With a top minister pushing for the civil service to embrace a “test and learn” attitude similar to that of many tech firms, the government has declared intentions to change how public services are delivered. Under the direction of Pat McFadden, the Minister of the Cabinet Office, the program aims to bring creativity and agility into the state by leveraging corporate ideas to satisfy the demands of contemporary government.
How Might the Civil Service Adopt a "Test and Learn" Culture?
McFadden is supposed to argue in a lecture scheduled for the Stratford campus of University College London that the civil service has to change and embrace a new attitude reflecting the dynamic and adaptable strategies seen in successful start-ups. Underlining the need for a change in how the government runs, he says, “If we keep governing as usual, we are not going to achieve what we want to achieve.”
McFadden’s demand for reform aligns with previous comments made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on the civil service when he attacked what he said to be a “managed decline” within government agencies. Starmer’s remarks underlined a rising annoyance with bureaucratic lethargy and a growing need to see the civil service take a more creative and entrepreneurial approach to solve national problems.
Lead the Change with the Innovation Fund and "Test and Learn Teams"?
McFadden will present a £100 million “innovation fund” to start the change and help this goal come true. “Test and learn teams” established nationwide will be funded from this source, allowing various public service agencies to trial novel ideas and solutions. These teams will focus on particular issues in sectors, including family support and temporary accommodation, where this new strategy will first be tested.
Inspired by start-ups, the project will let public services test fresh ideas, fail fast, and iterate rapidly on answers. McFadden said, “Public services will be set a challenge and allowed to experiment and try new things to meet it.” This strategy is supposed to produce the kind of adaptability and problem-solving agility that define the tech sector.
The first teams for the new initiative will be sent into cities including Manchester, Sheffield, Essex, and Liverpool in January 2025. These sites will be the pilot sites for the test-and-learn strategy, enabling more general applications should the method succeed.
How Does Conservative Criticism Compare to Labour's Vision?
McFadden’s comments draw attention to a distinct break from the strategies of the past Conservative government, which he faults for “headline-grabbing gimmicks” that yielded no appreciable outcomes. The government’s new strategy is a significant effort to innovate and resolve long-standing public service challenges.
Still, not everyone shares the Labour government’s fresh approach. The Tory shadow Cabinet Office minister Richard Holden attacked the government’s proposal, pushing them to concentrate on lowering bureaucracy instead of adding more tiers of administration. “British taxpayers left to pick up the bill find the Labour approach full of glib platitudes and broken promises,” he said.
To support the change even more, the government intends to hire computer industry professionals for temporary secondments inside the civil service. These secondments, which run six to twelve months, seek to bring the IT industry’s entrepreneurial energy and knowledge into the civil service to enable the government’s larger goals for public sector change.
What Prospectives Exist for the Civil Service?
As McFadden gets ready to start this mammoth project, the government has excellent stakes to fulfill its promise of a revamped civil service. The new method, which combines public service delivery with aspects of business management, might fundamentally change state operations. Should it succeed, it might establish a new benchmark for public service delivery in the twenty-first century, transcending conventional wisdom and embracing a more creative, flexible future.
