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Being honest: award-winning annual reports

• Posted on March 29, 2018 by Kate Mathers

  How do you make complex departmental annual reports easily understandable? Do you clearly outline your goals and achievement of them? Is it easy for the public to understand your organisational risks and their management? Being clear, concise, honest and open in annual reports is a real skill. To inspire creativity and usability, our yearly guide to good practice in annual reports this year presents examples from both the public sector organisations we reviewed in the Building Public Trust Awards, and some of the private and third sector examples highlighted in other categories. more… Being honest: award-winning annual reports

  Tagged: Accountability, Audit, Business operations, Cross-government, Good practice principles, Information management, Performance management, Public finances, Reporting, Third sector

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Cross-government collaboration: lessons from R&D

• Posted on February 16, 2018 by Sian Jones

  Life-saving drugs, step-changes in energy efficiency, robots and amazing new materials that can transform our lives – these, and many scientific advances, are all the result of research and development (R&D). The UK funds £31.6 billion of R&D a year, and its success depends frequently on collaboration between a wide range of government departments, and with research councils, university bodies, businesses, charities and international organisations. As we look at the fascinating world of R&D, we can also learn much for all types of cross-government collaboration and coordination. more… Cross-government collaboration: lessons from R&D

  Tagged: Accountability, Brexit, Climate change, Cross-government, Digital transformation, Environmental sustainability, Good practice principles, Growth, Impacts, Information management, International, Leadership, Overseas aid, Process management, Project management, Research & development, Third sector, Universities

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Making public sector markets work

• Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Nancarrow

  What do energy suppliers, railways, doctors and rubbish collectors have in common? The answer: they, and many others, deliver essential services that involve, to a greater or lesser extent, a ‘market mechanism’. In a world with a wide range of public service delivery mechanisms, including direct service provision (the military, tax collectors, police, NHS A&E services etc.) our new public service Market Analytic Toolkit is the latest NAO resource designed to help government address a set of new challenges around its use of markets to deliver public services, including oversight, consumer protection, regulation and helping to achieve effective competition and innovative delivery. more… Making public sector markets work

  Tagged: Contract management, Customer service, Devolution, Public sector markets, Public sector reform, Regulation & consumer protection, Risk management, Third sector

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SMEs to VCSEs: barriers to benefits

• Posted on July 21, 2016 by Joshua Reddaway

  Innovation, flexibility, value for money, specialist expertise, local knowledge: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can bring great benefits to the delivery of public sector contracts. Economic growth can be created, competition increased and local investment and social outcomes encouraged. But government needs to think differently if it is to overcome the barriers to contracting between government and SMEs – especially voluntary, community or social enterprises (VCSEs). more… SMEs to VCSEs: barriers to benefits

  Tagged: Contract management, Cross-government, Local government, Public sector reform, SMEs, Third sector, VCSEs

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Joining the dots: the picture from government contracting

• Posted on May 19, 2016 by Andrew Denney

  £225 billion of taxpayers’ money is spent annually with private and voluntary providers. Health, justice, employment and many other public services are delivered by them. This delivery can be complex and high risk, and very high profile if providers fail. Government Commercial and Contracting: an overview of the NAO’s work highlights some of the key challenges faced by government and brings together findings from our work across these challenges. We invite you to join the discussion and help us do more to share thinking and practices across government. more… Joining the dots: the picture from government contracting

  Tagged: Accountability, Contract management, Cross-government, Good practice principles, Performance management, Public sector markets, Risk management, Skills, Third sector

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