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Department of Health Policy Improvement Plan 2014/15

DQ: Foreword by Ian as HoPP?

Introduction

The Civil Service Reform Plan challenged officials to improve the way they make policy by developing skills and having a more open, iterative and informed approach.1 Twelve Actions to Professionalise Policy Making was the response of the Civil Service policy profession to this challenge, setting out a dozen pragmatic recommendations (for a full list of the Actions, and the Department’s response, see Annex A).2

This is the Department of Health’s (DH’s) answer to that agenda, setting out what we will be doing in 2014/15 to support policy officials. It outlines the steps that will be taken to ensure we focus on professionalism in policy making in the year ahead. It links with other important improvement work within DH such as the Departmental Improvement Plan (Action 5.7) and is one of the nine strands of work to improve capabilities within the Department. [It has been peer-reviewed by the Heads of Policy Profession (HoPPs) of other government departments].

2014/15 is an important time if this agenda is to succeed. It will be a year to focus on capability before the election, ensuring policy making in the Department is in the best possible shape before the arrival of the next government and an even tighter period of fiscal restraint.

Audience - Why this is relevant to you

Many of the Department’s staff work on policy. The Department identifies “specialist” roles such as programme and project management, finance, science and analysis. Officials in these roles may be involved in supporting policy work, or may even be embedded within a policy team. The remainder of staff in “generalist” roles include those who would identify themselves principally as policy officials, but the generalist label also covers a group of administrative staff (from PAs to business managers) and those who may have a policy background but in roles where they are not developing policy such as private office or new functions like sponsoring an arm’s length body.

This plan is primarily for all those who are currently, or expect to be in future, in careers focused on policy development, whatever their background. In addition, the opportunities it offers are relevant to all staff. Our goals is that everyone should have an awareness of efforts to improve policy making, which is the Department’s core business.

Where we are now

There is excellent policy making in the Department. From W to X and Y to Z. The Department also has strengths in some key skills. For instance, a survey of nearly 150 DH Civil Servants in 2013 identified that people rated external engagement as a particular strength.

1 HM Government, Civil Service Reform Plan, June 20122 Policy Profession, Twelve Actions to professionalise Policy Making, October 2013

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Clear definition and framing of the issue

Generating ideas informed by good quality up to date evidence

Policy design that is resilient to adaption and is implementable

External engagement

Appraisal and assessment of options

Clarity on roles and accountabilities

Feedback and evaluation on how policy is being realised in practice

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Least SuccessfulMost Successful

Figure 1 – Responses by 143 DH officials to the question “From your own experience and your knowledge of departmental policies which element do you feel DH as a whole achieves most/least successfully.”3

But our approach to policy making does not systematically ensure that policy making is as good as it can be. We do not routinely ask what the international evidence shows about a policy problem. The Francis Report questioned whether the DH had become remote from the frontline services for which it makes policy.4 And as the 2013 survey showed, 40% of respondents felt that feedback and evaluation on how policy is being realised in practice was a DH weakness. We are also adjusting to new accountabilities where the Department acts as the “System Steward” of the health and care system, rather than having direct control.5

So there are areas where we need to improve and develop if we are to be a great department of state. Those working on policy do not, however, have a culture of continuous professional development (CPD). More than half of policy officials are not using the minimum expected five days a year for learning and development.6 Yet short-term investments in improving your policy skills will lead to much more substantial long-term savings as you work more efficiently and effectively.

How can we get to where we need to be?

Given policy making is not as consistently good as it can be, the Department is responding by:

1. Introducing policy tests2. Improving learning and development 3. Being open and connected4. Rewarding a focus on excellent policy making

3 The seven categories are the Institute of Government’s Policy Fundamentals taken from, Michael Hallsworth and Jill Rutter, Making Policy Better, April 2011, p.144 Robert Francis, Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry: Executive summary, February 2013, p.825 Michael Hallsworth, System Stewardship, Institute for Government, April 20116 Policy Profession, Twelve Actions to professionalise Policy Making, October 2013

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1. Introducing Policy Tests

The inconsistency in the quality of policy making can be addressed by the creation of a common set of expectations. This is what the DH policy tests provide, six questions that are relevant whether you are working on tobacco policy or hospital re-organisation.

The policy tests were created through a series of workshops involving over a hundred officials, building on previous work such as the Department for Education’s Five Policy Tests7 and the Institute of Government’s Policy Fundamentals to create the six tests, outlined in Figure 2.

