Posts tagged ‘Reform’

: Duncan Morrow – sharing works

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Sharing Northern Ireland’s future is central to its future prosperity, Duncan Morrow contends. That opportunity must be grasped now. This generation in Northern Ireland has been given a golden opportunity: to shape a future that works. For decades, attempts at building an economy were all-but destroyed by the ever-turning cycle of hostility. What we got was what we have: a public sector economy overly dependent on subvention, but enough to keep most heads above water. What we did not get were visitors, students or investment on anything like the right scale. So our tourist industry...[full story]

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: Bruce Robinson’s reflections

Monday, December 19th, 2011
Sir Bruce Robinson, the recently retired Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, talks to Owen McQuade about his time leading the Civil Service and his experience of working to improve the local economy. Bruce Robinson has been at the forefront of efforts to transform the Northern Ireland Civil Service over many years. Before getting the top job at NICS he was involved in economic development, starting in the IDB and then as Permanent Secretary at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Looking back on the change programme you led over the past few years, what are the...[full story]

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Posted in Economy, Finance, Homepage Stories, Politics, Reform | Comments Off

: Building confidence in Stormont – Peter Bunting

Monday, October 10th, 2011
Northern Ireland has no shortage of policy but a dearth of decisions, ICTU’s Peter Bunting states, as he calls on MLAs to take action in government. When the peace process was taking its baby steps, with the inevitable stumbles and tantrums, it became common for commentators to refer to WB Yeats’ line that “Peace comes dropping slow.” We are long beyond that stage. The institutions are firmly embedded and the five main political parties in Stormont have little to threaten their position. Why then, are they so cautious about making decisions? Peace has come and is staying. Actions,...[full story]

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: Managing innovation – Charles Leadbeater

Monday, June 6th, 2011
Innovation expert Charles Leadbeater discusses the obstacles to public sector innovation with Owen McQuade. Innovation is “not just about things like iPads”, Charles Leadbeater contends. Instead, it is an important concept that many organisations are not exploring thoroughly. The public sector in particular needs to innovate, according to Leadbeater. However, too often, innovative ideas get trapped in “pockets” and “then get translated into policy at national scale, too fast.” Tony Blair’s former innovation advisor states that the four main ingredients for innovation are...[full story]

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Posted in Business, Economy, Homepage Stories, Reform | No Comments »

: The way ahead – roundtable

Friday, April 15th, 2011
Senior managers and advisors share their thoughts on the future shape of public sector reform in a time of austerity. What are the drivers for change? Michael Smyth In the short or medium term, it is dealing with the austerity programme that we’ve been handed as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. Longer term, there is a debate that we need to rebalance our economy and part of that rebalancing will mean that the size of the public sector shrinks. We need to replicate what the Republic has done, notwithstanding its current problems, and that is grow the private sector aggressively....[full story]

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Posted in Assembly, Economy, Homepage Stories, Reform, Social | No Comments »

: Power and Government – Alex Attwood

Friday, March 11th, 2011
Local democracy means that ministers must have power over policy, Alex Attwood has stated in a call for more reform. Officials and groups lobbying government need to change their attitude to ministers as devolution takes root, according to Alex Attwood. Speaking at the Northern Ireland Housing Conference, the Social Development Minister emphasised the primacy of elected ministers over officials. “The democratic interest is here and if ministers get into government and get into power, the democratic interest is going to get stronger,” he stated. Northern Ireland was “good at doing...[full story]

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Posted in Housing, Politics, Reform | No Comments »

: Integrating education

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Northern Ireland’s education system is an obvious sign of the province’s division, especially to outside observers. After the July riots, broadcaster Andrea Catherwood asked Times readers to “imagine the outcry” if all children in Birmingham were segregated by ethnicity and religion at the age of three and educated separately until 18. In its favour, separate education allows parents to choose schools with their own community’s ethos. The result, though, is that over 90 per cent of children do not meet a child from the other community during their average school day. Integrated...[full story]

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Posted in Education, Homepage Stories, Politics, Reform, Social | No Comments »

: Bruce Robinson – a changing Civil Service

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
The Northern Ireland Civil Service is changing. Owen McQuade met with its Head, Bruce Robinson, to discuss how the service is evolving to meet the challenges ahead. We met in the wake of the Northern Ireland Water procurement dispute and although Bruce Robinson is unable to deal with the specifics, due to the investigation underway, he is clear as to the context for anyone working in public service. “I’m very, very clear that the fundamental principles remain absolutely the same, which is that the civil servants are accountable to their ministers and through their ministers, in...[full story]

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Posted in Assembly, ICT, Reform | No Comments »

: Better evaluation

Friday, May 14th, 2010
Angela Hodkinson, who leads Deloitte’s policy evaluation team, talks about how effective evaluation can strengthen policy-making and the need to make sure this task is more than just an ‘add-on’. The ‘standard’ policy cycle often places evaluation at the end. This summative approach is valuable to provide a snapshot of progress and impact but evaluation can, and should, be undertaken throughout the policy cycle. Ex-ante evaluation establishes a baseline and articulates what a policy hopes to achieve and how intervention will make a difference. Ongoing evaluation allows for...[full story]

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Posted in Business, Reform | No Comments »

: Making a good society

Friday, May 14th, 2010
agendaNi looks at some of the ingredients of ‘good living’, as recommended by the Carnegie Trust inquiry into civil society’s future in the UK and Ireland. Civil society has several meanings. It is people coming together voluntarily for the benefit of themselves and others, in one definition, while another describes it as the society we want to live in. A further view sees it as the places where people and organisations develop common interests and try to reconcile their differences peacefully. The future of society as a whole is, of course, well contested but the inquiry found...[full story]

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Posted in Reform, Social, Voluntary | No Comments »

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