This post builds on the thoughts in the previous post on Customer Centric Action on Need
Practical transformation is built on analysis of local needs and constrained by the sum of resources available to local, public, voluntary and community organisations and the citizens themselves. Commitment and desire for change has to emerge within each community and its service providing organisations. It requires strategic design and agile implementation. This post is not a specific design but rather a work of imagination provided to illustrate what could transpire.
A by-product of producing and implementing shared action plans, is a set of complementary standard action components, collected and updated over time, to address the needs of a group of customers with a similar range of complex needs. This information is managed in the form of a guide indexed by needs, with identification of skills, profiles by role, contact details and eligibility and planning information. The guide supports co-design and planning of appropriate actions. The guide is updated by the action teams themselves as they learn.
Operationally these actions are delivered by individuals providing the activities identified in the plan (including the role of customer centred action co-ordination and monitoring), regardless of the organisational, customer or community status of each role player. This enables organisations to work within their budgets and customers within their competence, with team composition varying from customer to customer.
The total amount of resource from public, voluntary, community and customers clearly has to be adequate to meet the expected needs and this is established through stakeholder engagement in a joint planning process for each group of customers in the community. Shortfalls on skills are covered by planned background and on the job training, including for customers (or their advocates).
Customer Centric Action on Need enables electorates to choose to use more of or less of public funds to address citizen’s needs and to compensate for increases or reductions by providing less or more customer and voluntary and community sector action. Elected community representatives need to balance local needs against local taxes, other available funding and reserves and local commitments to payment in kind from the electors themselves, voluntary organisations, community groups and other separately funded public sector organisations.
Within each organisation, including the local authority, the plans for their overall skills and resource commitments are summed and managed within budget as skill related teams responsible for their own and multi-organisational action team shared learning and development.
Operations and management is overseen by the broadly representative community management team, supported by a resource bargain with the elected representatives.