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INDEX

Institute for Continuous Improvement in Public Services

Delivery Plan 2015

Helping safeguard public services for future generations

www.icips.org

enquiries@icips. org

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INDEX

Page 3 – Creating Continuous Improvement communities

Page 4 – Our purpose and our strategic objectives.

Page 5 – Progress to date

Page 7 – Membership

Page 8 – Professional Membership

Page 9 – Supporting best practice

11 – Celebrating CI success

11- Developing a body of knowledge, resources, research, CI Blueprint

14 – Lobbying / Think tank

16 – Partnerships

17 – Income generation

18 – Governance

19 – Staffing

19 - Committees

20 - Delivery objectives for the next 12 months

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Creating Continuous Improvement communities that enable service providers to meet existing purpose and seamlessly adjust to meet

emerging stakeholder need.

Public service faces the challenge of meeting changes driven by changing demographics, new technology and increasing public expectation. These challenges have

to be addressed against a backdrop of decreasing funding. Outsourcing, one-off change projects and redundancies may provide short term gains, but to sustain

public services for the future, more needs to be done.

Continuous Improvement, applied in its truest form, can help bridge the gap between delivering for today and having services that are fit for the future. Employees

are integral to making this happen but true employee empowerment and practice of Continuous Improvement requires co-ordinated organisational activities,

different skills, future-focussed leaders and a CI mindset. The Institute is working to create CI communities where employee engagement, collaborative working,

sharing knowledge and ideas are the norm.

The key elements that need to be addressed in order to embed Continuous Improvement are reflected in our professional development standards and in all our

work. Our work is not about lean, six sigma or any other formulaic approach; but embedding continuous improvement in the fabric of the organisation. The

partners we work with are experts in individual fields of practice, the Institute bringing together the ideas and insights of these groups to provide a holistic view.

The Institute is working with partners to understand and overcome barriers to success, to embed best practice and to support the implementation of continuous

improvement, in order to safeguard the future of public services for future generations.

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Our purpose and strategic objectives.

The Institute has a clear vision and mission to which all activities are aligned.

The charitable objectives and powers of the Institute are:

‘To advance education for the public benefit in the subject of the continuous improvement and for the delivery of public services in such ways as the directors

may from time to time decide.’

‘Such other purposes as are exclusively charitable in accordance with the laws of England and Wales as the trustees may from time to time decide.’

The aims have been refined:

Our Mission ‘To embed continuous improvement in the delivery of public services by bridging the gap between knowledge and practice.’

Our Vision ‘Continuous improvement driving the evolution of public services, enabling our country and its citizens to succeed and thrive.’

For the first time the Institute has published a set of beliefs;

The vision of ‘one public sector’ working as one for the public good.

Formulaic approaches do not deliver a culture that recognises and embraces opportunities to deliver more effectively.

Embedding continuous improvement is a catalyst for achieving sustainable public services.

Continuous improvement should be the driving force of every organisation that provides public services.

To embed continuous improvement requires the alignment of all organisational activity.

Continuous improvement is a natural instinct, but organisations need to unlock this to nurture every person’s ability to think creatively and empowering

everyone to implement changes.

The combined effect of incremental improvements should not be underestimated.

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In line with its vision and mission, the Institute will continually seek to improve its service offer and performance through customer feedback, analysis of

performance and input from CI and business experts.

To achieve our objectives we will:

Provide resources and support

Facilitate networks and events

Undertake research

Maintain our own standards of professional practice

Champion best practice

Campaign to create the conditions necessary for CI to thrive

The Institute is unique in that it welcomes all public service providers. It provides free resources and support, it focuses on CI (as opposed to one particular

approach to delivering change). It has defined what CI means in practical delivery terms and it offers a professional development pathway for individuals based on

this framework.

Progress to date.

The Institute moves into 2015 in its new status as a charity; which affords new opportunities and augments the need for more rigorous governance and better

management of activities and income.

The Articles have been amended to reflect our charitable status and with the purpose being simplified and clarified; ‘To advance education for the public benefit

in the subject of the continuous improvement and delivery of public services.’

