About the Commission

 

The Commission for Smart Government is an independent initiative to consider how to make public administration more effective.

Britain’s machinery of government, despite its strengths, is no longer equal to the challenges facing the country, failing to match strategic vision with execution.

Successive administrations have encountered problems delivering major projects, often arising from inadequate skills and confused accountability, and have grappled with the use of new technology.

Problems are too often characterised as the fault of civil servants when they are in fact systemic, and when politicians are equally responsible for failure. Nor is the solution simply to increase private sector delivery, as poorly executed and expensive outsourcing projects have demonstrated. 

Ensuring good government should be central to political debate. It is crucial for the productivity of the economy, living standards and the welfare of the public. It is critical to the agenda of extending opportunity throughout the country. It affects the ability of governments to deliver, trust in our political system and the health of our democracy.

The Covid response highlighted serious weaknesses in public administration, but also strengths, particularly in the dedication of public servants and the effective fusion of private and public sector talent.

The acute fiscal pressures created by the virus, the changing global landscape post-Brexit and the next wave of technological change will require government to be smarter: more efficient, more capable and more accountable. 

We need to ensure that our system of public administration has the skills, capabilities and incentives to design policy, operate and execute at pace, and manage complex processes more successfully. 

Experience suggests that incremental or modest improvements will be insufficient. The scale of today’s challenges to the country requires a fundamental review of how government works.

An independent, non-partisan review will help to assess the issues objectively, make the case for change, and take the issue beyond party politics.

The Commission will not only consider what might be going wrong, but also look to highlight positive examples of what has worked well. It will generate practical ideas and a road map for reform, drawn up by those with first-hand experience of government, public administration and the private sector.

Our work

The Commission will:

  • assess objectively the strengths and weaknesses of the current system;

  • analyse future challenges and opportunities that arise, especially in relation to technological change;

  • identify successful public sector initiatives and reforms in the UK and worldwide, and

  • propose deliverable reforms. 

The Commission will run for a year, generating a body of rigorous research and proposals for reform on a rolling basis.

We will consult on an open platform, making our draft papers and evidence sessions visible, and encouraging all those with ideas and experience to contribute.

The Commission is a project of GovernUp, which is an independent, non-party research initiative that offers evidenced-based solutions for all political parties to adopt.