Human Learning Systems: Public Service for the Real World SUMMARY REPORT
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Human Learning Systems: Public Service for the Real World SUMMARY REPORT
3
Foreword
Olli-Pekka Heinonen If government, and the public service
Director General of the International we support, is to work in this way, we
Baccalaureate, previously Director need alternative approaches to public
General of the Finnish National management. It all starts by admitting
Agency for Education
to not knowing the right answers. That
How can governments respond is the prerequisite for learning. We will
effectively to the complex reality of the find solutions by trying things out, and
world? How can government support changing and developing ourselves
people to lead flourishing lives, when in this process of interaction. It is by
each life is different? I have been
Foreword
this never-ending process of learning
wrestling with these questions for much together that we reach positive
of my career. outcomes. The world has no shortage
Almost 30 years ago, as a young of well-written strategies, but the gap
minister, I thought that government between strategy and implementation
and governance was about power, and is huge. It is all about how we value
power was about control and having and treat each other as humans, how
the right answers. As the years have we understand the systems we are part
gone by, I have learnt that with the of, and how we commit ourselves to
wicked challenges of today, that kind the shared journey of learning.
of thinking accelerates negative, not I am delighted to have played a part
positive outcomes. in helping to explore and develop
In Finland, we have developed an Human Learning Systems (HLS) as
approach to government that we call such an alternative approach. Our case
Humble Government. It says that study explores how government can
government does not know best, create better outcomes by supporting
but that we can learn together with actors at local and national system
the people we serve, to help each scales to learn together in addressing
person – and each place – find what is complex challenges. Government can
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY be humble by optimising for learning,
right for them.
to connect with others, share your
experiences and/or ask for help.
not control.
4 5
When contexts keep changing, Naresh Singh apparatus of the state. As Weberian example, are called for. It is reassuring
performance management is always Ph.D. Professor, Jindal School of public administration hardened and that the recommendations in the book
slow to respond. Instead of trying to Government and Public Policy, and became overly bureaucratic, NPM was emerge from concrete case studies
control “results”, we must strengthen Director of the Centre for Complexity introduced to use a more business rather than theoretical musings.
Economics, Applied Spirituality
the competence of all actors in the and market orientation, focusing Desirable as it may seem, this HLS
and Public Policy, OP Jindal Global
system to be more resilient and on managers, markets and metrics. transition or revolution will not be
University, Haryana, India
adaptive in this time of flux. It can Human wellbeing – what one might easy. Bureaucracies such as those
be hard for governments to say that Former Director-General, Federal expect as the basic purpose of public of governments of OECD countries,
we don’t have all the answers, and to Government of Canada and Former service – did not seem to matter. including Canada, or of the UN and
put genuine decision-making power
Principal Adviser, United Nations
Development Program, New York And it now seems the time to herald similar organisations, will feel they are
into the hands of the public and the the transition from NPM to the losing control of financial resources
workers who serve them. But brave It gives me great pleasure to welcome
HLS approach – the subject matter and will proclaim the need to be
governments do this. They can use an this groundbreaking work, which has
of this book. HLS recognises that accountable. Underlying all this will be
HLS approach to public management the potential to catalyse a transition
outcomes such as improvement in a feeling of a loss of power.
to transform how government and from the way public service is now
human wellbeing are not produced by In developing countries such as India,
public service works. We have made a managed, commonly known as the
managers and their organisations, but government reflects a mix of traditional
good start to our learning process. We New Public Management (NPM), to
rather result from complex adaptive public administration and NPM. On the
did it. You can, too. the approach being called Human
systems which are the communities other hand, civil society organisations
Learning Systems (HLS). This transition,
in which people live. The implication are very active in communities. This will
in my view, can be of the same
is that each human being is different present opportunities for HLS in the
order of significance as the other
and through interactions with others civil society space but challenges in the
great transitions in public service
and their relationships, individual and governmental space. The best chances
management from traditional to
collective wellbeing is achieved. of HLS success in either OECD or
Weberian (classic public administration)
to NPM. It is useful to recall how As such, the macro emerges from the developing countries might be where
momentous these transitions were. micro through facilitation and learning a marriage between civil society and
and not through hierarchical control. local government is possible.
Traditionally, the public realm was
The most important outcome seems to
managed by monarchial dictates
be the continuous process of learning
and religious doctrine, sprinkled
and adaptation, leading to continual
with emotion, sentiment, magic
improvements and resilience-building.