Figure 2 – DH Policy Tests

These provide six high level questions that policy officials need to ask when they begin work on a policy and keep on revisiting during its development. They do not follow a linear process or even a policy cycle, because policy in the real world is rarely made in such a neat and straightforward way. Given the acknowledged weakness in evaluation and feedback, we will need to pay particular focus to the question “Will it actually work and how will you know?”

There is not a specific question about funding and affordability, but clearly this is a central theme of many of the questions e.g. is funding available for this policy to work? And what are the costs and benefits of your policy objective? Policy officials will be expected to work closely with finance colleagues in all policy development to ensure a strong focus on value for money.

The tests have been deliberately kept simple, but a wealth of supporting detail for each test will be available on the Department’s new intranet.

7 N Barcoe and H White, The Policy Tests: transforming policy in the Department for Education, Civil Service Quarterly, 12 July 2013

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The tests have been shared with the Department’s partners such as NHS England and Public Health England so that they can hold us to account for the quality of our policy work and can consider applying them themselves, in their own work.

During 2014/15 the tests will become embedded in how the Department works. For instance we will run workshops for private offices on the Tests and encourage them to provide constructive challenge to policy officials on their use. We will also use the tests in the work of the Submissions Review Group (which considers the quality of a cross-section of the Department’s advice to ministers).

DQ: We are also keen to develop case studies of how the Tests will benefit policy making – do let the policy improvement team know if you have some good examples.

2. Improving Learning and Development

If people are to be effectively answering the policy tests, there needs to be a comprehensive package of training available to DH staff. This will range from policy as part of the corporate induction event to a two-year part-time MSc in Health Policy and are set out in Box A.

Box A – Learning and Development Training Offer for Policy

Refreshed – Policy InductionAs the core business of the Department, policy will be covered in the Department’s new corporate induction event, including highlighting the six policy tests. For new policy officials, and others wanting to understand more about policy making, this will be supplemented by a one-day introduction to policy making (previously called DH Core Policy Skills), which will be brought back in a revamped format. This session will draw on the cross-government work to create a common set of induction resources for policy.8

Civil Service LearningCivil Service Learning has a number of policy courses, particularly aimed at relatively new policy officials. Further details are available at https://civilservicelearning.civilservice.gov.uk/professions/policy-profession

New – Policy Certificate (Senior champion Paul Macnaught)This will be a programme of short courses open to all and run by experts within the Department of Health. Topics could include areas policy makers need to know about (e.g. legislation, communications, customer insight etc) and also specific policy making approaches/skills (e.g. behavioural economics, wellbeing). Attendees get credits for each session they go on and once they have accumulated enough credits and completed a reflective piece of work on what they have learnt, they gain the policy certificate.

New – Policy School (Senior champion x)The Policy School is a week-long intensive course where participants learn through a range of speakers, but also work on a policy project. We are building on the work of other government department e.g. DCLG, Cabinet Office and MoD, who have successfully used this model. The school will be aimed at Grade 6/7 and those who expect to reach that level in the next two years. There

8 Available at: https://civilservicelearning.civilservice.gov.uk/learning-resources/heads-policy-induction-resources

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will be a competitive application process for spaces.9 The school will take place in September and utilise a Government (but non-departmental venue) to keep costs low.

Retendered – MSc in Health PolicyIn 2010 the Department tendered for a three year contract for the provision of a postgraduate qualification in Health Policy. The contract was awarded to Imperial College London and the first cohort has now completed the two-year part time MSc in Health Policy. This course has helped develop deep subject expertise in a group of Policy Officials through a recognised qualification from a world-leading university. The Institute for Government have given the MSc a positive evaluation [insert link when available]. We are re-tendering the MSc on a five year contract and will be encouraging our ALBs to send participants as a way of creating a broader health policy network.

Learning and development is far more than just training courses, however, and we do encourage policy officials to consider the full range of learning and development available to them including taking on new job responsibilities, shadowing, reading articles, attending events by think tanks and e-learning.

In return for making these learning and development opportunities available, we ask that you take responsibility for your learning and development. To help you do that we have created one simple tool and a working on another. The first is a template for policy officials to record their policy making CPD (see Annex B). The second tool we will develop is a self-assessment so that policy officials can rate their own skills in carrying out the six Policy Tests. Once areas for development have been identified, the new intranet will signpost to resources for each of the six Policy Tests.

