The improvement of public services is a major theme of government policy. It has involved better performance management, organisational reform, new working practices and cultures, greater use of e-services and experimenting with new forms of service delivery, including the engagement of the private sector and joint working between public agencies.
SQW has worked with a number of government clients to evaluate new approaches to public service delivery and identify practical and deliverable changes to enhance its effectiveness. We have also developed an understanding of the particular challenges that public agencies face in areas of multiple deprivation, where needs are often greater and remedies more complex.
Our work has explored how public services can become more responsive to local needs through the more active engagement of service users and communities, including the development of new forms of local and neighbourhood involvement and governance.
Examples of SQW projects
Emerging governance and management issues in the development of Children’s Centres
SQW was asked by the DfES to review the governance and management structures and processes that have been put in place and are being developed by the designated Children’s Centres. The aim of the study is to identify what seems to be working well and to disseminate good practice lessons.
Integrating parish plans into the wider systems for local government
SQW assessed the extent to which parish plans are currently being integrated into local statutory planning and service delivery processes, identified best practice in doing so and the key barriers where it not being done and recommended on how these might be overcome.
The role of community involvement in improving public services
SQW led a team of researchers exploring how local communities and service users in deprived areas are involved in planning and delivering mainstream public services, and what difference their involvement makes to the final outcomes.
Evaluation of the Invest to Save Budget – rounds 1 and 2
SQW was commissioned by HM Treasury to undertake evaluations of the Government’s ‘Invest to Save Budget’. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the nature of partnership working on ISB-funded projects, identify good practice lessons and evaluate the effectiveness of ISB in terms of improved partnership working, better service delivery and/or cost savings.
Neighbourhood Management – national evaluation
SQW is leading a consortium of universities and consultancies on a long-term evaluation of the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Programme. The consortium was recently re-appointed by DCLG for a further 3 years. The project involves detailed action research in all 35 Round 1 and Round 2 Pathfinders in England. The team is evaluating new ways of joining up public service providers at neighbourhood level and making them more responsive to the needs of local communities. The study is exploring a range of alternative neighbourhood management approaches.
New models of governance – exemplars of neighbourhood level working
This piece of work was commissioned from SQW by DCLG to add to the evidence base for the 2006 Local Government White Paper. It required consideration of a wide range of issues – the efficiency and effectiveness of different public services delivered at the neighbourhood level and the extent to which this led to more citizen engagement