Transforming Services
Councils are facing an unprecedented period of financial constraint.
The ability of councils to deliver the necessary efficiency savings at the same time as improving priority outcomes will require robust and informed assessment of the options for change and significant enhancement in the capacity of councils and their partners to effectively plan and deliver the necessary change.
This latter point is of particular importance, since research into major change projects and programmes has identified that most fail to deliver the forecast levels of financial savings and benefits. It is vital, therefore, that every effort is made to support Scottish Councils in realising the benefits from their change programmes and ensure that the public are protected from unnecessary cuts in services.
The level of change required will be uncomfortable for many, but for others, it presents new opportunities to fundamentally rethink council services and redesign them around the needs of local communities. It also injects new energy into the process of finding better ways of collaborating, sharing services and forming partnerships that can maximise scarce resources. We are seeing committed change champions across Scotland's Councils determined to meet this challenge.
The Improvement Service is equally determined to provide pragmatic and practical support to councils, and this has led to the development of the Transformation Support Framework. This aims to:
- highlight the factors that have been identified as important for the success of major change programmes (critical success factors)
- identify the type of change initiatives that are being taken forward by councils across the country and which critical success factors are most relevant to successful implementation
- provide practical and targeted support to Scottish council change programmes
These aims are supported by the three main components of the Transformation Support Framework: ongoing research, resources, including a web based resource as a key component of a Knowledge Management provision and direct consulting input. You can find more information on each of these by clicking on the relevant areas of the diagram below.