and superstition. This was gradually
Fundamental shifts from outcomes-
replaced with Weberian “ideal type”
based performance management, for
bureaucracy, based on the centrality
of the legal rational authority. This
concentrated power in the hands of
those who controlled the bureaucratic
6 7
Contents
Authors and Acknowledgements Organisations as systems
Introduction Ch12. Implications for workforce recruitment and selection 81
Contact the authors
The HLS Principles:
Ch13. Implications for workforce development 85
Ch1. Human21
Contact the authors
Contact the authors
Ch14. Experimenting and learning during a crisis:
Ch2. Learning27 A voluntary sector perspective 89
Contact the authors Contact the author
Ch3. Systems33
Places as systems
Contact the authors
Ch15. Places as systems 93
Ch4. Relationship between “Human”, “Learning” and “Systems” 37 Contact the author
Contact the author
Countries as systems
Principles into action: How change happens Ch16. National-level working: humble government 97
Ch5. Purposefully pursuing an HLS approach 41 Contact the author
Contact the authors
HLS themes:
Ch6. Enacting learning as management strategy 47
Ch17. Funding and commissioning in complexity 103
Contact the author
Contact the authors
Ch7. Enacting learning as strategy at different system scales 53
Ch18. Systems leadership in HLS 107
Contact the author
Contact the author
Ch8. Managing and governing learning cycles 61
Ch19. Human Learning Systems meets social pedagogy 109
Contact the author
Contact the authors
Ch9. HLS methods and tools 67
Ch20. Public management paradigms 113
Contact the author
Contact the authors
Case Studies Ch21. About this report: how this report was made 117
Ch10. Case study summaries 71
Further questions
HLS at different system scales Ch22. Further questions & get involved 121
People’s lives as systems
Ch11. Impacts for people and place 73
Contact the authors
8 9
The core group of people who have Rob Wilson – Professor of Digital
created this report are: Business, Newcastle Business School,
Andy Brogan from Easier Inc Northumbria University
Gabriel Eichsteller from ThemPra All the learning in this report comes
Social Pedagogy from the incredible work of the
Melissa Hawkins and Hannah practitioners who have been exploring
Hesselgreaves from Newcastle what it means to implement a Human
Business School at Northumbria Learning Systems (HLS) approach to
University public management in practice – too
Bridget Nurre Jennions and Toby Lowe many to list here! Not only have they
from the Centre for Public Impact been doing all this groundbreaking
Authors and
work, they took the time to write case
Dawn Plimmer from Collaborate CIC
studies of their practice, and to take
Vita Terry from the Institute for part in shared sense-making sessions
Voluntary Action Research
acknowledgements
to help us to figure out what it all
Guy Williams (freelance means. We thank each and every
Project Manager) one of them, and their organisations,
profusely. Further thanks to the many
We have also had additional written
people who took time to review the
contributions from:
drafts of this work. Your feedback has
Lowis Charfe – University of Central
been invaluable.
Lancashire
Finally, we would like to acknowledge
Jeremy Cox – JC Thinking
the support of the charitable
Max French – Newcastle Business
foundations who have provided
School, Northumbria University
resources and encouragement to
Brendan Hill – Bluestone Collaborative continue this work. We would like to
Jeff Masters – Collaborate particularly thank the Lankelly Chase
Richard Norman – Emeritus Professor Foundation and the Tudor Trust in this
of Public Management, University of respect. And also the National Lottery
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY Wellington Community Fund, for supporting
to connect with others, share your Helen Sanderson – Wellbeing Teams earlier phases of our learning.
experiences and/or ask for help.
Mark Smith – Gateshead Council
10 11
Introduction
Author: Toby Lowe
Contact the author
“The world is a complex, interconnected, finite, ecological – social
– psychological – economic system. We treat it as if it were not, as
if it were divisible, separable, simple, and infinite. Our persistent...
problems arise directly from this mismatch.”
(Donella H. Meadows)
If you think that the purpose of public give expression to this.”
service is to help people create good (Collective Impact Agency
Introduction
outcomes in their lives, but you have case study)
a nagging feeling that something is
fundamentally wrong with how public The document that you are currently
service works at the moment, then this reading is our attempt to summarise
report is for you. that learning in a more digestible way.
This report argues that a significant If you find any of the ideas particularly
part of the problems experienced interesting, you can click through to
by public service are due to the way the full version of any of the chapters,
that public management is conceived by clicking on the chapter heading.
and done. It has been created by
practitioners who have taken that
Public management:
feeling and developed an alternative organising public service
approach to public management. It We have a very broad definition of
represents what we have collectively public service. In this report, we use
learnt from nearly 50 case studies of public service as a shorthand for those
doing public management differently. purposeful activities that support
human flourishing and freedom. Public
“So many people know service is the organised form of one
intuitively that our current human being saying to another: “I
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY
to connect with others, share your accepted ways of working support your quest to live the good
experiences and/or ask for help. don’t work, but they haven’t life”. Our definition encompasses
previously had any language to “core” public sector services such
12 13
as education, welfare provision, and paradigm – a mutually supportive purchased time, desired “outcomes” which routinely lies to itself.
healthcare. It also includes the vast set of beliefs and practices – for how are predefined, irrespective of what a Processes of learning and adaptation
contribution of civil society, from the public management is done. It is called particular person needs or wants, and are further impeded by the lack of
work of charities and social enterprises “New Public Management” (NPM). they are measured against standardised autonomy given to staff. Under NPM,
to mutual aid groups and community It was created in the 1980s, and is metrics and other performance the de facto purpose of public sector
development. referred to as the 3Ms – Markets, indicators, which focus only on what is staff is to hit predefined performance
We can see in this definition that Managers and Metrics. The problems measurable, while ignoring the diversity metrics. At best, such performance
public service is found way beyond inherent in this paradigm have become of human experience. metrics change quarterly, making
the boundaries of state provision. This increasingly evident . As we shall argue NPM is slow to learn and adapt to a public service slow to respond to an
sense of public service lives in social throughout this report, we think that changing world ever-changing world. When rapid,
enterprises, mutual aid groups, and these problems are so fundamental unignorable change occurs – like
Because it believes that people are
charitable action. For us, public service they point towards the need for a pandemic – normal performance
fundamentally selfish, the dominant
is not defined by “sector”. paradigm shift, not just making tweaks management processes have to be
purpose of management is control.
in practice here and there. turned off because they are useless,
All the work of public service requires The processes and “impact” of public
organisation. Whether undertaken This report argues that NPM is and learning mechanisms have to be
service are measured in order to control
by teachers or refuse collectors, dehumanising: invented from scratch. Because, in
staff via reward and punishment.