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During 2014, membership growth exceeded expectation, and in a way that had not been predicted. Members joined from all parts of the public sector worldwide,

from voluntary sector organisations and from the private sector. The Institute now has over 2000 Members from over 230 organisations. This offers an

opportunity for knowledge sharing which is yet to be fully exploited.

Much work has been done to define what CI is, and to address the complexities of embedding it within organisations. Organisations and individuals are starting to

recognise the difference between CI, change, and transformation, but our challenge is to ensure that our definition is widely accepted, to replace the erroneous

view that CI is merely one of the many branded approaches.

The range of subjects under the CI umbrella places the work of the Institute alongside that of many other specialist organisations. It is unrealistic to think that the

Institute can or should become an expert in every subject area. It is, however, realistic for the Institute to become the organisation with a developed and unique

understanding of CI success factors within each of these areas of expertise, and to work with specialists to create an understanding of how various elements can

align to create a CI culture / community.

This creates an opportunity for the Institute to work alongside specialist organisations, to be a one-stop shop that signposts to the most appropriate services and

draws expertise together to improve knowledge and understanding and to lobby for change.

The Institute remains committed to avoiding commercial bias, and in 2014, schemes were introduced and refined to enable an equitable, open and impartial

approach to working with other organisations and to ensure the quality of those organisations improves.

In 2014 we undertook a Member survey, and in response, amendments were made to the web site, the network events, and some of the tools. Case studies were

top of the want list; however many of those who requested them, were also unwilling to donate any case studies.

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Membership.

Free membership is open to anyone employed in the public or voluntary sector. Private sector employees may join as Professional Members.

Free membership is available to guests and offers free but limited resources. The free category of membership was introduced to prevent access to those

documents contributed by the public sector that must only be accessed by public sector for reasons of security and privacy.

Associate Membership is now available. There are no educational entry requirements for this grade and associate members have full benefits, such as negotiated

discounts and first refusal to events.

Professional Membership is for those who are able to provide evidence of professional competence and consider CI to be their career. The development path

enables self study and accreditation of prior learning, and provides a way of standardising the numerous unregulated courses in the market place.

Work has been started to map University and other courses against the Institute standard to provide an educational pathway aligned to the The Institute

membership grades. The standard is not based on any one particular methodology but focuses primarily on behaviours, supported by wide-ranging competency

based underpinning and applied knowledge.

Members who have gained Professional Membership have found it valuable in terms of reflecting on their experience and developing knowledge. It has proved

more difficult to achieve than some originally anticipated, but the standard will be retained so it is always recognised as something of value.

"There have been various benefits realised of being a professional member; a prominent one focuses on the network opportunities; despite being a Lean and CI

practitioner, I often used to feel that the issues and obstacles being encountered were unique to my organisation. Professional membership, reiterated that others

encountered similar issues but the sharing of possible remedial actions has been very encouraging. Equally, the status of professional membership should not be

under-estimated; whilst I continue with my own external research, the professional membership has facilitated access to companies permitting my own research to

proceed whilst promoting a reciprocal arrangement whereby I can input into the respective organisation's CI journey." Sanjay Bhasin NOMS

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Levels of Professional membership.

• Member (MICiPS)

• Practitioner (PICiPS)

• Fellow (FICiPS)

Progression through the various grades of membership can be attained by demonstrating the requirements of the Standard have been met.

Membership is awarded on production of a portfolio that demonstrates a level of underpinning knowledge and that the ability to apply it. Portfolios are assessed by

the CEO and volunteers who have assessor experience. Standardisation meetings are held. The Institute provides a range of support for Members working

towards Professional grades. In 2015 the priority will be to launch on line learning materials and CPD / development log.

The benefits of professional membership are twofold;

1) Continuing professional development

2) Employability

In 2015 it will be decided whether or not Professional Members will be able to vote on key decisions and in elections for Directors of the Institute and other

decisions on Institute services.

