Evaluation of police and fire reform year 4: key findings

6. Key messages and learning points

This final section brings together a set of key messages regarding the experiences of police and fire reform which have been highlighted over the four years of this evaluation and which would be relevant to other public services undertaking organisational change in the future.

Each of the key messages is presented with an associated learning point in order to help inform future discussions about reform.

Managing expectations

A key finding of this evaluation is that the reform of police and fire services in Scotland, like in other countries, is best viewed as a journey (rather than a one-off event) involving phases of 'integration', 'consolidation' and 'transformation'. In Scotland, the first two phases are now nearing completion, and the transformational stage is just beginning, which illustrates the importance of fully understanding and carefully managing public and workforce expectations about the time needed to bring about transformational change in public services.

Learning point

It is important not to underestimate the complexity of the task of integrating legacy services or organisations into a new, transformed service, and ensure that the timescales for realising the benefits of reform are realistic so that expectations of reform can be appropriately managed and clearly communicated.

Articulating a clear long term strategy supported by strong, strategic leadership and the skills needed for large-scale organisational change

The pressures to deliver short term financial savings and a focus on the immediate aims of reform have made it challenging for the police and fire and rescue services in Scotland to develop clear, long term strategies during the early phases of reform. As the services moved further into their reform journey, more long term thinking has emerged (exemplified by the Policing 2026 strategy).

The issues of strategy are also closely linked to questions of leadership and different views were articulated during the evaluation regarding the leadership qualities required to deliver reform. In Scotland some thought that a very directive approach was needed initially to achieve change particularly in the timescales required, with a different style orientated towards collaboration and engagement required at later stages of the process. Others believed that communication and relationship building were key qualities required for effective leadership from the outset of reform.

Another key finding from the evaluation is that both the police service and the fire and rescue service drew heavily on the expertise and experience of their workforce when designing and implementing their programmes of reform. The scale and complexity of the changes required, however, meant that while professional experience from within the services was both necessary and valuable, on its own it was often not enough to achieve the changes required efficiently and effectively, and may have been complemented further by external expertise and insight from specialists, partners and other organisations.

Learning point

Developing a clear long term strategy in terms of desired outcomes and reflecting on the type of leadership required to deliver these are of key importance to achieving the broader goals of reform. In addition, and to complement the professional experience and insight of practitioners, specialist knowledge, skills and expertise can bring added value and insight with regard to generating the scale of organisational changes needed by reform particularly in areas of strategic importance, including financial planning, ICT, communications, and project management.

Focusing on communication and engagement

This evaluation has found that periods of organisational change benefit from effective internal and external communication and engagement. This includes clear communication with the workforce around not just the 'what' and 'how' of organisational change but also the 'why'. At a local level the evaluation found a strong appetite to understand why practices and procedures were changing and for greater authenticity around the challenges of reform from the leadership. Clarity and good communication about career development and training opportunities within the new organisations, particularly with those working in frontline roles, also emerged as an important finding of the evaluation. This would make an important contribution to how the workforce view the organisation in terms of their sense of commitment and wellbeing, as well as confidence in the development of new skills required for transformational change.

Improved communication and engagement also applies to relationships with local service users, partner organisations and communities. During a period of rapid and radical organisational change of the kind experienced by the police and fire and rescue services internationally, there is a strong focus on re-configuring internal relationships and processes, which can leave limited capacity for sustaining external relations. If not considered, this can bring a risk that partner organisations learn of changes that affect them later on in the decision-making process and that relationships that may have developed over longer periods of time may be put under strain.

Learning point

When considering internal communication, the key learning point is that it is important to ensure space for open dialogue with staff at all levels of the organisation to ensure they feel actively engaged in the decision making process, and to minimise the liklihood that influence on decision making is limited to a few senior staff.

In term of external communication, collaboration and co-production are vital to the future delivery of sustainable public services and as such it is valuable to prioritise local consultation, engagement and communication with service users, communities and partners to achieve the long-term aims of transformational change.

Finding an agreed balance between centralism and localism

Given the nature of the reforms to the police service and the fire and rescue service which has transformed a set of local organisations into single, national services, the nature of the relationship between centralism and localism is of key importance. The evaluation found that the increased level of centralisation in the early phases of reform was often a source of tension with both those working in the organisation at a more local level and local partners collaborating with the services. While there are clear benefits associated with some aspects of centralism, including economies of scale and consistency of standards around service delivery, these need to be also balanced with the benefits of localism, such as flexibility and responsiveness to local needs.

Furthermore, findings from the evaluation have illustrated how careful modelling can help to understand the upstream and downstream effects of changes introduced at one level of an organisation as a result of reform in order to appropriately assess the level of the interdependence with other activities within the organisation and the impact on external partners.

Learning point

Regularly reviewing the balance between centralism and localism can help to ensure that an agreed context specific balance is struck between the centralisation of decision-making and the need for local flexibility and discretion, and provides an opportunity to assess, through a process of careful modelling, the cumulative impacts of decisions taken centrally in terms of their impacts locally.

Developing as 'learning organisations'

A strong theme during this research has been the need for organisations to understand and monitor effectively the impact of the changes they are introducing as part of a more strategic approach to innovation. At present such a culture of evaluation is only weakly embedded in police and fire and rescue services in Scotland and internationally, but there are signs that this is changing both in terms of 'in-house' analysis of change and partnering with external bodies to carry out independent assessments of new initiatives.

A related point is the benefit of engaging with international experience. The reform journey in Scotland, including the learning and challenges encountered, are very similar to those of other places that are undertaking major structural changes to the way police and fire services are organised. This evaluation has highlighted there is a lot to be gained from learning from the experiences of other countries that have experienced organisational change and Scotland now benefits from being at the centre of an international hub of knowledge exchange, information sharing and collaborative activity around practice and evidence in which it is learning from and contributing to international debates in this area.

Learning point

Change of this complexity and scale requires a strong commitment to evaluation, and this opens up opportunities for services to develop as 'learning organisations', where critical reflection on 'what works' (and what doesn't work) is encouraged along with a theory of change which sets out the causal connections between pre-conditions needed to achieve long-term outcomes. As part of this approach, it is important to engage in routine environmental scanning to consider what types of organisational change might have been tried elsewhere and could be adapted in a local or national context, in regards to prevention, partnership working and innovation.

Embedding a culture of evaluation based on a robust evidence base would provide insights into successful and unsuccessful local initiatives and encourage experimentation to develop new and improve existing approaches. New initiatives need to be targeted, tested and tracked to ensure that information is gathered around intended (and unintended) impacts on communities as well as broader outcomes. This information on 'what works' and 'what doesn't work' can then inform decision-making around scaling up and spreading successful pilots. The process of innovation will also create important and valuable opportunities for collaborative reflection and learning across the public sector in Scotland and internationally.