Achieving public value — Westminster symposium

KEYNOTE

Lord John Hutton, former work and pensions, business and defence secretary

Lord Andrew Adonis, former transport secretary and chair of the National Infrastructure Commission

COLLABORATOR ORGANISATIONS

European Space Agency

National Nuclear Laboratory

Sellafield Ltd

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Policy Network is organising a high-level symposium in Westminster next month, exploring new models of institutional design with public value at their heart. This is being held in partnership with Uclan and the Samuel Lindow Foundation, following their highly-successful conference on this topic earlier in the year in Cumbria.

With a decline in trust in governments and of deference to authority, an increasingly assertive critical citizen society is demanding a policy based upon human rather than market-led solutions. These trends require both new models and an approach to dialogue and decision which engages citizens in the public sphere based upon the realisation of their human values. Recognising the limits of market-based solutions and the need for policy actors to span sectors, organisations and levels of governance, a new approach is emerging. The public value approach foregrounds the role of an organisation in the public sphere and its impact upon individual citizens in their daily lives. It represents the ‘humanisation’ of policy and practice and the legitimacy of citizens and stakeholders within the policy process.

As this work develops and gains traction in policy circles — including with the public accounts committee — Policy Network is aiming to gather members of the policy community and parliamentarians to assess the practical application of the approach, and offer feedback on this developing school of thought.

For more information and to request an invitation to contribute to this discussion, please contact Josh Newlove for more information.