Can Open Data + Open Source save money, help innovation & create opportunity?

Jersey has spent £4m+ on Freedom of Information and more on proprietary systems which stifle connectivity and opportunity. Government is more efficient and effective when information can flow: Open Data + Open Source is the solution

How about an idea which saves money, increases productivity and enables the type of connectivity which will help your staff, customers, products and services? Sound too good to be true? Open Data and Open Source have been around for ages, 25 years in fact, since the start of the internet. It is interesting to see governments around the world increasingly opt for open source. (See Link 1) Not just because it saves a fortune, but also because it democratises data which can more easily be shared (See Link 2). Under the circumstances you might ask why did it take so long?

We have Digital Jersey, a relatively small government, an appetite to embrace e-Government and a need to re-think our services and the cost of providing these. It is 25 years since the internet came into being, this is the ideal opportunity for Jersey to opt for Open Data and Open Source as a means to reduce cost and create innovation (See Link 3).

I don’t doubt the challenges of the upheaval, but the long term cost of legacy systems and costly licencing agreements, and well as the missed opportunities and threat of competition from other governments seeking to attract low-footprint high-value entrepreneurs to their shores (and away from ours) must be something we should consider seriously.

Imagine instead of answering FOI requests we said, “there’s the data, you do the work” and allowed people to build apps for car parks, environmental data, transport data, using public information for personal or professional purposes.

At TEDxStPeterPort (Link 4) two enterprising chaps Stephen Ozanne and Martyn Dorey managed to build an app that can read the law, and then interpret it. The example given was for a car which understands the highway code, speed limits and parking restrictions. Jersey should be able to conceive, collaborate, create and commercialise ideas, not just for the community, but commercially as our export. The starting point must surely be Open Data and Open Source.

Perhaps a more important opportunity exists in Health Care(Link 5). With increasing demands on the NHS it seems sensible that we re-think both the systems and their costs and better focus on the value to the customers. The possibilities generated by using open source or at least open standards are huge.

Some ideas worth sharing, make a difference - please tweet!
@AlanMacleanJsy can Open Data and Open Source can taxpayers money? #odihq. ( tweet this )
@DigitalJersey can Open Data and Open Source create innovation? #odihq. ( tweet this )
@lyndonfarnham can Data and Open Source create business opportunities? #odihq. ( tweet this )
@philipozouf can Open Data and Open Source stimulate the economy? #odihq. ( tweet this )
@CIPS_CI how much money is spent annually on software licences and upgrades?. ( tweet this )
@AlanMacleanJsy how much productivity is lost with each roll-out of the latest software versions?. ( tweet this )
@ascate1 what is the cost of FOI requests that could be more cheaply satisfied by Open Data ?. ( tweet this ) 

There are a good many technology businesses in Jersey, and some with vested interests in the status-quo, but I for one would welcome a healthy debate about the value which may accrue from using systems that allow community collaboration.

Would you like to discuss any of this? I'll happily share a coffee at Digital Jerseys Hub, or chat via Skype TimHJRogers or twitter @TimHJRogers I especially value different perspectives or experiences.

About cichange - ciChange is a not-for-profit forum for ideas and discussion, about all aspects of Change Management, including people, processes, teams and leadership. It is a place to share and exchange models, papers, ideas and information about change. ciChange has run a number of FREE, well attended Breakfast Briefings as well as the #inov8healthjsy event.
ciChange is sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

About Tim Rogers - Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com He is a Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses. He is a former Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Links and References
No1 http://theconversation.com/theres-no-better-time-for-governments-to-go-open-source-22654 Click Here
No2 http://www.techrepublic.com/article/as-open-source-goes-mainstream-institutions-collaborate-differently/ Click Here
No3 http://opendatainstitute.org/stories Click Here
No4 http://tedxstpeterport.com/#confirmed-speakers Click Here
No5 http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2401818/nhs-rolls-out-vendor-neutral-archive-initiative-to-open-source-records Click Here

Make a big difference to people-centred (my-life-has-fallen-off-the-rails) services

Followers of ciChange will know that a number of my recent blogs have talked about Systems Thinking and John Seddon's book "The Whitehall Effect", a book principally about public services and improving them. 

ciChange is not-for-profit and non-commercial, but we think this thinking is hugely important and of great value. We get no commission and our support is based on John's work rather than any deep understanding of the course, but we believe this is worthy of consideration by anyone working in people-centred services.

The Vanguard Method and people-centred services

A new programme offered by Buckingham University Business School

People-centred services (education [administration], social care, health, criminal justice and more broadly, my-life-has-fallen-off-the-rails orientated services) account for a substantial part of public-sector budgets. Studying people-centred services reveals significant problems with effectiveness; as a consequence they are also inefficient. Studying also reveals a profound opportunity to radically improve services and, as a consequence, dramatically reduce costs.

This programme is aimed at people who want to make a substantial difference by helping their organisation change; it will enable students to:

Study people-centred services in order to have thorough knowledge about the ‘what and why’ of current performance

Understand and apply different principles in the design of people-centred services to improve effectiveness and reduce costs

Learn and practice the skills and tactics of an interventionist – how to work with disparate groups and conflicting interests in order to achieve a successful intervention

The programme is available to people who work in the public and voluntary sectors. It is of one year’s duration and comprises six two-day formal teaching sessions; students are expected to apply what they are learning in their place of work. It is anticipated that students will need to devote a minimum of 25% of their working year to the programme, studying, understanding and improving the public services they and their organisations provide.

The two-day teaching sessions will take place, by agreement, in students’ organisations, enabling practical hands-on learning of the Method.

