Designing Effective Service Recovery Interventions
Submitting Institution
University of BathUnit of Assessment
Business and Management StudiesSummary Impact Type
PoliticalResearch Subject Area(s)
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Summary of the impact
Research conducted at the University of Bath has helped in the design and
implementation of
effective service recovery interventions, leading to improvements in the
delivery of public services.
The research has addressed an on-going question for changes to service
delivery: what can be
done by central government when it determines that local government
performance is
unacceptable? The findings of a detailed empirical study of English and
Welsh central government
interventions led to a typology of intervention options designed to guide
actions based on the type
of problem and the improvement capability available. Recommendations from
the research have
led to improvements in the effectiveness of Welsh Government interventions
when local
government service delivery is (or is at risk of) failing. The research
has established a set of
pragmatic operating principles for all Welsh Government interventions with
corresponding benefits
for policy makers, practitioners, communities and citizens.
Underpinning research
The research was conducted by members of the Information, Decisions and
Operations (IDO)
group at the University of Bath. The IDO team was led by Professor Mike
Lewis (at Bath since
2004) and included Dr Nigel Caldwell (Research Officer, then Research
Fellow 1998 - 2012); Dr
Wendy Philips (Research Officer, then Research Fellow 2001 - 2009); Dr
Niall Piercy (Lecturer,
then Senior Lecturer 2004 - 2012); and Dr Jens Roerich (Lecturer, since
2011). Three interlinked
and diverse research themes were significant in shaping this impact case:
(1) Research on how organizations in networks respond to failure.
Findings from an extended
study of safety `recalls' provided a backdrop for the initial framing of
the intervention problem
(reference 1). This study looked specifically at how automotive firms have
to make judgments
regarding the severity of failure, liaise with regulators, determine
blame, and coordinate all
action through their independent dealer networks.
(2) Research that examined how public and private sector organizations
responded to disruptive
change/ innovation in their external networks (reference 2). This study
explored the constraints
and enablers of the process of innovation within the context of UK health
care supply networks.
A multi-level analytical framework was developed that directly influenced
the conceptualisation
of the relationship between central and local government.
(3) Research that sought the most effective governance mix for
coordinating complex supply
relationships. This research advocated a longitudinal perspective on
governance based on
engaging with the before, during and after conditions associated with
intervention; as well as
acknowledging that the mix of effective inter-organizational governance is
likely to vary over
project lifecycles (reference 3). This research, which grew out of the
EPSRC Knowledge and
Through-Life Information Management Grand Challenge (2006-2009),
highlighted how formal
and informal mechanisms come together to deliver complex outcomes that
satisfy multiple
stakeholders.
The insights generated from the above themes were applied and further
developed in a research
project funded by the Welsh Government that sought to improve the
effectiveness of central
government interventions when local government service delivery was (or
was at risk of) failing.
The impetus for the research arose from recognition that the Welsh
Government's intervention and
support arrangements to date had been ad-hoc and that insufficient
attention had been paid to
lessons learned. With a view to making significant changes in the
operating principles that guide
both policy and practice, Bath researchers studied the context, starting
points, key processes and
eventual outcomes of a series of support/ intervention arrangements
coordinated by the Welsh
Government. Several high-profile English interventions were also studied
as part of the work. The
three researchers (Lewis, Piercy and Phillips) carried out the primary
data collection work. They
codified and analysed the support and intervention experiences of seven
Welsh local authorities.
75 interviews were conducted with 63 people between October 2006 and March
2007. A formal
report was produced and made available via the Welsh Government website
(source 1) both
analysing the primary data and providing pragmatic recommendations for
future practice.