3. Being Open and Connected

Improving our skills and knowledge through learning and development is important, but it is not enough. We also need to ensure we have a broader outlook in our policy making. That is the focus of the open policy making work introduced by the Civil Service Reform Plan.10 Open policy making means drawing on external expertise and challenge early in the policy making process to ensure proposals are robust and effective. Policy makers should be willing to engage with ideas generated outside the department, and have an open culture which welcomes input from others. Innovation and collaboration should be at the heart of policy design. [DN: potentially amend this explanation based on feedback].

The DH is one of seven Departments that self-identified as being exemplars of open policy making. We believe that we are particularly strong in some areas of open policy making such as the co-production of policy with partners and the use of digital methods to further engagement. Case studies can be found here http://my.civilservice.gov.uk/policy/case-studies/

9 Details of how to apply for the Policy School and the MSc in Health Policy will be made available on the Department’s intranet when the application process opens. 10 HM Government, Civil Service Reform Plan, June 2012

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Rather than have a separate focus on open policy making we are clear that it is a fundamental part of the DH policy tests. The tests and their supporting resources are designed to make open policy making easier to do (see Figure 3).

Figure 3 – DH Policy Tests and Open Policy Making

In May 2014 we will be holding a conference with external experts to ensure all SCS policy makers are aware of the open policy making agenda. We will then expect them to share this learning with their teams.

We will also seek to make ourselves more open by introducing challenge sessions where external experts and Civil Servants will be brought together to discuss significant policy issues. This is an approach that has worked in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and we will look to replicate this success.

In addition, one way of being more open will be through the Connecting Programme. Connecting was introduced in 2013 for SCS in the Department. This pioneering programme enables officials to go out and spend time in frontline health and social care such a day with a district nurse or visiting a care home. It helps policy makers understand the reality of service delivery and the impact of the policies they work on. [DN: include some statistics].

In 2014/15 the connecting programme is being rolled out to all policy officials. We are also seeking to strengthen the methodological base for connecting (which is in essence ethnographic research carried out in a care provider) so that the insights gathered can improve policy making.

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Connecting is an example of one linked initiative within the Department. Another is our work on developing best practice in sponsorship. Those sponsoring our ALBs will typically be policy officials. Standards have been developed for sponsorship and we have ensured these support ALBs involvement in policy making.11

Having more open and connected ways of working increases the need for good knowledge management (see Box B). This is an issue for everyone in the Department, but is particularly relevant as more policy development work happens as a policy projects, with teams completing work and moving on to new priorities.

Box B - Knowledge Management

Good knowledge management is essential to make best use of our resources and expertise. Twelve Actions to Professionalise Policy Making called for a cross-Civil Service review knowledge management (Action 11). Whilst the cross-Whitehall review is going on we are working with Knowledge and Information Management professionals within the Department to develop clear guidance on how to close-down, write-up and disseminate the learning from a policy project. We will also be emphasising the importance of sharing of knowledge in people’s objectives.

4. Rewarding a focus on excellent policy making

The success, or not, of this policy improvement plan, will come down to the actions of policy officials. Whether you use the policy tests, whether you take responsibility for their CPD and whether you choose to operate in a more open and connected way. Hopefully you are convinced of the rationale for this work and why we need to improve. However, in the context of busy working lives, making a successful case for change is not enough. We also need to ensure there are incentives on policy officials.

Therefore we are expecting line managers to discuss CPD with their staff regularly in line with the Department’s fourth people management commitment.12 There should be a particular focus on this as part of mid and end of year appraisal discussions. If policy officials are not taking their CPD seriously, they will have to explain why in these conversations.

Everyone should be developing their skills so they do a better job in their current role, but for those looking to advance, we will be building this work into promotion gateways. Candidates for Grade 7 and SCS1 gateways can expect to be asked about their use of the six policy tests. And they will also be questioned about what they have done to improve their own, and the departments, policy making capabilities.

Finally we are looking to develop clear expectations of policy skills, knowledge and experience required by different grades. This will build on the Policy Profession Skills and Knowledge

11 Insert Link when available12 The fourth commitment of six says “I will ensure performance reviews for my team inform robust personal development plans and that all staff have fair access to relevant learning and development opportunities.”

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Framework,13 but look to extend this by being clear what sort of experiences we expect people to have had (e.g. working outside the Department through secondments).

Next Steps

This is an ambitious programme, reflecting our belief that 2014/15 is a crucial year for making progress on this agenda. Our top ten deliverables for this year are:

1. Policy Tests that are being used2. Running a successful Policy School3. The introduction of the DH Policy Certificate4. The re-tendering of the MSc in Health Policy5. Beneficial challenge sessions to further open up our policy making6. Highly accessible, interactive policy section of the new DH intranet7. A clear methodology for how the connecting programme improves policy making8. The inclusion of policy skills in gateway interviews9. Sharing of policy knowledge through the proper close down and documentation of policy

projects 10. A 2015/16 Policy Improvement Plan that shows significant progress

Taken together these should create a more consistent and cohesive approach to policy making in the department, helping to foster a community of policy officials who focus on their development.