A number of training courses have been aligned to the Professional Standard including an MSC from Buckingham University, Lean Competency System and a

Business Improvement MBA from the University of Ulster. This provides assurance to Members over the quality of training outcomes as well as exemptions

towards Professional membership.

The is working with recruitment agencies to ensure Professional membership is recognised by those seeking to recruit CI practitioners and in 2015 work will be

done to position CI as a career home. The Institute has secured discounted rates for Members from a career doctor.

Paying members enjoy a package of benefits which centre on knowledge transfer, self-development and support with deployment. In 2015 The Institute will work

to expand the range of Member offers.

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Supporting best practice

A range of support is offered by the Institute.

1) On-line networks. These have proved popular. The Institute now has two on-line networks; one via LinkedIn that is open to all, and a closed the Institute

run network for Members only; protecting participants from commercialism and unwanted advertising.

2) Regional network events. These events focus on sharing information on the practical implementation of CI. These events are always over-subscribed and

are hugely appreciated, especially for the opportunity to share knowledge across the public sector. First refusal is now given to paying members.

Other public sector groups continue to use their time and resources to establish networks and events, therefore the Institute does not propose to increase

the number of network events it organises, rather it intends to use its limited resources on ensuring that details of these other groups are made available via

our website. Network events are likely to become more focussed on sharing knowledge across sectors.

3) Annual conference. This has been warmly received, and the Institute will continue to provide one for its Members. Efforts will be made to make our

conference different from the multitude of other events in the market place. To date the event has been part of the Membership benefits, with spare places

being made available to all. In future spare places may incur a small fee.

‘Congratulations on the event, I enjoyed the day and thought that there was a lot of useful content.’

‘We found the event very interesting and relevant to our journey. The range of speakers was superb and the pace, with the break- out sessions, worked very well.’

‘I really enjoyed the 1st the ICiPS Annual Conference. It was really informative and definitely provided some food for thought. I also wanted to say how impressed I was with

the organisation. The quality of the speakers and the stands and the whole set up was really excellent. I am already looking forward to next year’s event.’

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4) Site visits are very popular, and several were organised by the Institute during 2014, all at no cost to members. In addition, an agreement was entered into

with Onsite Insight? to offer Members discounts on their hosted site visits. The Institute found visits hard to secure in its own right and non-attendance

caused embarrassment and frustration for all involved. If these visits are to be continued in 2015, a charge will be introduced to ensure the commitment is

taken seriously. Promotion of visits through On Site Insight is considered the most favourable option. One free site visit for every 15 paying members will

be incorporated into Member benefits.

5) Work shadowing was popular with members but proved problematic during 2014. A huge amount of time was invested in organising these opportunities,

but we suffered cancellations. Members had to cancel because of such issues as potential conflict of interest, back fill and salaries. The Institute will

campaign to change attitudes to ensure learning through shared experience is regarded as highly as formal training is.

6) The scheme to support charities had a lot of interest from Members and charities umbrella organisations. Matching volunteers to appropriate charities was

time consuming, nevertheless several matches were achieved. The umbrella organisation we worked with to secure these decided that it wanted a fee from

the Institute for each match made, despite the fact the scheme was free to Members; as the organisation saw it as a benefit we were offering Members. This

scheme will be reviewed by the Institute in 2015.

7) Loan of CI professional across Departments. This should have been a scoped and agreed piece of work handed to the Institute by the Cabinet Office,

however Cabinet Office encountered issues in making the scheme work, and the Institute has encountered similar difficulties. Issues primarily arise around

the funding of individuals whilst on loan. There is also a concern expressed by Managers that if individuals can make time to support other organisations, it

could lead to the thought that their position is not necessary at all. This area could be addressed by the Institute Think Tank.

8) On line resources. The pool of resources continues to grow, and is one of the most utilised member services. The Institute is endeavouring to find existing

resources and link to then.

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Celebrating CI success.

The Institute annual awards seek to celebrate CI success. There were three times as many Award applications in 2015 compared to 2014, and these came from all

parts of the public sector.