whether in a community centre, cafés The logic which underpins NPM is Assessments are undertaken to normal times, learning is a luxury.
or an office, such work needs a sense based on the idea that people are measure whether people meet NPM creates fragmentation
of shared purpose, and an agreed fundamentally selfish. It believes that thresholds, not to genuinely understand NPM encourages public service
method by which to achieve that public servants must be “incentivised” their lives. Regulators make judgments fragmentation through two
purpose. It requires decisions to be to serve the public good through in order to hand out badges for mechanisms. Firstly, it disaggregates
taken regarding resource allocation reward and punishment. Consequently, success, or shame-markers for failure, public service into component parts, so
and the skills and capabilities required every aspect of public service must and to produce league tables that that it can write manageable contract
to achieve the purpose in practice. It be translated into a quantified encourage competition between public specifications. Those contracted
requires people to reflect on how the performance measure, so that servants, rather than collaboration. to deliver public services must be
work is being done, and mechanisms managers can know whether each
The unsurprisingly frequent result controlled by SMART (Specific,
to be put in place to ensure that such person, team or organisation deserves
of continual management attempts Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and
work continues to improve and adapt punishment or reward. And people
to motivate people extrinsically Timely) targets – because they are
in a changing world. who ask for help must be assessed
through reward and punishment selfish – and so each public service
How this organising work is done to see if they really need it, because
is a pathological culture of blame must be separated into contracts with
– how shared purpose is created and they’re probably trying to grab more
and defensiveness. As a result, particular specifications.
enacted, how resources are allocated than their share.
performance data is routinely Secondly, because public servants and
and managed, how improvement and This core belief, and the practices which “gamed” (created by those whose organisations are forced to compete
adaptation are enabled – is the task of enact it, encourage standardisation job is to produce good-looking data), with one another, it naturally creates a
“public management”. of service: care is standardised into and so the data is next-to-useless for competitive rather than collaborative
Currently, there is a dominant packages or 15-minute chunks of learning. We have created a system environment. Organisations become
14 15
reluctant to share knowledge and The attraction of NPM: a magical for paradigms to shift, and the support selective attention, illusion
practices. Instead, they seek to create fantasy world provided to NPM from the broader of control and relationships
particular intellectual property, as NPM has been the dominant political shift to neoliberalism, we think transformation.”
these offer Unique Selling Points that one explanation for its persistence is
paradigm for long enough for its (Franco-Santos and Otley, 2018)
enable them to win the next contract. flaws to be clearly evident. They are that it offers leaders of all types (e.g.
NPM is wasteful highlighted in research evidence, and politicians, civil servants, and public NPM encourages managers to create
in the experiences of those who have service managers) something precious a simplified fantasy world based on
Because NPM is dehumanising, slow
been adopting this approach. Sir Peter and magical: the illusion of simplicity thin abstractions – a pale imitation of
to learn, and fragmented, it is also
Housden, ex-head of the Civil Service and control. people’s lives. Instead of seeing the
massively wasteful. Public service
managed using an NPM approach in Scotland, wrote in 2016 about “the We see this throughout the evidence whole person, we substitute proxy
expends a huge amount of resources unconscionably long death” of NPM on the impact of performance indicators. Instead of looking at the
in not helping people. It wastes and bemoaned the absence of an management. A systematic review complex stories of their effects in the
time and resources by providing alternative. of research into the effects of target- world, we look at dashboards and RAG
standardised packages that don’t We don’t seek to assert that based performance management (Red-Amber-Green) ratings. And worse,
meet people’s individual needs. It every problem that public service systems found that over 80% of studies the data which populates these thin
wastes resources assessing people to experiences is the fault of NPM. find evidence of gaming and 74% find abstractions is produced by people
see if their situation is bad enough to Nor would we say that some of the evidence of people deliberately lying who are incentivised to lie. NPM then
deserve help, and then turning them issues identified above (a focus on (Franco-Santos and Otley, 2018). pretends that this fantasy world of
away until their situation is worse (and control, fragmentation, and being dashboards and RAG ratings is real,
“The most salient unintended and tells managers that their job is to
therefore more difficult and expensive slow to learn) are unique to NPM;
consequences of directive create change in such data.
to help with). It wastes resources by these problems loomed large in the
performance management
running processes of punishment and previously dominant, patrician version
systems are gaming,
reward, through duplication of effort, of public administration. Our starting
information manipulation, Story: A conversation between
and by letting people fall through point is that NPM is the currently
the cracks. dominant public management
paradigm, so we see these flaws
“NPM... was ostensibly manifest in that approach. And our a National Health Service doing lots of work to recalculate how
intended to create ‘a (NHS) provider and an NHS NHS payments were going to work in
analysis is that these flaws cannot
government that works commissioner the future. They were going to try and
be solved within NPM, as they are
better and costs less’... So I was witness to a conversation between move away from paying for activity
a necessary part of that paradigm’s
what do we have to show for a senior manager of commissioning towards paying for outcomes. They were
internal logic: “they’re not a bug,
three decades or so of NPM processes for the NHS in the UK, putting lots of effort into finding ways to
they’re a feature”.
reforms? The short answer and the finance manager of a large- price different outcomes accurately, so
If the evidence and experience of the that the providers would be financially
seems to be: higher costs and scale provider of NHS services. The
problems of NPM are so substantial, incentivised to carry out the most useful
more complaints.” conversation went something like this:
why has it persisted? Alongside the health activity. They described how
(Hood and Dixon, 2015) The commissioning manager was
practical realities of the time it takes difficult it was proving to do this well.
