Policy practice that works
The position
Our client is a regulator in the highly complex UK communications industries with responsibilities across TV, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services – it’s a hefty brief with a high media profile to match. Its duties require it to make policies over a broad area. This involves technical experts working with specialist advisers – lawyers, economists, market researchers – who could be working on several projects at a time.
The problem was this. It was taking a long time, and costing a lot, to make sound policies that met stakeholder needs and could withstand scrutiny from contradictory and well-armed interest groups. And the people involved in making policy were smart, independent-minded experts who had their preferred way of doing things.
The client had developed a standard approach to policy making, with tools to support it. Senior managers were already trained but there was still scope for a more consistent and broader implementation. They wanted to roll out the common approach to policy project managers but wanted the programme to really inspire them and commit them to the new approach. Not just that – they also wanted it to promote teamworking and coaching skills.
How did we tackle it?
We realised that this was as much to do with changing the culture as it was with making policy, and that we had to come up with a very particular sort of programme that could achieve all that was needed. The result? A 2 ½ day programme: 2 days residential followed by ½ day review six weeks later, with eighteen delegates on each programme. This included:
- a complex business simulation – its brief is to draft policy on road pricing; the challenges, constraints, tasks and deadlines mirrored those in the client organisation but the subject was sufficiently removed so they didn’t get bogged down in technical detail. We used actors and built up a huge base of information on the subject that they could access
- facilitators to help them work through the simulation successfully
- an online 360° questionnaire so they could get feedback on their behaviour and style of working from their colleagues
- technical input on the new approach and tools for developing policy.
The ½ day session six weeks later enables them to review progress, share experiences and keeps the learning upfront. It’s followed by an informal lunch which is open to people from previous courses which promotes a healthy exchange of views.
What does it achieve?
- The feedback is excellent.
- The six week review is well attended and progress is encouraging.
- People are trying the new approach and succeeding.
Email Lucy Neale or phone 0117 315 5243.
