Added blog post "More Than Drawing Rainbows" #314
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| summary: The public sector faces growing challenges — tight budgets, rapid tech change, rising expectations, and staff shortages — often leading to decision paralysis or rushed mistakes. Many agencies found a solution by partnering with private consultancies to provide agile and robust solutions. True success relies on combining public sector knowledge with private sector expertise, showing that collaboration is key to stronger, more resilient communities. | ||
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| As ever, the public sector faces many challenges: tightening budgets, rapidly changing technologies, growing public expectations, and the urgent need to deliver services faster and more efficiently. Balancing these demands often leads to projects being blocked either by “decision paralysis”, often due to insufficient information — or, conversely, fail miserably due to rushed, uninformed decisions. |
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*failing miserably due to rushed, uninformed decisions.
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| A recurring tension is the contradictory criticism faced by public services: on one hand, being accused of being slow, bureaucratic, and bloated, while on the other, suffering from acute staff shortages, underfunding, and resource gaps that make it impossible to meet all responsibilities. These contradictory pressures create a no-win situation for public organisations, where demands grow but capacity continues to shrink — eroding morale, performance, and trust over time. | ||
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| As early as the 80s, many public sector agencies were forced to restructure to a lean model. Since the 1990s, large-scale outsourcing — particularly in IT and technical services — has been a central feature of public service delivery. Projects such as [HMRC’s ASPIRE](https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/A-decade-after-breaking-HMRCs-Aspire-deal-the-Post-Office-scandal-exposes-glaring-similarities), [NHS National Programme for IT](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28166675/), or the [Post Office IT Scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal) underscore both the potential and pitfalls of relying on external providers. Hoping that by keeping core teams small and agile, and hiring external specialists for specific projects on a time-limited basis, they could manage costs more effectively. |
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The last sentence starting with 'Hoping' does not read right to me. I think the start of the sentence needs restructuring.
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| summary: The public sector faces growing challenges — tight budgets, rapid tech change, rising expectations, and staff shortages — often leading to decision paralysis or rushed mistakes. Many agencies found a solution by partnering with private consultancies to provide agile and robust solutions. True success relies on combining public sector knowledge with private sector expertise, showing that collaboration is key to stronger, more resilient communities. | |||
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| As ever, the public sector faces many challenges: tightening budgets, rapidly changing technologies, growing public expectations, and the urgent need to deliver services faster and more efficiently. Balancing these demands often leads to projects being blocked either by “decision paralysis”, often due to insufficient information — or, conversely, fail miserably due to rushed, uninformed decisions. | |||
| As ever, the public sector faces many challenges: tightening budgets, rapidly changing technologies, growing public expectations, and the urgent need to deliver services faster and more efficiently. Balancing these demands often leads to projects being blocked either by “decision paralysis”, often due to insufficient information — or, conversely,failing miserably due to rushed, uninformed decisions. | |||
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need a space between comma and 'failing'
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added space
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| As early as the 80s, many public sector agencies were forced to restructure to a lean model. Since the 1990s, large-scale outsourcing — particularly in IT and technical services — has been a central feature of public service delivery. Projects such as [HMRC’s ASPIRE](https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/A-decade-after-breaking-HMRCs-Aspire-deal-the-Post-Office-scandal-exposes-glaring-similarities), [NHS National Programme for IT](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28166675/), or the [Post Office IT Scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal) underscore both the potential and pitfalls of relying on external providers. | ||
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| The assumption that by keeping core teams small and agile, and hiring external specialists for specific projects on a time-limited basis, would be cost-effective in the long run turned out to be overly simplistic and at times downright wrong. Numerous public sector programmes have faltered due to over-reliance on external partners, unclear accountability, or misaligned incentives. Reports from the [National Audit Office](https://www.business-reporter.co.uk/improving-business-performance/delivering-successful-government-it-projects) and [Public Accounts Committee](https://www.uk-cpa.org/what-we-do/public-accounts-committees) have raised concerns about consultancy spend, warning that short-term solutions can lead to long-term capability erosion if public bodies do not retain sufficient internal expertise. |
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* The assumption that keeping
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removed "by"
jstrong-scottlogic
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May 9, 2025
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