Mobilising Public Services - but what does it mean?

Barry Quirk is the Chief Executive of Lewisham Council. He speaks eloquently, yet plainly - pretty down to earth. He holds a bread roll - he will tell us about it later.

He says he can only think about 3 things and wants to focus in this talk on:

Nature of technology
Nature of services
Nature of work

Technology is changing all these things he says but we need to remember a few important aspects

"Other people are alluring - not technology"

He reinforces this thinking by claiming that he is not alluring however. And he will tell us about the bread roll.
Many of us use technology to connect with others - but usually with people we already know - and often to deepen existing relationships. The technology can be used to generate new connections with people - but this is a potential - there may be 200m people in China with a mobile phone but he doesn't think anyone in China would call him - except by accident. [He obviously hasn't had random calls on Skype from Chinese people wanting to practice their English then!]

"We focus on things that move" - the nature of services

He holds up the bread roll. "The only thing you would remember about this talk is if I threw this roll across the room". He argues that we are (particularly the techies and geeks I infer) mostly interested in things that change - and our 'eye' is attracted to them. But many things in public services need the focus of the 'single issue obsessives' and the need for delivery.

Nature of work - responsive services are challenging to deliver

Barry argues that much technology is there to 'simplicate' a product or service. Giving the example of the development of the modern car - he says these have been 'simplicated' in that while the machinery and technology inside the vehicle gets more and more sophisticated, the intention of the designer is to make the driving experience better and the car simpler to operate.

In order to deliver responsive services, we must have a much deeper understanding of how people behave and want to use services. He mentions the example of drop in 'footfall' in Lewisham's public libraries and argues that it would be worth comparing this with the footfall in a nearby Blockbuster video shop.

Timeliness and responsiveness, and the recognition that much of a council's "product" is information (where you are on a list for example) and the need to make sure that the information is conveyed rapidly and coherently for example. He also gives the example of the "Love Lewisham" campaign where residents are encouraged to report fly-tipping or abandoned cars as a way of both involving citizens in the process and demonstrating the council's commitment to improving the area.

Technology generates new 'stuff' to deal with . . .

Barry finishes with three issues for us to think on:

Cross-boundary working
Generational questions
The blurring of work/life boundaries

Imaginatively used, technology can assist in breaking down the 'silos' between traditional departments - but this needs lots of change in how the people are prepared to work. Engaging younger people and linking to them using their technology of choice is important yet challenging. And all this stuff blurs the boundaries.

Endnote

This was such a good perspective on the issues delivered in a forthright and interesting way (also quite funny!). Very good speaker. This was a lunch meting and it was impossible to blog it straight to the Powerbook. Difficult enough trying to manage knife and fork quietly while note-taking - and no photos - but I managed to take reasonable notes. I've featured this in the blog a bit as I think I managed to get most of his main argument. 26 October 2005.