outlining how their team was currently
16 17
public service workers, managers and in a public service context. It means
The finance manager of the NHS to keep people healthy? So, don’t worry leaders and supporting organisations, that we understand human beings
provider organisation shrugged and about it, whatever you ask for in future, who were fed up with the relentlessly “intersubjectively” – as people
responded: “you do realise that we we’ll find a way to give you the figures dehumanising and wasteful effects of who live in a web of relationships (a
employ teams of people to create you need.” NPM and wanted to try something “system”) which helps to define who
good-looking cost information that different. This report has been created they are. In other words, to understand
“Yes”, replied the commissioning
make it look like we’re doing what you by an action research process drawing a human being, you must understand
manager. “Of course, I know that’s what on roughly 50 case studies of HLS their world.
want? And you know that the costing
you do. That’s the game, right?” practice, mostly from the UK, but also
information that your teams ask for Learning – our management strategy
drawing on experience from across
doesn’t reflect the work we have to do If each person sets what matters to
the globe.
them, and each person’s life context
HLS is based on a different set of is a constantly changing system
At this point, it is important to give different scales to produce good- fundamental beliefs, and therefore has that is unique to them, how can
some nuance to our claims about “the looking data has made the game real. a different set of mutually supportive public service help people to create
real world”. The version of reality that But when that happens, we ignore the management practices. their own outcomes? This question
public service mostly deals with is complex lived reality of the people that The HLS approach to public demonstrates that the task of creating
socially constructed – it is something public service is supposed to help, and management starts from continuously public service outcomes is complex.
we human beings make together, public service becomes less human, exploring the messy reality of how In complex environments, learning is
rather than something that simply less effective, and more wasteful the outcomes that matter to each the only viable management strategy.
exists. So, the nuanced version of as a result. person might be achieved in their Public service must build a learning
reality and public service is – it’s all It is our claim that public service should unique life context. The job of public relationship with the public – a
real. When a government minister instead privilege the complex reality management – of organising this work relationship which seeks to understand
leans on a civil servant to produce data of each member of the public being – is to create the conditions whereby the detail of each life context, and,
to say that COVID-19 testing targets served. (That’s a bit harder to get into the messy reality of public service is together, continuously explores how
have been met, that’s the reality for the title of a report, though.) And we made possible in the most efficient the patterns of results (“outcomes”) in
that particular civil servant. can make the choice to put the reality and effective way. It is public service their “life as system” might change.
The question we ask from this nuanced of the public first by choosing to do for the real world.
Systems – our unit of analysis
perspective is: whose version of public management differently. Human – our moral purpose
reality has been privileged under If the purpose of public service is to
An alternative: Human HLS is based on the belief that the help people create positive outcomes
NPM? Our contention is that this
Learning Systems purpose of public service is to support in their lives, then public service
abstracted, target-based version
This report offers an alternative human freedom and flourishing. needs to understand how outcomes
of reality has been unnecessarily
privileged. The logic of NPM, and paradigm for public management. We This provides the moral purpose are made. We believe (with good
how it has infected political discourse call this paradigm Human Learning for public service. It also provides a evidence) that these outcomes in
and action, privileges this reality. The Systems (HLS). It has been created view of what it means to be human people’s lives are created by the
demands it creates on everyone at over the past five years by a set of
18 19
workings of complex systems. In explanation of what we mean by Better outcomes, for less money Continuous learning
other words, outcomes are emergent “systems”, see the Systems chapter.)
The really good news about the HLS The HLS approach to public
properties of people’s lives as systems. For example, this is a representation approach is that, because it roots management is being constantly
Therefore, creating outcomes requires of “the system” (a set of causal public service work in the real-life developed by those who are doing it.
these complex systems to produce relationships between factors), which experiences of the people it seeks There is so much that we don’t know,
different patterns of results, and so creates the outcome of obesity (or to support, it is able to address as each adoption of the approach is
these systems become the focus of its absence). some of the wastefulness of NPM. essentially a process of learning how
our purpose and method. (For a full
From what we have seen, it helps the HLS principles can be applied in
to create better outcomes for less a new context. Some areas for further
Figure 1: Systems map of obesity.
money. For example, the Plymouth exploration are highlighted in the
Alliance was able to cut the costs Further Question s chapter at the end
of emergency accommodation for of this report. You will also notice that
homeless families by 50% in less than this report has multiple authors, and
six months by creating an integrated that we each have our own perspective
approach to family support, based on HLS practice. We think this is a
on the strengths and needs of those good thing.
families. Similarly, the use of “Blue For those doing the practice now,
Light” (police, ambulance, fire) services HLS seems to work to produce better
was cut significantly, as people’s real outcomes, for less money, while
needs were met before they became creating happier and more fulfilled
emergencies. staff. If this sounds like something
From the Wellbeing Teams case study, you’d like to explore further, the
we begin to get a measure of the following chapters, particularly chapter
reduction in unplanned service use 11 seek to share what they’ve learnt
when people’s strengths and needs are Finally, we should reiterate that this
met by home care: people supported report is a summary of a book. Each
by Wellbeing Teams services in chapter title in this report in this report
Thurrock were five times less likely links to a chapter in the book version,
Sturmberg, JP (2018) Health System Redesign How to Make Health Care Person-Centered, Equitable, and to go into hospital. Staff costs were which explores the ideas in greater
Sustainable. Springer, Australia. P238
reduced, too, because staff were depth, and provides more examples
happier. Sickness rates for Wellbeing from the case studies that are the
Teams staff were a third of the national backbone of the learning we present
Systems are therefore the unit of outcomes, we need healthy systems average, and staff turnover was five here. A full set of references are
analysis that is most relevant to – systems in which people collaborate times lower than the national average. provided in the book version too.