The research report for the Welsh Government made a number of general
recommendations that
were subsequently embedded in specific policy documents relating to
support and intervention
(see section 4 — Details of the Impact). Key amongst these recommendations
was a challenge to
the conventional policy wisdom that there was a `ladder of intervention'
(the assumption that
intervention/ support should start as a `light touch' and become
increasingly direct or `serious'). The
research disputed this perspective by concluding that in some
circumstances it can be better to
start with `serious' options and in other circumstances (e.g. where an
already heavily depleted
Social Services department faces the risk of losing even more of its key
staff) `light touch' options
may be more appropriate despite the seriousness of the issue. The research
highlighted the
potential of a number of improvement techniques (reference 5) and gave
rise to the development
of a typology of intervention options (reference 4) contingent on both the
type of problem (e.g.
corporate or service-specific) and the improvement capability available
(locally, regionally or
nationally). For example, in those circumstances where there was both poor
service performance
and a lack of local improvement capability, it was concluded that the
Welsh Government should
consider a top-down framework to guide improvement action — an
intervention mode designated as
"Director". The research made a series of recommendations for coordinating
a range of different
intervention modes — Director, Curator, Facilitator and Trainer.
References to the research
1. Bates, H., Holweg, M., Lewis, M. and Oliver, N. (2007) Motor Vehicle
Recalls: Trends, Patterns and
Emerging Issues, Omega, 32/2: 201-220. DOI:
10.1016/j.omega.2005.05.006
2. Phillips, W., Johnsen, T.E., Caldwell, N. and Lewis, M. (2006)
Investigating Innovation in Complex
Healthcare Supply Networks: An Initial Conceptual Framework. Health
Services Management
Research, 19/3: 1-11. DOI: 10.1258/095148406777888099
3. Zheng, J., Roehrich, J. and Lewis, M. (2008) The dynamics of
contractual and relational
governance: Evidence from long-term public-private procurement
arrangements, Journal of
Purchasing and Supply Management, 14/1: 43-54. DOI:
10.1016/j.pursup.2008.01.004
4. Lewis, M, Piercy, N., Phillips, W. and Palmer, J. (2013) Towards a
model of the intervention
process. Policy & Politics, online/ in press. DOI:
10.1332/030557312X655927
5. Piercy, N., Phillips, W. and Lewis, M. (2012). Change management in
the public sector: The use of
cross-functional teams. Production Planning and Control, 24, 10-11
DOI:
10.1080/09537287.2012.666913.
Associated Grants:
Professor Michael Lewis (PI), `Codifying local government support and
intervention'. Research
conducted for the National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol
Cymru). 166/2006,
£75,000.
Details of the impact
This research has challenged conventional policy wisdom on service
recovery interventions and
has subsequently informed public services improvement. The research has
had wide reach within
the context of national and local government in Wales: on Welsh Government
policy; on
stakeholders in all subsequent interventions (councillors, officers,
managers and staff); and
correspondingly on the communities and citizens who benefit from (often
dramatically) improved
service performance. The research is significant because it has helped to
inform changes in the
Welsh Government's policy and practice on service recovery interventions
(sources 1, 2 and 3).
The Welsh Government has officially acknowledged the benefits of the
University of Bath research
(source 4). The details of these benefits are as follows:
The conclusions in the research report directly influenced those
Ministers and officials tasked with
drafting a framework for the Welsh Government, the Welsh Local Government
Association, the
Wales Audit Office, Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales and the
Education Inspectorate
regarding local government support `to secure improvement in the delivery
of services for the
benefit of the community and citizens'. The impact of the Bath research is
evident from: (1) the text
of the framework for improvement (paragraphs 6-8, p.2) that provides
explicit definitions of support
and intervention, after the research had stressed the need for greater
terminological clarity
(`currently our use of language in this area is confusing and problematic'
— source 2, p.59) and (2)
the elements in the framework for improvement that came directly from the
Bath research
conclusions. Examples of these include:
- The Bath research concluded that there should be no assumption of a
ladder of intervention: the
most serious concerns may require the lightest regulatory touch.
Correspondingly, the Welsh
Government's policy statement (source 2, p.59) details that `there is no
real evidence to support the
idea of a ladder of support and intervention, i.e. that more serious
problems merit deeper and
longer lasting intervention'. Similarly, principle 2 of the revised
intervention policy framework
(source 3, p.3 paragraphs 16-18) concludes that there should be `no
automatic ladder/ratchet of
Intervention'.
