As an all island organisation with a mission to improve public services through evidence informed policy and practice, CES has a unique perspective on the opportunities for transformation presented by the draft NI Programme for Government.
We wrote to the Irish News, one of the leading daily newspapers in Northern Ireland, to share our learning on what is required to successfully implement change in policy and practice to make a meaningful difference to local communities.
Our letter was published on 8th November 2024.
Dear Editor
The Centre for Effective Services (CES) welcomes the emphasis on transformation within the proposed NI Programme for Government, and the appetite to learn from global best practices and try new things.
Northern Ireland has a long and frustrating track record of failing to fully implement change. Radical transformation of how our public services are designed and implemented is urgently required to tackle the serious and complex social issues facing our communities.
CES is a not-for-profit, all island, intermediary organisation working to improve the lives of people living in Ireland and Northern Ireland by supporting the implementation of excellent public services through evidence-informed policy and practice.
In our work with Government departments and public service providers, both North and South, we have identified some key requirements for the implementation of change in policy and practice.
The starting point is a more systematic approach to using evidence throughout the policymaking process – an approach proven to achieve more successful outcomes for people in countries like South Africa and the US. Progress is also being made rapidly in Ireland, with Universities and Government departments developing mechanisms to share knowledge with each other, backed by a clear commitment from Government.
A formal system is required in Northern Ireland to harness the knowledge being created in universities across the island and put it into the hands of our policy makers – to help them to create policy that works.
Secondly, leadership and culture change are vital to the success of evidence-based policy solutions. This will require new thinking and new ways of working to become routine within policy development. A reform programme has been tested already, when CES partnered with seven government departments in Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2016 in the ‘Goal Programme for Public Service Reform and Innovation’. The programme supported senior civil servants to build skills and capacity to work in collaboration and implement change across 9 key areas.
Thirdly, there is often a gap between the high-level goals and objectives of a national or strategic policy and how communities experience the policy ‘on the ground’. This is not necessarily because the policy or programme itself is poor, but often it is because there has not been proper consideration of how it will be implemented.
Implementation Science is the study of how interventions are incorporated into services and why they are successful, or not. The practical application of Implementation Science to the delivery of the NI Programme for Government can improve the chances of its success in making a real difference to people’s everyday lives.
In short, our experience shows that evidence-based policy solutions, that reflect local needs, and have a credible implementation plan, delivered by leaders that share and communicate, can contribute to positive change to the social landscape of Northern Ireland.
Yours faithfully
Majella McCloskey
Director for Evidence Informed Policy and Communities
The Centre for Effective Services