Work is being done to refer winners from numerous other awards into the Institutes annual UK awards. Because there are now members from overseas, the

Institute is working with UKTI to explore the potential of expanding the awards to European level.

Developing a body of knowledge

A key objective of the Institute is to develop a body of knowledge and signpost people to existing research and CI collateral. There are several ways in which this

will be may be achieved. As an independent organisation, the Institute is ideally placed to work across disparate organisations, to provide a central portal to quality

assured resources, to help CI practitioners to get access to information that can help them as easily and quickly as possible.

Resources

Tools are available via the Institute web site, and are one of the most accessed resource .The Institute is constantly working to improve the search facility and the

resources available, drawing where possible from existing work, and signposting, rather than re-inventing the wheel.

There has been much debate about sharing resources. Resources are not routinely shared & different departments repeatedly commission similar things. Much of

the rationale for this reluctance to share concerns issues of copyright. Some believe that tools and change models that have been in the public domain for many

years are in fact subject to copyright. The Institute has consulted widely on this, and cannot find any evidence for this assumption. Where copyright really is an

issue is in relation to tools or training materials that have been specifically designed by companies, i.e. the packaging of the tool or approach, rather than the tool or

approach itself.

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The Institute has also has found that many tools have been developed as part of individual projects, but have been archived when the program(s) came to an end.

Redeveloping materials based on old principals is another wasteful way of re-inventing the wheel, so the Institute would like to locate these tools and bring them

back into use.

Case studies are the most demanded resource by Members and are seen as an ideal way to share challenges, solutions and lessons learned. Despite repeated

requests, the Institute receives few case studies from Central Government, so many of the case studies on the Institute database come from local councils and the

public sector overseas. The two main reasons Central Government gives for not wanting to share are a fear that sharing will reveal weaknesses and that sensitive

information may be revealed. The Institute has discussed this with leading figures, none of whom can see a reason why sharing should not be possible; indeed

many outsourcing partners use case studies as a way of marketing their successes. To help address this lack of sharing, a volunteer has been secured to collect and

write up case studies. In addition, case studies put forward for the Institute annual award will be made freely available. The Institute will also work to identify and

link case studies held elsewhere to the Institute portal.

Continuous Improvement Blueprint

The Institute will bring together sector specialists to look holistically at change within public service delivery, drawing on their understanding of barriers to

embedding CI and outlining what it will take to ensure key elements work cohesively to ensure success.

During 2015 The Institute will work with partners to produce a Continuous Improvement Blueprint, detailing a vision for delivery of Continuous Improvement

within public services. The document will address fundamental requirements for success, and will address:

The vision for delivery of CI and how it the fits with other change initiatives

Developing Leadership skills required to lead organisations that practice CI

Employee engagement in CI

CI in relation to procurement and third party suppliers

The role of CI professionals

Partnership working

Working towards ‘one public service’

Monitoring and measurement of CI

Knowledge management; working towards a federated system

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Research

The intention of research is to:

Help understand barriers to success

Use outputs of research to inform the development of tools to help with the practical application of CI

Inform the development of the CI Blueprint

Research to date includes:

‘The impact of leadership on the delivery of continuous improvement in the Canadian public sector’

‘The impact of leadership on the delivery of continuous improvement in the uk public sector’

‘Collaborative working in the public sector’

‘Application of CI in the public sector’

‘Process to develop cultures conducive to multi agency working’

Applications for grant funded research have provided elusive largely due to the number of years the Institute has been established and a lack of match funding.

Research has therefore been done by ICiPS, by students as their dissertation and through the ICiPS Research Prize. In 2015 a partner will be sought to apply for

grant funded research project.

A white paper on the State of CI in public services has been commenced in partnership with the University of Loughborough and another piece of work on

Collaboration with people Matter Network. Both pieces of research will be completed in 2015.

The knowledge base is therefore starting to grow and has been made freely available to members. Outputs from research are made feely available and used to

develop tools and adjust the professional standards of practice.

