Local government

OPM’s work with local councils, their partners and communities is led by Sue Goss.

At OPM we are focused on helping our clients safeguard social outcomes while achieving significant savings. As well as helping clients to achieve greater efficiency, we are working with councils on step-change. We don’t underestimate the challenge, but thanks to the depth and breadth of our practice we are able to blend innovation and application to build capacity at all levels of the local system.

Making transformational change

Saving money in the current climate requires a radical rethink of resources. OPM’s transformational change work with local authorities and their partners results in the structural and organisational improvement required to achieve significant savings and fit-for-purpose teams. By integrating or merging departments, commissioning units and other functions, we provide councils with the foundation for serious performance improvement and efficiency savings.

Supporting resilient leaders

As part of our resilient leaders programme we are supporting hundreds of senior managers on their own personal journeys – improving their performance to improve overall effectiveness and capacity within councils. This programme blends accredited coaching and Organisation Develepment (OD) programmes, bespoke leadership development co-designed with individual authorities, executive coaching, action learning and master-classes. Tailored modules also build the leadership capacity of middle managers and front-line staff.

Unlocking local capacity

Across the country we are working with councils and their partners on unlocking local capacity. In practice, switching on the voluntary effort of local communities means working closely with local politicians to build skills and capacity for community leadership – and supporting an entirely different approach to working with local communities. Read our report: Unlocking Local Capacity: Why active citizens need active councils.

Changing social systems

Drawing on our Total Place and community budgeting experience, we are helping authorities develop ‘whole-system change’ to tackle challenges that resist an easy solution. Whether responding to an ageing population, families with complex and multiple needs, or social cohesion and riot recovery, we help with the shift away from ‘compliance’ to an asset-based approach. We start from user experience and use professional judgement to build the capabilities of individuals and communities.

Commissioning and measuring impact

We are working with councils across the country to build their knowledge and skills around outcome focused commissioning. We develop evaluation and measurement tools that fit the complexity of each local intervention – including cost-benefit analysis; a rigorous approach to social return on investment; and practical ways to measure ‘soft’ outcomes. We were a partner in the Commissioning Support Programme.

Key reading

• Our Unlocking Local Capacity report focuses on the practical steps that local authorities are taking to unlock the capacity of individual residents, communities, and the council itself, for example, staff and elected members. It is based on interviews and research with more than 30 local councils across England. (OPM, February 2012)
• Our ground-breaking research into the potential of mutuals and social enterprises for councils and other public services led to OPM being appointed as one of the expert mentors to the Cabinet Office’s mutual pathfinders.
  How to Become an Employee Owned Mutual: an action checklist for the public sector (Baxi Partnership, Field Fisher Waterhouse, OPM, March 2011).
  Shared Ownership in Practice (OPM, December 2010).
  Models of Public Service Ownership: a guide to commissioning, policy and practice (OPM, July 2010).
• Releasing the potential of front-line staff (OPM, July 2011). Local councils know that changing the behaviours of local people is vital for achieving local goals.
• What the Open Public Services White Paper means for local government (OPM, July 2011).