achieving our moral purpose, and to and learn together; because this is how
which our management strategy is outcomes are made.
applied. Put simply, if we want good21
Human
Authors: Toby Lowe and Gabriel Eichsteller
Contact the authors
The “Human” of Human Learning Public service seeks to understand
Systems (HLS) roots public service people as whole human beings
in people’s real lives. It gives HLS its A human approach to public service is
sense of moral purpose, and frames based on an understanding that each
how we see and relate to all the people person is at the centre of their own
involved in public service – those interconnected and interdependent
who provide help, and those who are (complex) system. The positive and
helped. To see detailed examples of negative “outcomes” that they
what this means in practice, please experience – having their potential
read the “Impact on people” section. developed, or being in chronic pain
This humanity manifests itself in: – are the patterns of results produced
Chapter 1
by the system that is their lives. Each
How public service sees person has unique strengths as well as
people: needs, and all these are relevant for
The HLS Principles:
helping them to achieve outcomes in
Public service respects and enables
their lives.
human freedom
Human As long as one person’s freedom is
consistent with similar freedom for
others (i.e. it does not cause harm
“In my last year of life, help me
live well until I die.”
(Dorset Integrated Case System
to others), then HLS public service case study)
respects the freedom of each person
to pursue their own version of the The Human element of HLS therefore
good life. This means that they have provides the why of public service
the freedom to define what matters (to promote human freedom and
to them – what outcomes they want flourishing), and provides pointers
to pursue. towards the how – seeing people
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY as fully-rounded human beings, in
to connect with others, share your
experiences and/or ask for help.22
the context of webs of relationships. One way of understanding the
A Human approach to public complexity of human beings is to
management is therefore both purpose understand that everyone is at the
and (gives pointers towards) method. centre of their own unique system
Public service seeks to understand of actors (people and organisations)
and respond to the diversity of and factors (causal drivers) which
human beings. are constantly interacting to make
an outcome. We can imagine such
It recognises that each person’s life
a system as a solar system, with the
is different – their “life as system” is
person at the centre. The pattern of
unique. As a result, what public service
interactions between all the elements
offers must be bespoke to that person’s
is what we call “an outcome”.
life and what matters to them.
Therefore, in order to help create
good outcomes in people’s lives,
people using HLS approaches to public
management recognise the complexity
of all human lives.23
Figure 1: A person’s life represented in terms of system of actors and factors which create the outcome of wellbeing
Actors and factors which could constitute someone’s “life as a
system” that creates the outcome of wellbeing (or not)
Actors Factors
The person themselves Income/wealth
Employment status
Their family and friends
Education and skill levels
The people or organisations
responsible for public/green Participation in
space near to them neighbourhood activities
Participation in
Those who provide cultural democratic processes
and sporting provision in
their place Participation in
hobbies/interests
Their neighbourhood Relationship to
association and dominant culture(s)
community centre(s)
Housing and
The health service neighbourhood
(in all its local and conditions
national manifestations)
Health
Welfare/benefits
agencies Ability to
exercise agency
Emergency services
The local authority24 25
How public service engages also described as “evidence-informed The skills and capabilities required
with people: practice”. for public service
Effective public service relies on strong Trust as the foundation of human Effective public service relationships
human relationships. public service require empathy.
Human public service requires a deep Human freedom and flourishing is To build effective relationships that
understanding of each person’s life both purpose and method. Supporting genuinely understand the life of
context that only comes from having human freedom and flourishing for another person requires empathy. This
a relationship with them. Further, it the public is enabled by supporting is a skill that can be cultivated, and a
recognises that being in an authentic the human freedom and flourishing capacity that can be either encouraged
relationship of service to a person is of those whose role is to serve them. or inhibited by management practices.
valuable in itself, as it is a means to This is the revolutionary aspect of HLS For example, the systematic use of
address many of the challenges with public management practice – giving Appreciative Inquiry as a management
which public service is concerned. staff the freedom to build authentic tool seems to build empathy
human relationships with those they effectively.
“Even when we get things serve, and responding to what those
wrong [in relational practice], relationships uncover, is the most
the humanity of it helps.” efficient and effective way for public
(Gateshead Council, Director of service to support the creation of
Public Service Reform) desirable outcomes.
Where decision-making power sits “Our Human Learning Systems
approach to delivery has
One of the key aspects of an HLS
many benefits and could be
approach to public management is
summed up by saying ‘it feels
that decision-making responsibility
right’. Breaking it down means
should be “devolved into the work”.
that we build trust much
This means that decisions about the
faster and more meaningfully.
support that public service should offer,
This then has an impact on
and how that support manifests itself,
the therapeutic benefits of
should be taken by the person (or
peer-support as people who
people) being supported. They should
trust each other faster have
do this with the help of a relationship
improved wellbeing faster.”
