues, the most deeply skilled and experienced in management consultancy and advisory work across government. The network will proactively leverage areas of expertise to act as our centre of expertise and knowledge to deliver on the Consultancy reform agenda, and the ongoing work of the GCH.
The transfer of knowledge to Civil Servants should be a key component of any consultancy engagement and it should be available for others to learn from across HMG. Embedding this culture will help build the capability of the Civil Service and reduce the need to engage the market for problems that have already been solved elsewhere. We have set a new expectation on what our suppliers should generate and share in terms of applied knowledge, supported through the Playbook.
With this in mind, GCH is building an accessible Knowledge Platform which will serve as a reference point for work previously done, as well as being a central reference point for Knowledge gained across HMG. It will run a rolling series of events to showcase interesting projects and findings and to raise awareness of the Knowledge Platform and what it is there to do. The knowledge work will embed across all elements of the GCH programme, ensuring this is as the forefront of people's minds.
The Knowledge Platform will be an accessible library of commissioned learning materials, a hub of events and a central understanding of what work has been done
By providing Civil Servants across HMG with access to a knowledge network for thought leadership, tools, methodologies, ways of working and lessons learned we will challenge the system to avoid unnecessary spend and maximise value when spend does go ahead and feed the reformed curriculum, equipping the Civil Service with the skills it needs now and in the future.
Capability and TrainingThe Government Consulting Hub will…
We spend too much on external consulting. We buy too much, not effectively enough, and don’t get enough knowledge and skills transfer
We have fantastic talent… our fast stream fishes in the same talent pool as the big consultancies, and yet the same people are sold to us 3-5 years later!
We want to offer exciting and enriching careers for our people, enabling them to solve crunchy problems
We want to build longer term capability in core consulting skills to be core civil service disciplines
Reduce spend on external consulting (and spend it better when we do)
Build longer term capability through a network of highly capable people able to solve problems and deliver transformation around the system
Offer people exciting, enriching, stretching careers
Give everyone a toolkit of consulting skills to draw on when and where they need them
Our proposition is that by training our people effectively, we can…
Three new consulting skills programmes aimed at Fast Streamers, internal advisory teams, and senior leaders acting as strategic advisors have been developed in partnership with the Government Curriculum and Skills Unit.
Capability and Training core skills
Outside in thinkingAble to take a step back and look at what is going on in the outside world and bring different approaches to government consulting projects.
Problem SolvingAble to use data analysis and associated tools (excel, PowerBI) root cause, analysis, structured problem solving and human centred design tools.
Impactful business writingKnows how to construct a compelling argument for the correct audience, write effective documents, with logical thinking, constructed in prose, making good use of data visualization including insightful PowerPoint.
Influencing and ImpactMakes an impact using facts and evidence to present a compelling argument persuasively and with confidence to all audiences.
Disruptive technologyUnderstands core aspects of data and digital technology (e.g. automation, AI, machine learning) and how they are likely to evolve. Disruptive technology will include cloud computing, applications and websites, system analysis and design.
Teaming in a temporary organisationUnderstands high performing teams and what it means to be a team member or a team leader. Knows how to bring the right expertise into the team and work effectively with a range of personality types. Can establish their role and adds value quickly.
Actively using your networkBuilds a network of trusted peers across the CS to share knowledge, ideas and experience. Understands organisational networks and how to use them.
Engagement lifecycleUnderstand the engagement life cycle and core outputs at each stage including managing expectations, managing risk and managing scope.
Growth mindsetTakes the time to reflect on their performance with a trusted manager or mentor. Leans into challenging situations and actively chooses to learn from the experience. Willingly shares their knowledge and insight.
Confidence and CredibilityIs able to present themselves in a way that builds trust and confidence in their abilities and comes across as a credible consultant. Can speak to truth to power and uses emotional intelligence to help others make the right choices.
Strategic AdvisoryThe Government Consulting Hub Strategic Advisory Team will be a select group of very senior advisers to provide on-the-shoulder support to Directors and Director Generals working on the most complex strategic challenges facing government.
This support will reduce reliance on external firms and ensure we are re-using our own expertise and skills. The Strategic Advisory Service is already in operation, and we are building capability and capacity for HMG to be its own strategic advisors. We are using senior time and experience with agility to share functional and other experience.
Why offer Strategic Advice?
HMG already holds a wealth of experience and expertise within its workforce, it is, however, often underutilised at a senior level - very senior level civil servants with honed skills and deep experience are not always in a position to share their learning and work as an adviser to those carrying out similar work now because of other pressures on their time.
GCH is utilising this expertise through the Strategic Advice Service. There is existing demand for this type of service. Current assignments have shown that Cabinet Office badging can be useful in giving GCH a degree of perceived independence from departments / ALBs and having recognised senior officials with a depth of experience sends a positive message about capability and the quality of the advice given.
Strategy ConsultingAlongside the knowledge, training and advisory services provided by the Government Consulting Hub, we will also have a team of internal consultants, providing strategy consultancy projects to central government departments.
To deliver this, we will work in blended teams of cross-government expertise, convened on a project specific basis. The Strategy Consulting Team will act as an incubator and test bed for new ways of working, and will be responsible for arranging on-the-job experience for fast streamers completing the core consulting skills capability and training programme.
“It has been great having a consultant from the GCH leading one of our workstreams. They have the expertise and professionalism that you would expect from an external consultant, combined with the ability to make an impact from day one as they also understand the system we operate in and how things work here. They have led a team that includes both external consultants and internal resource, making sure we get maximum value from both. They have been able to direct the external consultant effort to the areas of greatest importance, and help them collaborate and align with others within our programme team as well as much wider, to really deliver the work we need. The service we have received from GCH's strategic consulting offer is very effective and I wouldn't hesitate to work with the GCH again.”
GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION SERVICE, GCH CLIENT
How GCH links into wider Civil Service prioritiesThe GCH and the Consultancy Ecosystem Programme supports both the Cabinet Office and wider Civil Service to deliver a number of strategic and ministerial priorities. For example:
● The Cabinet Office’s departmental priority to ‘enhance our commercial capabilities across the board in order to speed up and strip out inefficiencies from procurement and project delivery’
● GSCU’s new Civil Service Curriculum explicitly references ‘consultancy skills’ as a fundamental of public administration and highlights the Programme’s plan to “increase in-house consultancy expertise.” The Programme works closely with the GSCU to ensure the Curriculum equips civil servants with the consultancy skills they need. Core elements of the Programme will also provide a route for civil servants to apply that learning, deployed on assignments
● The Civil Service Modernisation and Reform Paper referenced the Programme explicitly in its draft modernisation and reform actions document.
● The Programme is key part of HMG’s response to the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) ‘Specialist skills in the Civil Service’ inquiry. The PAC specifically asked the Cabinet Office “to outline in its Treasury Minute response how it plans to reduce reliance on external consultants and mitigate these costs in the future.”
● Ministers have committed to the better management of consultants, reducing expenditure on consultants and growth of Civil Service internal capability both in appearances at the Despatch Box and the media.