- The Bath research concluded that all modes of support and intervention
would benefit from the
greater clarity offered by a quasi-contract with questions of when and
how to exit these
arrangements integral to all planning. Correspondingly, the Welsh
Government's policy statement
(source 2, p.59) details that `the duration of the intervention should
be as short as possible — with a
clear strategy for exit'. Similarly, principle 4 of the revised
intervention policy framework (source 3,
p.5 paragraphs 29-31) proposes that support and/or intervention should
be structured into
programmes of activity and be established with clear start and exit
mechanisms.
- The Bath research concluded that increased transparency of all-party
feedback would increase the
legitimacy of any intervention and would help to formalize subsequent
lessons learned.
Correspondingly, principle 5 of the revised intervention policy
framework (source 3, p.6 paragraphs
32-24) states, `a formal case review and evaluation should be undertaken
by an external party at
the end of each intervention'.
The work was well received by key policy stakeholders (source 4) who
praised both the rigour and
practical relevance the team brought to sensitive interactions. For
example: `The Bath Research as
the Minister has come to call it ... has had a profound effect on the way
we think about support and
intervention' and `this has been a really excellent experience and has
strengthened my feeling that
real time research and policy making can go hand in hand' (Director of
Local Government
Research Unit, source 4).
Following the influence of the Bath research on Welsh Government policy,
subsequent central-local
government interventions show evidence of changed practice in line with
the research
findings. For example, in August 2009, the Minister for Social Justice and
Local Government used
his powers to order an intervention with the Isle of Anglesey County
Council. This followed an
independent evaluation of council performance by the Wales Audit Office
(WAO), in line with the
Bath research recommendation that a robust and transparent comprehensive
performance
evaluation would increase the legitimacy of any intervention. The WAO had
judged Anglesey's
corporate performance to be very poor (`weak', `corrosive', `wasteful')
and concluded that there
was no meaningful local improvement capability (`poorly placed ... to
secure continuous
improvement'); a set of circumstances that the Bath research categorized
as requiring a direct
intervention. The Minister established an independent Isle of Anglesey
Recovery Board to oversee
the implementations of the recommendations in the WAO Report. Similarly,
in line with the
recommendation to formalize lessons learned, all subsequent interventions
have been subject to
formal evaluation by third parties. For example, BMG research commissioned
by the Welsh
Government to evaluate the Denbighshire Education Intervention makes
explicit reference to these
findings from the Bath research in their report (source 5, p.42). The
University of Bath has also
been commissioned to evaluate interventions (December 2009 and March 2011)
in Swansea
Children's Social Services (source 6) in line with these recommendations.
Finally, Welsh Government experience and policy regarding interventions,
directly informed by the
Bath research findings, continue to shape and influence broader policy
debates regarding
performance assessment and intervention in a number of UK wide policy
discussions (source 7).
Sources to corroborate the impact
- `Codifying local government support and intervention', Final Report of
Research conducted for
the Welsh Assembly Government (Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru).
(http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/localgovernment/publications/supportandinterventioninlg/?lang=
en)
- A Shared Responsibility — Local Government's contribution to improving
people's lives — A Policy
Statement from the Welsh Assembly Government:
(http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/localgovernment/publications/sharedresponsibility/?lang=en)
- Draft Protocol On The Provision Of Local Government Support, The
Undertaking Of Intervention
And The Exercise Of Powers Of Direction Under The Local Government Act
1999.
- Director of Local Government Research Unit, the official letter of
thanks from the Welsh
Assembly Government.
- Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Denbighshire Independent
Education Recovery Board,
final Report, BMG Research Social Services division, Welsh Assembly
Government, 2010
- The Swansea Children's Services Intervention Board: strengths,
challenges and lessons for the
future, Evaluation Study for the Welsh Government, University of Bath
Research Report for the
Welsh Government, June-July 2011.
- Presentations by the Director of Local Government Research for the
Welsh government at
ESRC and the Forum of Federations funded Roundtable events on `Changing
Approaches to
Performance Assessment' held at Cardiff Business School (29.1.2013) and
Local government
house, London (27.6.2013) (https://knowledgehub.local.gov.uk).