with someone who knows their life
(Moray Wellbeing Hub case study)
context well, and who is able to apply
knowledge that is based on learning
from other relevant contexts. This is27
Learning
Authors: Toby Lowe and Hannah Hesselgreaves
Contact the authors
Creating outcomes in the real world is dynamic. This means that “what
complex. What matters to each person works” in public service in complex
is different. And how those outcomes environments is:
are created is part of the ever- • Highly localised – what works in
changing, unique web of relationships one place will not necessarily work
and factors that make up a person’s in another
life as a system. Given this complexity,
• Constantly changing – what
learning becomes the only viable
works at one point in time
management strategy.
won’t necessarily work when it
We know from the experience of our is repeated.
own lives, and decades of research
This is one of the key points articulated
into complex systems, that complex
by the Cynefin framework, developed
Chapter 2
systems are context-specific and
and refined by Dave Snowden:
The HLS Principles:
Figure 1: Cynefin framework, Dave Snowden
Learning
Complicated Simple
Sense Sense
Analyse Categorise
Respond Respond
Good practice Best practice
DIS-
ORDER
Complex Chaos
Probe Act
Sense Sense
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY Respond Respond
to connect with others, share your Emergent practice
experiences and/or ask for help.
Novel practice28 29
How is an outcome created? Experimentation is required to explore Figure 2: The HLS Learning Cycle
how public service can respond
An outcome is created by the
to all of those things, and how HLS Learning Cycle
combination of people and causal
different people and organisations
factors (a “system”) that make up a
can collaborate in conditions where Check system
person’s life, interacting in a certain boundaries &
actors - who is
nothing is static or reliable. Learn together: included & not?
way. An “outcome” is what we call the build knowledge
of factors
pattern of results of that system at any From a management perspective, this UNDERSTAND
Build relationships
& trust
Start here! Make the THE SYSTEM
particular point in time. is the reality of how an outcome is system visible
to its actors
Establish shared
made. Outcomes cannot be purchased PURPOSE
m
: purpose
The work of purposefully creating ss
ys
hi rs?
te
or “delivered”, they have to be to
Va
fa t
lu
a desired outcome is therefore
t
e
Pr
rs ou
c
in
to ab
cip
s,
&
explored. If we care about outcomes,
ac rnt
Be
le
s
ha
os e lea
an attempt to get all of those
vio
e,
pu ve w
urs
then the purpose of our management
rp
a
relationships (between people and
at h
Wh
practice is to enable this learning and
factors) to combine to produce
SYSTEM
exploration to happen effectively. EMBEDDING & STEWARDSHIP
a different pattern. Learning is INFLUENCING
CO-DESIGN
Managing
required to understand the unique Enacting this learning strategy is done and Governing the
Learning Cycle
system that is each person’s life: their by creating and following a Learning
Wh
do n
at
ext?
Cycle, which looks something like this:
shal
relationships, their strengths, their
l we
needs, the outcomes they prioritise, This strategy is a different version
Learning Learning Learning
and how those outcomes are created. EXPERIMENTATION/
EXPLORATION
EXPERIMENTATION/
EXPLORATION
EXPERIMENTATION/
EXPLORATION
Re-design Reflection Re-design Reflection Re-design Reflection
of strategic planning: it is not about processes, practices, cultures) for
implementing an evidence-based learning, rather than performance
programme and expecting it to work management and control.
because it has been shown to work The characteristics of a learning
before. Learning as management strategy include learning in every
strategy assumes that outcomes are interaction: everyone’s job entails
neither predictable nor certain, and learning all the time. This consistent
that approaches should be emergent and ongoing curiosity and openness to
and constantly renegotiated with change requires significant effort and
all the actors involved. The focus of energy. The payoff is public service
management practice is therefore which meets the unique strengths
creating the conditions (infrastructure, and needs of each person and adapts30 31
quickly to an ever-changing world. A Measurement HLS frees measurement from the cage
learning strategy cultivates curiosity, imposed on it by NPM. Because HLS
Learning as management strategy
encourages interrogation of the status doesn’t need measures to be the basis
requires and enables a different role
quo, and identifies and challenges for performance management – for
for measurement. Measurement is
injustice. reward or punishment, to motivate
incredibly useful as a tool for learning
workers extrinsically, or to “incentivise”
The emergence of new ideas that in public service – it can help us to
are generated by people learning the public to achieve their goals – it
overcome our cognitive biases and,
continuously together in every part can do the job that we need it to do:
when done well, provides good data
of their practice, creates bespoke to help us learn and improve.
from which people can develop
responses that can rapidly adapt. important understandings about how
This strategy can change not just systems are functioning.
the practices of people but also
However, measurement can only
the organisational and service
play this role when we free it from a
environment, and it can do so before
crucial problem that bedevils NPM:
practices become entrenched or
NPM forces us to treat what we
inefficient. A learning strategy allows
measure as if those measurements
practitioners and managers to notice
were an adequate substitute for real
more quickly when this is even
life. You hear this in demands to
happening.
create “measurable change” – as if
Scaling the capacity to learn, not measurable were a synonym for “real”.
what is learnt This is not the case.