Further Information:

For further information on anything outlined here, please contact one of the Policy Improvement Team at the Department of Health:

Peter Howitt (peter.howitt@dh.gsi.gov.uk)Jen Mason (jennifer.mason@dh.gsi.gov.uk)Alice Ehrlich (alice.ehrlich@dh.gsi.gov.uk)

13 Available at: https://staginglearning.civilservice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/final_policy_skills_knowledge_framework_february_2013.pdf

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Annex A – Specific Plans on Each of the Twelve Actions

Action What DH has already done What DH will be doing in 14/15 How we will know we have succeeded?

Action 1: Permanent Secretaries, assisted by the Head of the Policy Profession, will transform the role of the Departmental Head of Policy Profession (HoPP) during 2013/14. The HoPP will be accountable for (a) improving policy standards and driving improvement activity within departments, and (b) contributing to Civil Service-wide action to professionalize policy making.

Action for Policy Profession Board. [DN: or do we want to put something here about Ian’s Objectives?]

Action 2: The Head of Profession, supported by Permanent Secretaries, will establish enhanced policy profession support by December 2013 to act as a catalyst for professionalization. This will be governed by a strengthened Policy Profession Board, and funded by a modest levy from departments. Resources will be used to build an enhanced sense of a service-wide policy community across departments to unlock synergies, share learning and codify good practice. It will include funding the establishment of a Policy Lab to promote innovative techniques.

Action for Policy Profession Board. We have committed to funding the cross-Civil Service work and will be looking to utilise the Policy Lab.

Action 3: The Head of the Policy Profession and Departmental HoPPs will develop and maintain regular communications with policy officials, with a particular focus on professional development, from October 2013.

Action principally for Policy Profession Board. In DH we are developing our policy intranet pages as main communication medium. We are also using SCS bulletins to circulate details of learning and development opportunities.

Action 4: Each Department will adopt during 2013/2014 a set of fundamental policy

• Co-designed the DH tests with over 100 staff in 2013

• Make the tests highly visible; placing posters and desk guides

Improved awareness and use of Policy Tests from July 2014

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standards and subsequently work to embed these. All SCS in charge of policy work will be responsible for quality assurance against these standards.

through workshops and team meetings.

• Senior engagement through DH Leadership Team, SCS Forum and Directors’ Policy Network.

•Planned soft launch of Policy Tests in Feb 2014; digital engagement through Yammer, discuss with ALBs, use staff network established in earlier engagement.

around the Department’s buildings (link to Action 3).

•Run workshops for private offices on the Tests and encourage them to provide constructive challenge to policy officials on their use.

•Use the tests in the work of the Submissions Review Group (which considers the quality of a cross-section of the Department’s advice to ministers).

• Place the tests as a centre-piece of induction for new entrants into the department (link to Action 7).

• Ask questions about the practical use of the tests in promotion gateways for Grade 7 and SCS1 (link to Action 8).

baseline, measured as part of the DH Annual Skills Review.

Action 5: All Departmental HoPPs will make policy improvement systems and activity within their department transparent on an annual basis, and subject to HoPP peer review.

• Policy Improvement Plan drafted and shared with PPB Working Level Contacts and other key parties for peer review.

• Publish DH’s Policy Improvement Plan.

• Monitor work delivered under policy improvement programme to ensure expected benefits are realised, and report in the next Policy Improvement Plan in March 2015.

• Positive feedback on draft Policy Improvement Plan.

•2015 Policy Improvement Plan demonstrates progress on the six Departmental actions (4-9) in line with expectations described in this report.

Action 6: Each Departmental HoPP will champion Open Policy Making as part of their core responsibilities.

• The Department of Health is one of seven Departments that self-identified as being

• Run a conference for the SCS in May on Open Policy Making involving external experts..

• Staff awareness and use of OPM will be monitored through a supplementary question added to

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exemplars of open policy making. We believe that we are particularly strong in some areas of open policy making such as the co-production of policy with partners and the use of digital methods to engage more.

•The six policy tests and their supporting resources are designed to make open policy making easier to do.

• Introduce challenge sessions where external experts and Civil Servants will be brought together to discuss significant policy issues.