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Lobbying – Think Tank

In 2015 a think tank will be moved forward comprising influential and knowledgeable individuals from public, private and voluntary sector service providers. The

Board will control the terms of reference for this group. The think tank will aim to influence policies that can ensure the successful embedding of CI.

Areas that could be considered include:

Making it possible to utilise spare CI resources

Embedding CI in recruitment and development, and procurement

Sharing resources across organisations

Creating the conditions necessary for knowledge sharing , across sectors and across the public sector, to become the norm

Developing conditions that enable a long term focus to be taken

Developing a common language around CI and change

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Think tank Research

Insight from case

studies and

members

Development of

professional

standards of

practice

CI Blueprint

Development of

tools and

resources

Pool of

knowledge made

available via the

ICiPS web site

Pool of

knowledge made

available via the

ICiPS web site

ICiPS working with partners

The Institute knowledge

management model

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Partnering

Partnership working is key to the success of the Institute and it is recognised that any partnering arrangement needs to be a win-win situation.

The Institute Directors play a vital role in identifying and brokering partnership opportunities and promoting the benefits of promoting their services via the

Institutes portal.

The Institute has now defined the nature of relationship with partners with the key objective to avoid being used as a route to market, or be seen to have

commercial bias.

In 2014 a proposal was accepted by the Board outlining how other organisations would be worked with.

1. Where a not-for-profit organisation offers a service or product that the Institute considers may be of interest to members, the Institute will, with permission,

link to their site.

2. Where any organisation offers a discount to Members, they will be considered to be a partner. This will allow them to:

Have their details displayed on the Institute website in relation to the discount offered

Use the Institute logo in relation to the discount offered

3. Partners who donate to or sponsor the Institute. Benefits offered in return may not exceed the amount given but benefactors of the Institute can expect;

Free places at the annual conference

Their logo on the Institute web site and marketing materials

4. Associates who support delivery. These are chosen through open competition and governed by formal delivery agreements.

5. Organisations, who work with the Institute to undertake research, are a member of the Think Tank or are working on the CI Blueprint. As organisations

partnering to help achieve the objectives of the Institute and will receive full acknowledgement on our website.

6. Training providers will only be recommended or listed on the web site if they have been through the ICiPS Recognition scheme, to assure quality of

outcomes and map alignment to the ICiPS standard.

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Income Generation

For the Institute to flourish, it must generate a regular/steady/sufficient income stream from products that support the practical application of C.I. and are

developed from the results of research and intelligence. There are other services that can provide income and route to market, however the surest way of creating

regular income is seen by increasing the number of paid memberships of the Institute.

All services offered through the Institute will have to align with its’ Charitable Objects. Other services could be delivered through a subsidiary wholly owned by the

Institute and through the formation of Joint Ventures. Amy profit generated by a subsidiary would be donated to the Institute.

2013 / 2014 was the first full year of trading for the Institute. In that year, each income stream was tested and refined and there were varying levels of success.

In 2015 we will use this knowledge, and mindful of our new charitable objectives, we will concentrate on the following areas:

1. A Private Recognition Scheme.

2. Training and consultancy for the public and private sector. The Institute is, however, not looking to become a consultancy. Associates are now in place to

help with delivery.

3. Advertisements in the Institute bi-annual magazine. This will be re-introduced in 2015.

4. Donations.

5. Professional Membership.

6. On line training. This will be launched in 2015. As well as being a commercial offer, it will provide an additional benefit for members and a development

pathway. The training will not be a lean, six sigma, systems etc. but a CI product that is unique and aligns with our professional standards. This will ensure

we do not compete with providers of Recognised Services.

7. Research based products and services. In 2015 but strategic partners will be identified and ground work done to form joint ventures that can take the

agenda forward.

8. Events. The market for CI events is saturated so any events by the Institute would need something to make it stand out from the competition. There are

several possibilities for this, and one event may be planned for the end of 2015.

9. Tendering for public sector consulting abroad. This is something that could be considered if an opportunity arose. This work would be delivered through a

subsidiary.

10. CI support materials. The Institute has developed collateral for events and training that could be sold. A page on the web-site will be developed for the

sale of these materials.

