By Vivienne Russell
23 October 2009
Civil servants have been urged to back policy proposals with practical plans on how they will achieve them.
Closing the gap, a report from the independent Whitehall & Industry Group, said businesses wanted policies to be more rigorously thought out before they were announced.
Mark Gibson, Wig’s chief executive, told Public Finance that the message for ministers was to ‘think it all through’.
‘Don’t just make a policy announcement with some directions. What business wants to hear is particulars.’
The October 21 report recommended that civil servants take more time to consult with business on policy. They should also try to reach beyond trade associations and other ‘usual suspects’ in their dialogue.
‘Businesses don’t mind turning out the technical experts,’ Gibson said. ‘We didn’t find any businesses who were unwilling to talk to civil servants.’
The report, based on interviews with 40 senior leaders from both the public and private sectors, also contained lessons for the private sector.
Business needs to be better at providing clear evidence to support its case, particularly in areas where government lacks technical expertise, Gibson stressed. It also needs to understand that securing policy change can be a slow process.
Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell said: ‘This is a very useful piece of research into a subject that has huge impact but which has seen little external examination.
‘The past 12 months can have left few in doubt of the paramount importance of good communication between business and government… Wig’s report indicates increasing awareness of the importance of this on all sides.’
Gibson added that the lessons highlighted in the report were already being adopted in parts of Whitehall.
23 October 2009
Civil servants have been urged to back policy proposals with practical plans on how they will achieve them.
Closing the gap, a report from the independent Whitehall & Industry Group, said businesses wanted policies to be more rigorously thought out before they were announced.
Mark Gibson, Wig’s chief executive, told Public Finance that the message for ministers was to ‘think it all through’.
‘Don’t just make a policy announcement with some directions. What business wants to hear is particulars.’
The October 21 report recommended that civil servants take more time to consult with business on policy. They should also try to reach beyond trade associations and other ‘usual suspects’ in their dialogue.
‘Businesses don’t mind turning out the technical experts,’ Gibson said. ‘We didn’t find any businesses who were unwilling to talk to civil servants.’
The report, based on interviews with 40 senior leaders from both the public and private sectors, also contained lessons for the private sector.
Business needs to be better at providing clear evidence to support its case, particularly in areas where government lacks technical expertise, Gibson stressed. It also needs to understand that securing policy change can be a slow process.
Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell said: ‘This is a very useful piece of research into a subject that has huge impact but which has seen little external examination.
‘The past 12 months can have left few in doubt of the paramount importance of good communication between business and government… Wig’s report indicates increasing awareness of the importance of this on all sides.’
Gibson added that the lessons highlighted in the report were already being adopted in parts of Whitehall.