The programme will be taught by Buckingham University and Vanguard. Students will have full ‘subscriber’ access to Vanguard electronic learning system (www.vanguard-method.com) to support their learning experience.

The tuition fee has been set for the first programme at: £1,300

Students will need to ensure their organisation can also meet travel and accommodation costs during the programme.

Certification: Students will be able to opt for formal certification through submission of a portfolio of their work at the end of the programme. 

For further information, or to register your interest, please contact Maria Brunning at office@vanguardconsult.co.uk

Leadership is a process that can be taught, not an attribute to imitate

In response to a social experiment that I am doing at the moment Jeremy Cross sent me an excellent report from the Kings Fund, which has led me to discover more great stuff from the same source (see links below). I was taken by this extract taken from pages 19 to 21 “the future of leadership and management in the NHS No more heroes”

The ‘post-heroic’ model of leadership

Involves multiple actors who take up leadership roles both formally and informally and importantly share leadership by working collaboratively. This takes place across organisational or professional boundaries. Thus shared and collaborative leadership is more than numerically having ‘more leaders’. Leadership can be distributed away from the top of an organisation to many levels. But this distribution takes the form of new practices and innovations not just people at lower levels taking initiative as leaders – again more than simply ‘leaders at many levels’.

As a result, leadership needs to be understood in terms of leadership practices and organisational interventions, rather than just personal behavioural style or competences. The focus is on organisational relations, connectedness, interventions into the organisation system, changing organisation practices and processes.
(Turnbull James 2011)

If you want to know a little more about the ‘post-heroic’ model of leadership I’d recommend Jeremy Cross’ TEDx Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmL9nOi-DMQ

This got me thinking that Leadership is a process that can be taught, not an attribute to imitate. Leadership is not about being tall, having blue eyes, or brown hair, these are things you are born with. Leadership is a process that is about vision, communication, and direction, being a teacher, leading by example, and improving the system.

This says it all in one picture.
http://dougdockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Leadersheep.png

What was impressed upon me is that Leadership is systemic. We are all products of the system: of our parents; of our education; of the law; social acceptance; of the rules and processes and culturally of the “way we do things around here”

I am a huge fan of the Cultural Web for thinking about this.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_90.htm

John Seddon in his book “The Whitehall Effect”, which I have now referenced in at least half a dozen blogs, advocates Systems Thinking. John prefers to call it the Vanguard Method to protect his philosophies from everyone that calls themselves a systems thinker. In talking with John I have come to appreciate that success is not from silo changes in process (often using LEAN-management) but from a broader consideration of service flow, with the emphasis on delivering value “exactly what they need” to the customer.
Applied to leadership this suggests shifting the focus from individual excellence (in a silo) towards a system that makes success inevitable outcome. The role of Leadership must therefore be to design the environment and the systems that shape the culture and make success inevitable.

I’m not 100% sure how to do this. If I were I’d be rich! But I suspect a good place to start would be to look at the environment and the systems and consider what must change.

I am a huge fan of the 7S model, for its simplicity.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_91.htm

Of course having the tools and the knowledge of how to use them doesn’t guarantee success. You need to get the people to do something. Knowledge isn’t power if it simply stays in a book, or lies dormant in your head. Power comes from action, from momentum, from drive.

For this Kotter’s 8steps is perhaps the most favoured model for effecting change
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm

Although not my favourite, it is a compelling argument. I baulk at the 8 Steps because it is a little too simplistic: some of the steps are much easier said than done. But who said Leadership was easy? I think a more useful model for corporate engagement is to be found in Morten Hansen’s book Collaboration.

In Collaboration, Hansen takes aim at what many leaders inherently know: in today's competitive environment, companywide collaboration is an imperative for successful strategy execution, yet the sought-after synergies are rarely, if ever, realized. In fact, most cross-unit collaborative efforts end up wasting time, money, and resources. How can managers avoid the costly traps of collaboration and instead start getting the results they need?

http://www.amazon.com/Collaboration-Leaders-Common-Ground-Results/dp/1422115151

An excellent example of collaboration is to be found in the military approach to Mission Command. I am grateful for Harry Fullerton’s recent presentations on this. Harry makes the point that its isn’t all about the guy at the top, who might get shot! Mission Command is based on people (troops) having a common language, common values, common knowledge, training and shared experience. Based on this the leader can say “achieve xxxxx, to be able to yyyyyy, using zzzz resources.

What is really important is being clear on what is the “Specified Main Effort”, which is a theme covered by Will Carnegie in ciChange’s first ever breakfast briefing which included a discussion of whether your organisation could maintain progress in the absence of a leader, on the basis that the ends and means are all commonly understood.

CONCLUSION

Ironically good leadership isn’t about individuals, it is about process. Success will be down to the collaboration of people to design, build and deliver the architectural framework that takes the best bits all the models above to deliver value “exactly what they need” to the customer.

USEFUK LINKS

http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/leadership
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/review-leadership-nhs

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com . He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Tim HJ Rogers
Web timhjrogers.com > Projects | Programmes | Change
PRINCE2 - MBA (Consultancy) - APMG Change Practitioner
Curator TEDxStHelier.com Founder ciChange.org
Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype @timhjrogers | Mobile: 07797762051


ABOUT CICHANGE

ciChange is a not-for-profit forum for ideas and discussion, about all aspects of Change Management, including people, processes, teams and leadership. It is a place to share and exchange models, papers, ideas and information about change. We’ve run a number of FREE, well attended Breakfast Briefings.
ciChange is sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

Tim HJ Rogers
Mob 07797762051
Skype timhjrogers


Web: http://www.cichange.org/
Linked-In http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cichange @cichange