Olly’s reflection:
Over the last 10 years at MV I have learnt that the ‘public service ethos’ continues to be central to effecting real change.
I have experienced first-hand the ongoing drive and passion of public service staff to deliver the best services possible. This has been no more apparent than during our Alternative Delivery Model projects. These projects involve exploring alternative ways of delivering services. They require decision-makers, service leads and staff within the public body to dedicate a significant amount of time and effort (on top of their day jobs!) to a process can last for 12 months or more.
Whilst they would be forgiven for just focusing on the already-challenging task of delivering their services, the public service teams I’ve worked with did so knowing it would make their daily working lives busier and more stressful – at least in the short to medium term – but also knowing that it was in the best interest of their service users.
A great example of this is the Rochdale Council’s Adult Social Care service. Despite already delivering an excellent service, the service lead and staff envisioned a way to improve their services. Working with them to develop a business plan and then create a new social enterprise, PossAbilities, was truly inspiring. Primarily focused on people with learning disabilities and older people, since going-live, PossAbilities has gone from strength to strength.
The public service ethos shouldn’t be taken for granted, nor the staff themselves. It continues to be the driving force behind improving the life chances of their service users.
To learn more about our work with public service mutuals contact Olly oliver@mutualventures.co.uk.
To view more of the reflections from the Mutual Ventures’ team click here.
Download a report containing the full MV team’s personal reflections on what they have learnt over the last decade