One of the key characteristics of Real change is experienced in
learning as a management strategy is someone’s life. This can be change
that when it comes to thinking about in tangible things, or intangible:
“scaling”, then what is scaled is the how they see the world, or change
capacity to learn, rather than what in their feelings. Real change is as
has been learnt in any given context. much someone finding forgiveness
Because each time and place is as it is their finding a job. All these
different, “what works” is the capacity things (tangible and intangible) are
for each place to learn. measurable (with different degrees
of difficulty and effort). But the
“Let’s forget scaling.” measures are an abstraction. They
(Olli-Pekka Heinonen, director are a simplification of the complex,
general of EDUFI, the Finnish multifaceted nature of real life into
National Agency for Education) a data point. The measures are a
pauperised, context-free, superficial
substitute for reality.33
Systems
Authors: Toby Lowe and Max French
Contact the authors
Where and how do managers apply between actors (people, organisations,
the human, learning-focused principles etc) or factors (structural aspects of
that we have described? They are people’s lives, such as technology,
applied to Systems. A Systems ethnicity or poverty). When we talk
perspective is essential for enabling about “a system”, we are therefore
and enacting Human Learning talking about a created thing – a
approaches, because complex systems representation that is made by human
produce the outcomes we care about. beings in order to try and make sense
Our key finding is that healthy systems of the complex web of interactions
produce better outcomes. A healthy that is really happening in the world.
A system is always “the map, not the
Chapter 3
system is one in which actors learn
together and act collaboratively in territory”.
order to achieve human freedom and How we construct “a system” is
The HLS Principles:
flourishing. therefore always a function of the
The focus on systems means that question: “how useful is this map to
Systems
HLS draws on traditions from the help us navigate the world?”
worlds of systems thinking and For people who use an HLS approach
complexity theory. This gives some to public management, the question of
key foundational ideas and frameworks how to construct “a system” (deciding
with which to understand the world. what the boundaries of it are, and
Whenever we talk about “a system”, which actors or factors to include) is
we are referring to a representation always related to the question: what
of a set of relationships in the world are the actors and factors that create
that interact to make things happen. an outcome in this person’s life?
We can describe these as relationships We have found that it is useful
to create the following views of
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY
to connect with others, share your “system” at different scales, in order
experiences and/or ask for help.34 35
to understand the task of enabling “Some of the wicked problems Figure 1: A virtuous cycle of learning together and trust
systems to produce better outcomes in are so [complex], that usual
people’s lives: management approaches don’t LEARNING
TOGETHER
• Person’s life as system solve these problems. We need
everyone in the system, whom
• Team/organisations as system
the problem concerns, to be
• Place as system part of the solvers. As we don’t
GOVERNANCE:
• Country as system. know all the answers, we have ADAPTATION ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR LEARNING
TRUST
learnt to fail and take new
At each of these scales, systems
direction… There is a need to
produce better outcomes when they
reinforce the system’s ability to
are “healthy”. So what does a healthy
learn together.” AUTONOMY
system look like?
(EDUFI Innovation Centre Evaluation)
Healthy systems are learning systems
The most obvious aspect of healthy Healthy systems cultivate and make Healthy systems are diverse systems How does a system become
systems that we see from across the use of trust “healthy”?
As we have seen from the Human
range of case studies is that healthy The most important lesson from
If learning and collaborating together chapter, understanding the diversity
systems are learning systems. In across our case studies is that it is very
are the key features of healthy systems, of human experience is crucial for
other words, they are systems in rare for healthy systems to develop
we can easily see why trust is such a enabling effective outcomes – because
which the actors continuously learn spontaneously. In all the circumstances
crucial asset for such systems. We have outcomes, and how they are created,
together about the ways in which that
seen from the Human chapter that a look and feel different in each person’s we have encountered, creating healthy
system operates. systems requires purposeful work.
virtuous circle exists between learning life. Consequently, the systems of
together and trust. Learning together interest by which outcomes are Borrowing the language of the Institute
helps build trust, and trust helps produced must reflect that diversity of for Government, we have come to call
people to learn more effectively – as experience and perspective. the purposeful work of creating healthy
they are willing to be more honest, and systems “System Stewardship”. The
Healthy systems address
more open to changing together.
inequalities of power case studies themselves use many
different variants of this language.
We also see from the case study work
Some explicitly describe themselves
that tackling power inequalities is a
as Systems Stewards. Others call
necessary part of enabling the diversity,
themselves “systems servant”,
and therefore health, of systems.
“systems noticer” or “orchestrator
Genuine participation of diverse voices
of the ecosystem”. The role of
in a system requires addressing the
Systems Steward also contains strong
structural power inequalities which
connections to the role of Systems
have meant that some voices are
Convenor, as articulated by the
unreasonably valued over others.
Wenger-Trayners.37
Relationship between
“Human”, “Learning” and
“Systems”
Author: Toby Lowe
Contact the author
The Human, Learning and Systems These elements come together to form
elements of HLS provide different, a coherent whole in this way:
but interdependent, parts of HLS as a We believe that the purpose of public
whole public management paradigm. service is to promote human freedom
Human provides the moral purpose of and flourishing. Because we recognise
public service work – an answer to the and respect their freedom, each person
Chapter 4
question: why does any of this matter? gets to choose what “flourishing”
We care about this, because we care means for them (so long as it is
The HLS Principles:
about human freedom and flourishing. compatible with flourishing for others).
Learning is the meta-strategy for We call the choices they make about
Relationship
management. We apply this strategy what flourishing means for them the
at all system scales, in order to achieve “outcomes” that public service seeks
to help develop in the world.
between H, L
the purpose of human freedom and
flourishing. These outcomes are not “delivered”
Systems provide the unit of analysis. by public service. Rather, the outcomes
and S Systems produce the outcomes in emerge (or not) as a result of the
people’s lives that matter. So, we apply ongoing interactions between all the
our management strategy to achieve relationships and causal factors in
our purpose by helping to create that person’s life. This requires public
healthy systems. service to see each person as being at
the centre of their own unique system
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY of relationships and causal factors.
to connect with others, share your
experiences and/or ask for help.38 39 The most effective and efficient way It is the job of public management for public service to understand and practice to enable this learning respond to the unique and ever- relationship between those who work changing nature of the complex in public service and the people they systems that create outcomes in support. It can learn to do this by people’s lives is to adopt learning as treating all system scales as complex both meta-strategy and management systems, which can be stewarded practice. Workers must develop towards learning and adaptation, learning relationships with those they through resource allocation, serve, relationships that enable them governance and capacity planning, both to see and understand each activities that are focused on enabling person’s “life as system”. It is the job of learning and adaptation. this learning relationship to understand the ever-changing detail of each person’s life context, and to explore ways to intervene in this system in order to produce desirable patterns of results (“outcomes”) more frequently.
