Capacity to deliver

"Resources available and allocated - may require ‘backfilling’; external consultants used wisely with skills transfer to create in-house capacity"

Achieving the extent of change needed for becoming the Council of the Future requires a significant allocationof resource. Most councils have found that the programme of change cannot be done alongside the day job, unless specific steps are taken to free up space in people's diaries and work plans. Often some degree of secondment is needed, perhaps backed by backfilling any vacancies that are left in the short term.

 There is a place for using consultants to help out - they can help with achieving the programme of change, but can't do the change for you. If you do use consultants, use them to transfer skills to your own staff - so that when they leave, your own staff have the capability to carry on. You should avoid being tied in to a dependency on consultants - there are many examples of councils who have appointed consultants on relatively long term agreements to advise and support them through a major change programme, but all too often, the councils get relaitvely little value from such arrangements. Skills transfer, a clear guide to how to proceed, and a light touch support to keep you on track is probably what you need.