• Develop more case studies of open policy making in practice in the DH and share these, for example through the Civil Service Quarterly and the Open Policy Making Linked In group.

the DH Annual Skills Survey (July 2014)

Action 7: The Policy Profession Board will make recommendations in 2013/14 for how Departmental HoPPs can overhaul policy induction for new entrants, learning from the best professional advisory services, to take effect during 2014/15.

• Policy Improvement session delivered for DH Fast Stream Induction on 14 October 2013.

• Introduction to Policy stand prepared for DH corporate induction events.

• Agreed with HR that we will offer a specific induction for new policy staff from 2014/15.

• Design and launch the supplementary policy induction for all new policy staff.

• Signpost policy officials to Civil Service Learning policy courses which complement their personal development plans.

• All new entrants to attend Corporate Induction.

• All new policy officials to attend 1-day policy induction.

• Positive feedback from attendees of induction events.

Action 8: All policy officials are responsible for developing their skills and expertise, including through appropriate continuous professional development (CPD). This should be considered as part of appraisals and in promotion exercises.

•Recommendations paper for DH Policy School drafted, based on site visits and collaboration with four OGDs currently running their own schools. Venue secured for w/c 8 September 2014.

• Design sessions for DH Policy School.

• Invite applications for Policy School and select participants.

• Commission independent evaluation for Policy School.

• First DH Policy School held September 2014.

• First candidates taking modules for the new DH Policy Certificate by September 2014.

• Candidates for Grade 7 and

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•Initial planning begun for DH Policy Certificate and senior champion identified.

• Example CPD record designed.

• Work with colleagues across DH to co-design Policy Certificate modules, and secure their commitment to delivering modules in their areas of expertise.

• Discuss appraisal and Gateway applications for the Policy Tests with HR.

•Develop a self-assessment tool so that policy officials can rate their own skills in carrying out the six Policy Tests.

•Refine and promote the CPD template for policy staff.

SCS1 gateways to be asked what they have done to improve their own, and the department’s, policy making capabilities.

Action 9: Departmental HoPPs, working with Human Resource Directors, will develop plans to transform the development of policy grades 7 – SCS 1, with a focus on increasing (a) deep subject expertise, (b) post-graduate qualifications on public policy or business administration, and (c) wider experience and (d) skills in related disciplines.

• First cohort of MSc students completed their degrees. Second cohort commenced second year. Third cohort began their studies in September 2013.

• Connecting programme initiated and all SCS to have attended 20 days Connecting by April 2014.

• Policy Maker’s Guide to Analysis developed.

• Re-tender the MSc for 3/5 years and encourage ALBs to identify participants.

• Roll out the connecting programme to all policy officials

• Share and refine the Policy Maker’s Guide to Analysis.

• Successful retender for MSc in Health Policy; fourth cohort commence studies in September 2014.

• All SCS and policy staff at other grades participating in Connecting programme by March 2015. Teams set criteria of success through self-designed compacts between themselves and the Connecting programme team.

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Action 10: The High Potential directors working on policy making will be considered a Civil Service-wide, rather than Departmental, talent pool from April 2014.

Action for Policy Profession Board

Action 11: The Policy Profession Board will initiate a fundamental review of knowledge management practices, surveying practices within each department, learning from other sectors and countries, and making recommendations during 2014.

Action for Policy Profession Board. Whilst review is carried out we will work in the Department with Knowledge and Information Management professionals to develop clear guidance on how to close-down, write-up and disseminate the learning from a policy project. We will also be emphasising the importance of sharing of knowledge in people’s objectives.

Action 12: The Policy Profession Board will ensure clarity as to whether these recommendations have been implemented, their individual and aggregate impact (including through developing indicators of success) by commissioning an independent annual assessment and encouraging appropriate scrutiny.

This is principally an Action for Policy Profession Board although, as outlined here, we are developing our own measures of success for the actions we are leading.

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Annex B - CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - POLICY

Name: Jane Smith

Date Development opportunity Days Objectives Learning Impact

03/12/13 Open and Collaborative Policy Making course

1 • To improve my understanding of OPM

•To connect with OGD colleagues

•To discover OPM resources and techniques

After attending this course I am able to confidently describe what OPM means for our Department and the benefits it brings.

- High satisfaction at our recent stakeholder workshop where I used the techniques learned at the course.

- Discussions on OPM LinkedIn page with colleagues in OGDs identified wider range of people to consult on our policy.

- Positive feedback from Director’s Policy Network on how OPM is defined in Policy Improvement Plan.

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