41
Purposefully adopting an
HLS approach
Authors: Toby Lowe and Hannah Hesslegreaves
Contact the authors
Adopting an HLS approach represents management systems become
a paradigm shift in public management inoperable. And if you can’t reward
Chapter 5
– it is change in both the foundational or punish people, how will they be
beliefs that underpin management incentivised to do the right thing? And
practice, and the practices, processes how will we know whom to choose
Principles into and cultures that enact and reinforce
those beliefs.
among the competitors for contracts, if
we can’t compare their performance?
action: How
There is a significant implication for This can feel like a very daunting
viewing public management as a prospect! The good news is that
change happens:
paradigm. It means that you can’t this paradigm shift can be enacted
just change some of the practices at lots of scales, and that change in
Purposefully
of NPM. Because each practice is one system creates ripples which can
mutually reinforcing, and justified provoke potential change in other
by foundational beliefs, you can’t areas. And the change that you seek
adopting an HLS
change one thing without the necessity is an example of itself – it is enacted
of changing the things which are by adopting the learning strategy
approach
dependent on it, and on which it that you’re trying to create. So, by
depends. For example, within an NPM taking a learning approach to your
frame, you can’t simply decide to management practice, you bring about
change the purpose of measurement the change you’re trying to create.
to focus it on learning. Within an But how does such paradigm
NPM frame, measurement is required shift happen?
to know whom to reward and whom
The challenge when thinking about
to punish (has this person/team/
how to purposefully pursue this kind
organisation met their targets or
JOIN THE HLS COMMUNITY not?). So, if you change the purpose
of change is that it is, by definition,
to connect with others, share your emergent. Any change you seek will
experiences and/or ask for help. of measurement, performance42 43
be subject to interaction with other and exploration. For example, Figure 1: The HLS Learning Cycle
things that are happening in the world, what would it mean in our context
and any changes you make will have to treat everyone as a fully-rounded HLS Learning Cycle
unexpected consequences. That’s human being, and to optimise our
just what it means to work in complex management processes for learning? Check system
boundaries &
actors - who is
environments (aka “the real world”). Developing an HLS approach to
Learn together:
build knowledge
included & not?
of factors
public management is therefore UNDERSTAND
Build relationships
“Emergent strategy is about Start here! Make the THE SYSTEM
& trust
an example of itself. If you want to
system visible
to its actors
shifting the way we see and PURPOSE
Establish shared
adopt an HLS approach, it requires te
m
: purpose
feel the world and each other. iss ?
h rs
ys
you to adopt learning as both your to
Va
fa t
lu
t
e
Pr
rs ou
If we begin to understand
c
in
to ab
cip
s,
&
ac rnt
Be
le
management strategy and your
s
ha
os e lea
ourselves as practice ground
vio
e,
pu ve w
urs
approach to change.
rp
a
at h
for transformation, we can
Wh
transform the world” “The Experimentation SYSTEM
EMBEDDING & STEWARDSHIP CO-DESIGN
INFLUENCING
(adrienne maree brown, programme and each of Managing
and Governing the
Emergent Strategy) its experiment stories has
Learning Cycle
W
do n
been on a journey of its own,
hat
ext?
shal
So, how do you purposefully pursue
l we
with things done differently Learning Learning Learning
emergent change? throughout. However, doing
EXPERIMENTATION/ EXPERIMENTATION/ EXPERIMENTATION/
From the experience of those who things differently only becomes Re-design
EXPLORATION
Reflection Re-design
EXPLORATION
Reflection Re-design
EXPLORATION
Reflection
have undertaken these journeys, we significant when considered in
can see that the large-scale change relation to previous operating
goals they set are at the level of practices, cultures, and norms,
principles or high-level goals, e.g. we as well as their transformation,
want to treat everyone as fully-rounded i.e. the big trajectory.”
human beings, and we will optimise (EDUFI case study)
This diagram is a model of a journey, It is a “certainty artefact” –
for learning rather than control. We
and like all models, it is wrong. something deliberately created
want trusted relationships between A guide for your learning journey The danger with a representation to provide a sense of security
actors in our system, which provide
This is our current best understanding like this is that it disaggregates and in an uncertain environment.
bespoke service for those who are
as to the directions that a learning sequences practices that are usually The uncertainty of working
being served. These principles are the
journey is likely to take – a journey interdependent, messy and fractal. But, in complexity is challenging,
kinds of high-level change goals which
that enables you to find what works in despite being wrong, we think it may particularly for personality types
seem to work.
your context. It is a representation of a be useful because: who like certainty. For the person
Pursuing these kind of high-level Learning Cycle for a system. who needs to see what the plan
1. For those who are comforted by
goals requires a process of learning looks like, this provides the shape
having a picture of the overall
approach, this provides comfort. of a plan.You can also read