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Governance

The Institute has now met the key objective set in the strategic business plan October 2012, to become a charity. This brings considerations around governance.

There is no immediate need to amend the Board structure. However, if and when a subsidiary trading company is established, the Board structure would have to

change. A new Central Board would be formed, comprising of representatives from the Institute and the Subsidiary, along with 3 independent Directors would act

as the scrutiny body. The CEO would oversee strategy and operations across the organisations supported by a Deputy.

Governance structures are simple to avoid bureaucracy, to ensure decisions can be made both swiftly and in the interest of its members, and to ensure continuity

when directors change.

Reporting against strategic objectives will be through a quarterly reporting pack. Risks in relation to achievement of strategic objectives will be monitored and form

part of the reporting pack.

To meet the requirements of the Charity Commission, two additional agenda items will be introduced;

1. Declaration of interest

2. Register of Gifts

Board members will not contribute to any agenda items where a conflict of interest could arise. Other Board members are expected to challenge where they feel a

conflict may not have been raised.

The balance within the main board is critical to ensure that The Institute remains independent and free from political or private sector influence.

Board membership has been designed to ensure that neither the public sector, nor the universities, nor the partners can have a majority vote. This will ensure

balance is maintained.

A Chair will be appointed to lead Board meetings. As stipulated in the Articles, this person could be one of the Board, and the position could be rotated around

the various Directors.

The Board meeting must focus on its primary purpose: ensuring robust governance and management, ensuring risks are addressed, and ensuring that the Institute

works within its charitable purpose.

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Staffing

The CEO currently Debbie Simpson works on a voluntary basis in order to direct funds to growing the organisation. She is supported by the Board, volunteers,

temporary staff and Associates.

The cost of employing one administration assistant is around £20k (with on-costs), equating to 500 membership fees and the cost of attracting members. The

Institute is not presently in a position to commit this amount of money and it is likely to be 2016 before a salaried full-time and permanent staff member will be

employed.

To date, the use of volunteers has been disappointing, with a lack of commitment and a belief that working at a slow pace is acceptable. This isn’t sustainable when

developing a new business. To date, most volunteers have wanted to undertake tasks in their work time and not in their own time and pressures of work have led

to understandable competing priorities. The lack of pace seems to be a cultural issue.

Some useful contributions have however been made by volunteers, particularly those who found they had spare time in between job roles.

The opportunity to use volunteer hours to support The Institute now that it is a charity will be pursued with formal recruitment used to ensure commitment and

best fit and a rigorous recruitment process will be put in place help identify volunteers who are likely to deliver.

The use of a salesperson paid on commission will be pursued during 2015.

Committees

A number of steering committees were originally established, each with a clear remit and an assigned task for the year. Each committee was lead by a Director yet

they all failed to deliver any outputs, largely due to the issues around volunteering already raised. They were disbanded pending review in 2015, because waiting for

their outputs was delaying moving the organisation forward.

Committees should play a key role, but finding candidates who understand that The Institute needs to operate as a viable entity and cannot be treated in the same

way as a public sector organisation, is of critical importance.

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2015 delivery objectives.

The Institute short term objectives for 2014 have largely been achieved. Areas that need further development during 2015 include donations, acquisition of case

studies and grant funding for research. Opportunities for development and growth have been assessed against benefits and resource implications in order to

identify key activities.

The objectives listed may change as the Institute grows; they are currently considered to be a minimum target.

Goals for 2015 are;

1. Commence work with the Think Tank

2. Develop the CI Blueprint

3. Start to gather data to develop a benchmark product in collaboration with industry partners

4. Develop membership at home and abroad

5. Support development of Professional members

6. Increase resources

7. Make available on line learning materials and data base for members to log their CPD

8. Undertake research that builds on outputs of research done to date and addresses key themes

9. Develop a one stop shop , signposting to resources, advice and events

10. Continue to align and map external training against the Institute standard to provide a cohesive career development path

11. Continue to champion CI as a profession

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