When I wrote about The Seven Scrutiny Powers, I had a reply on twitter mentioning kryptonite. And I thought, yes, we should be talking about this – aspects of local government culture that neutralise the seven scrutiny superpowers (transparency, accountability, participation, solutions, calling-in, assurance and capacity). This may seem negative but think of it it …
As many new councillors are getting to grips with their new roles and many more old hands are getting back up to speed, here’s a reminder of the superpowers that scrutiny councillors have to change the world. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the process, in the paperwork and the meetings, but don’t forget …
Triangulation is a key technique for anyone involved in a public scrutiny role. If you are not familiar with the concept here is a short introduction that I hope you will find helpful. As a councillor, school governor or member of any other type of public body, you will no doubt have found yourself looking …
Tango is a great metaphor for good scrutiny. Whether you are a councillor, a school governor or any other member of a public body, thinking about what tango involves (the dance not the drink of course) will help you take steps towards more effective scrutiny. Here are the four reasons why: 1. The good scrutineer …
Here are three questions you can use to turn your conversations from a negative problem focus to a constructive solution focus. These are particularly handy for the chairs of committee and board meetings to have up their sleeve but can be used in any context really. One of the things I love about solution focussed …
If you are looking for a method to organise your governance work, the TAPIC framework is one of the most robust in research terms and one of the simplest to use. Drawing on an extensive literature review, the authors of this framework capture five categories of governance; transparency, accountability, participation, integrity and capacity. These five …
If you are reviewing the work of your public body and thinking about how your review should be structured, the International Framework is a great option for you to think about. It sets out seven key principles of good governance and provides plenty of suggestions about what good practice looks like. For any public body, change is …
As a councillor, school governor or member of a public body, you want to feel confident that you are doing the right things in the right way. While professional advice and good practice guides are important to have, it’s your conversations that will help you most. But what is a conversation, why do they matter and …
Looking elsewhere for good practice may be useful but it’s not always necessary. By noticing the things that work for you already, you can do more of what works and get inspiration for new things to try. This point was really well demonstrated at a workshop I ran at last year’s Centre for Public Scrutiny Annual …
Zero to ten scales are a really useful technique for any governing body (or anyone else for that matter) to have up their sleeve. They are simple to understand, can help you to notice what you are doing well and helpful for identifying practical next steps. So here is a brief description of how you might …