Joanne Pitt, Senior Policy Manager
We're currently hearing a great deal about mission-based government. But what actually is mission-based government and what does it mean for service delivery?
At its very basic, mission-based government seeks to provide solutions for long-term and complex problems focused on outcomes.
Perhaps the most well-known example of a successful outcome to a mission based approach was the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. This came eight years after President John F. Kennedy shared his vision that the United States “should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.”
Coming back to earth – the Labour Government has recognised, in backing a missions-driven approach, that it can’t solve the current problems facing our society on its own. Therefore, it has identified five missions which it aims to achieve through collaboration and partnership working.
In acknowledging its limitation this Government has left the door open for other stakeholders; not just other public sector organisations but charity, voluntary and the private sector to come together to solve the problem.
Reaching consensus on how best to deliver that goal then becomes the objective of those supporting the joint ambition – everyone starts to have “skin in the game” . Stakeholders with diverse sets of skills work together in multidisciplinary mission teams to deliver on the agreed objective moving away from a silo mentality.
One public sector organisation that has led from the front regarding a missions based approach is the London Borough of Camden. The Camden Renewal Commission which was pivotal in establishing this approach was co-chaired by Georgia Gould MP and Professor Mariana Mazzucato and used a similar methodology to that shown below.
So what are the criteria for success for a missions-based approach?
In her 2019 Briefing on Missions Professor Mazzucato identifies 5 main conditions that are needed if this approach is to work:
- Bold and Inspirational: Missions should engage the public and make clear that ambitious action will lead to impactful solutions affecting people's daily lives.
- Set Clear Objectives: Missions need to have specific, measurable, and time-bound targets that can be clearly defined.
- Ambitious but achievable: Mission objectives should be set ambitiously, focusing on research and innovation activities but be realistic enough for people to believe it can happen.
- Encourage Cross- Sectoral Innovation: Missions should spark activity across multiple disciplines each individual brings their own strength.
- Involve Multiple Bottom-Up Solutions: Missions should be open to various solutions and not reliant on a single development path – those involved also need to understand that failure is part of the journey.
The role of the Finance Professional
For a mission based approach to work the finance professional plays a key role as without good governance and strong financial management the rest will fail. So what skills can be brought to the table?
Finance professionals need to act as enablers creating an environment of trust and transparency but within the agreed risk parameter. How that risk is managed, mitigated and understood by all parties is a key to ensuring it does not become a barrier to success.
A mission-based approach is often more innovative and may require more trial and error than other more traditional approaches. That is not to say that the importance of monitoring reporting and transparency around the financial position are diminished. It does however, mean that how this work is done across all the different contributors must be clearly set out.
Reflecting on the fact that our current funding structure has not been built to support a mission based approach finance teams need to think outside the box with regards to suitable finance. Where will the funding come from and over what period will different types of funding work.
Next steps
In the brave new world of missions, it is important not to lose sight of the ultimate prize and that is to find solutions for some of our biggest social challenges. This will require many of us including the finance profession to challenge what we know and be open to news ways of working, taking the best practice of the past and using it to enhance future delivery.