Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

• The National School for Government has worked with CSCG to improve thesupport available to NEDs through an induction programme and seminars, andthrough guidance to departments on working effectively with NEDs.• Work has progressed in a range of professional areas to improve corporate skills:– The OGC is carrying out procurement capability reviews across Whitehall.– A group of 40 consultants are producing guidance on embedding financialskills within government.– The IT Academy has been established with support from the National Schoolof Government, offering a range of development opportunities to ITprofessionals, and work is under way to establish an HR Academy.– The National School of Government has set up a policy portal to provide onlinesupport to policy professionals.– The Government Communication Network offers access to a wide collection ofresources, good practice, and learning and development opportunities.• The HR Leaders’ Council is developing as an effective group, with a strongcommitment to addressing key issues for the profession, including thedevelopment of a professional framework, a new talent strategy and academy.Over recent months, departments and the centre have worked together to identifythose issues that need to be addressed collectively. A new ‘people framework’ forthe Civil Service is also being developed.It is clear that performance management must continue to be a strong focus for boththe centre and departments. CSCG currently sets the framework for SCSperformance management; this is operated in departments and made real byindividuals in day-to-day interactions and relationships. This is an area where a fargreater corporate emphasis on identifying good practice and learning from bothinside and beyond the Civil Service would be invaluable.Strong progress is being made in skills development in many of the corporatefunctions. IT, finance, communications and HR are building communities and skills.It will be important to continue to focus on the skills required by those in policy andoperational delivery roles. Further work needs to be done to develop a peopleframework for the whole of government, which will involve identifying the CivilService workforce of the future with its characteristics and skills needs and usingthis as a baseline for departments to assess their people’s skills and develop newbusiness-focused skills strategies.Delivery and performanceWhy does this matter?Capability Reviews look for systems and structures; sustainable capability that willenable departments to deliver excellent outcomes routinely against the significantchallenges of resource constraints and rising expectations.42COMMON CAPABILITY GAPS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS