Gain an adaptive edge

All public sector organisations must respond to become every bit as adaptable and innovative as the challenges and threats they face. An inability to match the speed of the challenge risks our society, security and prosperity.

Current operating models leave these vital organisations potentially flat-footed against the pace of the wider world and against opponents that face far fewer, or no, hurdles. It’s hard to catch up, build and maintain an operational edge, let alone reach a position to pre-empt changes in threats and the emergence of new ones.

But there is a way forward. We’ve worked with business and the public sector to allow them to adapt to handle the opportunities and challenges of external disruption and complex change. We believe successful public sector organisations can become more purpose-led, adaptive and collaborative, unlocking the ingenuity of their people to build a more positive human future.

This report offers practical advice on three key things organisations must do to become ever more adaptive:

Accelerate insight-led decision-making by placing people front and centre, enabling them to derive the right insight by putting data at their fingertips.
Instil a permanent, positive restlessness by combining a stable core with small, self-organising, multiskilled teams that are free to evolve.
Step up the pace by shortening decision-making and planning cycles from years to weeks, if not days.