Transforming Public Bodies: Exploring the participatory role of the public in public services

“What does it mean to be an ‘arm’s-open’ organisation?”

Members at our latest ACE & PCF Transforming Public Bodies event were encouraged to consider the possibilities of working in true partnership with the public.

In light of intense political scrutiny on the “necessity” of certain public bodies, increasing public participation in civic life offers public bodies several opportunities:

To deliver better public services
To strengthen their legitimacy to operate
To provide added value back to central government

A real commitment is required from leaders to transition pro-actively from a transactional relationship with the public, to one that authentically embraces and encourages their contributions. As one speaker proposed, to become “arm’s-open”.

Are you optimistic about what “arms-open bodies” could achieve? Panellists encouraged chairs and chief executives of public bodies to embrace the opportunity available, starting with building a strong relationship with the public, based on a foundation of mutual trust and respect.

With thanks to our panel:

Jon Alexander, Founder of New Citizen Partnership and Author of Citizens
Dame Julie Mellor, Chair, Demos and The Young Foundation
Dame Fiona Reynolds, Chair, National Audit Office

Better public services

In this PCF and ACE event, chairs and chief executives considered the transition from delivering services for the public to with the public. While members shared their motivation to deliver the best outcomes possible, it is citizens themselves that hold the knowledge and experience of what they truly want and (often) need.

There’s a plethora of methods available which can be employed to engage the public, primarily looking to “understand” their views, “involve” them in decision making, and “innovate” with them on policy and strategy developments. Some of these include polling, focus groups, citizen assemblies, and participatory budgets.

There’s a great deal that leaders can learn from emerging and established international practices. Over the past decade, the Taiwanese government have experimented with methods to become a more citizen-centric democracy. A recent example, the “humour not rumour” social media campaign, which launched during Covid-19 to tackle the wide-spread dissemination of misinformation. The Brazilian government have also codified in law that local city council budgets must be presented to the public for comment and amendments, before official ratification.

Closer to home, the Bank of England have established The Economy Hub, a blog written by staff to promote greater transparency of the institution’s work, and several forums to canvas the public’s views on matters which are most important to them.

Members highlighted that the unique governance structures of the UK public sector and their strict budget allocations may inhibit their use of certain methods of public engagement. Nevertheless, these exemplars demonstrate what can potentially be achieved by working alongside the public.

Greater legitimacy to operate

Public bodies are currently facing increasing scrutiny to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of their services. The Cabinet Office’s latest guidance for undertaking public body reviews states their priority to focus on determining the “necessity” of each body, assessing whether functions may be usefully delivered by the State or an alternative structure.

Members discussed the potential to derive greater legitimacy, from close collaboration with the public, by explicitly demonstrating the public need, want and use of their service. To strengthen relationships with the public, panellists suggested creating more forums to listen directly to citizens, involving them in decision-making where possible, and communicating more transparently.

With efficiency a clear priority, members questioned how they might effectively invest in new, innovative methods to engage with the public, while still ensuring they’re delivering value for money. They also stressed the importance of taking time, patience and care to reach under-represented groups in society to ensure that all voices are fairly represented.

By prioritising their relationship with the public, leaders may strengthen their mandate to operate.

Providing added value to central government

At our first Transforming Public Bodies event, members discussed the importance of demonstrating trustworthiness to the public. This month they continued this conversation, emphasising the importance of public servants developing trust in the public to engage in civic life.

Operating on the front-line of public service delivery, public bodies are in a unique position to connect directly with their customers and gain insights on what they are truly thinking and feeling.

There’s a real opportunity for arm’s-length bodies to change the way that the public sector collaborates with the public, providing added value back to central government in understanding the public need and perception.

So what can “arm’s-open bodies” achieve? ACE & PCF Arm’s-length body leaders are only too keen to demonstrate the difference.