November 20, 2013
The Enabling State
Sir John Elvidge is a man who knows a thing or two about how government works. He used to be Scotland’s most senior civil servant. He’s currently leading on a Carnegie UK Trust project called the Enabling State. The central premise of this work seems quite aligned with the Dutch Government’s thinking – that public services of the future must tap into the abilities that communities and individuals have to improve their own lives and the lives around them. Sir John’s latest thinking on this was published this week.
20/11/13
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As economic, demographic and environmental challenges mount, governments around the UK are under increasing pressure to deliver high quality public services with shrinking resources.
The Carnegie UK Trust believes that in these challenging times it is more pressing than ever for governments to forge a new relationship with individuals and communities. The Trust has today published a glimpse of what a more ‘enabling state’ looks like in practice.
The Trust believes that current models of public services fail to adequately tap into the abilities that individuals and communities have to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. This new collection of case studies from across the UK and Ireland showcases examples of public service approaches that give citizens and communities more opportunity to shape the services that they receive and to contribute to societal wellbeing.
The Enabling State: From Rhetoric to Reality launched today, is the second publication in the Trust’sEnabling State series. The Trust has been exploring the rise of the Enabling State in the UK and Ireland with the help of Carnegie Fellow Sir John Elvidge, former Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government.