Mission Possible

Central to the new Government's agenda is a focus on five long-term missions for the UK:

1. Kickstart economic growth - securing the highest sustained growth in the G7;

2. Make Britain a clean energy superpower - delivering energy security and net zero;

3. Take back our streets - tackling crime and improving the police and criminal justice system;

4. Break down barriers to opportunity - by reforming education and childcare systems; and

5. Build an NHS fit for the future - improving health outcomes and tackling health inequalities.

The concept of mission-driven government draws from examples overseas, and at the UK at local level. For example Leeds City Council has had a long-term mission to create a child-friendly city, which has catalysed positive change across all parts of the Council and organisations in the city. Camden Council have set out four missions to drive their work. The Institute for Government state that missions differ from normal targets and policies because they deal with complex structural issues, they focus on end results, not the details of the means of achieving them, and they should include measurable targets.

I think a mission-led approach to national Government can be a powerful way of tackling big societal challenges, and breaking down the barriers between Government Departments, and between national and local government. I suggest the following factors for success:

1. Focusing on impacting causal factors and drivers for change - not just dealing with the consequences of them. For example the Homewards campaign, which I am proud to be part of the national expert panel, is focusing clearly on building locally-led coalitions and action plans tackling the causes of homelessness, seeking to make it rare, brief and non-repeating, which is a very different approach to the important work undertaken to address the impacts of homelessness.

2. A genuinely cross-cutting approach across different Whitehall silos - with commensurate leadership, accountability (including targets), governance and management arrangements. It will require not only strong leaders of missions and mission-boards, but also cross-cutting teams. This will be a significant change in the fragmented way in which Whitehall works, and in which individual departments are held to account.

3. Devolution - or at least a sensible partnership between national and local layers of government, and between UK Government and the governments in the devolved nations. based on an understanding on who can most effectively do what. The new government has set out a positive direction of travel on devolution.Local authorities and Combined Authorities, not only are closer to the issue, communities and businesses on the ground, they are also well placed to join-up things across different policy and investment silos (see point 2 above).

4. An evidence based approach. There should be clear case for change and logic map, informed by the evidence on causal factors and the effectiveness of previous policy. The work of the What Works Centres could be valuable. Robust evaluation that adds value should be built-in from the outset.

5. Using data and targets smartly. A suitable set of Specific, Measurable, Achievable and Timebound targets are needed. These should be limited in number and focused on the really important outcomes, to avoid losing sight for the wood for the trees. Big data, open data and AI can drive powerful insights and solutions.

6. Innovation. There will be a need to do things differently, including placing some bets on experimentation and different approaches. The Covid vaccine taskforce shows what is possible. This will require bravery among policy makers as there will be failures as well as successes, It will require different approaches to procurement focused on challenges, not specifying detailed solutions. Mission-orientated government can also drive innovation and growth in the wider economy. Firms respond to future profit, market and growth opportunities where there is societal need. These can be fostered by government, and there is an important role for universities and research funders to play here.

7. A long term approach, with demonstrable early wins. The new government have made it clear that the challenges the UK faces are deep-rooted, and there are no easy short term fixes. A long-term approach is clearly right, but there is also a need to deliver demonstrable positive change in a way that resonates with people in the short-to-medium term. One of the challenges Bidenomics has faced is that despite huge and farsighted policies and investment to support inclusive and green economic growth, some people have yet to feel the positive impact. People are angry and ambitious for their places and communities in equal measure, and they want to see change on the ground in terms of invetsment, quality of place and public services. This will be particularly important in terms of the clean energy mission in places that are currently economically reliant on carbon intensive industries.

8. A broad-based coalition. Ambitious missions will require Government to incentivise, coordinate and focus resources and action across a wide range of organisations across the private sector, universities and colleges, and the community sector. This is about culture change and hearts and minds, about Government being a catalyst for action working with and through others, and about it punching above its weight to have a positive impact disproportionate to its size and resources.

9. A step-change in implementation capability. There is a real need to strengthen the culture and capabilities for implementation across government at national, combined authority and local levels. This requires sufficient staff capacity, up-skilling and knowledge sharing, good project and programme leadership and governance, and smart use of external resources to bolster delivery capabilities. We are involved in a number of projects to support delivery of big government programmes; the significance of the nitty gritty of delivery issues (ranging from planning, procurement, inflation, and staff capacity and so on) should not be underestimated.

10. Investment. Funding and investment needs to be aligned to missions. In some cases additional investment will be needed. Existing separate funding streams need to be brought together nationally, and to achieve a more coordinated place-based approach locally. Cross-departmental mission budgets would be radical, and powerful. The Green Book, the Government's framework for investment decisions has been revised positively in recent years to reflect wider policy priorities that a narrow value-for-money focus (important though that is) and further changes may be needed, as well as the revised Green Book being interpreted correctly by those making investment decisions.

I am positive about the role of a mission-led approach to positively change the way in which government in the UK works, and to affect positive change on the ground. We face significant structural challenges, and we need to do things differently to make a real difference.