Public Value in the Public Sector: Literature review and toolkit

The University of Birmingham Health Services Management Centre and the NHS Institute have completed some research on public value in the context of public services. The literature review and associated "toolkit" is available on the NHS Institute Website.

Hoorah! It is now recognised that the technical tools of change (like redesign, scenarios etc need to be combined with the more non-technical aspects such as the media, local pressure groups, politics etc.

As always, turning theory into practise is the difficult bit and I look forward to these concepts and new ideas being used.

Influencers: How trends become Contagious

The DigitalBuzz blog is one of my great sources. They found a high video (a film, really) Influencers: How trends become Contagious from R+I Creative that documents the importance of Influencers in setting new trends that move to mainstream. No theory, models or management gobbledegook in it!

Helping leaders understand variation

What does your leader do when you put a control chart or run chart in front of them? There is an excellent paper available from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement on the topic of helping leaders understand variation.

Lloyd R. Helping leaders blink correctly: Split-second decisions have patient safety implications (Part 1). Healthcare Executive. 2010 May/June;25(3):88-91.

This article describes two of four necessary skills health care leaders need to develop in order to "blink" appropriately (i.e., make decisions based on robust analysis and interpretation of data): understanding the messiness of improving health care, and determining why you are measuring.

Download part 1 here

Download part 2 here

eLearning Perspectives: Free eBook

The Masie Center has released a comprehensive ebook with contributions from 40 Global Leaders.  A must read for anyone who is interested in the topic of eLearning.

Download it here

Contents
Part I: New Learning Frameworks

Learning National Park, Needs Rangers! Getting to Know Bob
- Allison Anderson, Intel Corporation...............................................................10
What Problem Are We Really Trying to Solve? - Julie Clow, Google..................15
An Idea Whose Time has Come - Deb Tees, Lockheed Martin .........................21
The Power of Deep Expertise! Developing Expertise in a Corporate Environment
THE POWER OF DEEP EXPERTISE! - Raj Ramachandran, Accenture .................27
LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS: PEOPLE POWER?
- Nigel Paine, The Learning Consortium ..........................................................35

Part II: Under30 Perspectives
Learning: Converting the Crash Dieters to Lifelong Healthy Eaters
- Liz Scott, ZS Associates ...................................................................................39
Inspiration and eLearning - Linda Backo, PPL .................................................40
Access and Opportunities - Ben Betts, HT2 Ltd..................................................41
It’s Curtains for the LMS - Joe Beaudry, Verizon Wireless ..................................43
Engaging Learners Through Gaming - Lacey Grande, Ogilvy & Mather...........45
Learning Together To Change the World - Elizabeth Musar, InsideNGO.........46
Underemployed or Unprepared? - Kaylea Howarth, Alliance Pipeline .............47
Conscious Incompetence - Doug Livas, Moss Adams, LLP ................................49
Exciting the Learner - Aviva Leebow, Pacesetter Steel Service, Inc. ....................51
“Question? Try Twitter!” My Take on Social Networking
- Rachel Donley, BGSU Student ........................................................................53
Learning by Falling - Jen Vetter, TorranceLearning ...........................................55
What Happened to OJT? - Michelle Thompson, Poole and Associates .............56
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Developing Training for the Learner
- Emily Fearnside, General Mills .......................................................................57
Just Ask! - Katie Mack, Westinghouse Electric Company ..................................58
Passion for Learning - Sarah Carr, Google.......................................................59
4
Gamifying Learning with Social Gaming Mechanics
- Enzo Silva, Oracle Corporation......................................................................61
Incorporating the Human Touch in Online Education
- Jessica Sanderson, Cleveland Clinic ...............................................................63
The changing expectations of learners and the LMS
- Connor Gormley, FM Global .........................................................................64
Getting Beyond the Formal Classroom - Grant Velie, Farmers Insurance .........65
Establishing a Training Culture – Moving from Data Deluge to Learning
- Jennifer Wright, Alstom Power........................................................................68
“Y” not Mentor? - Danielle Sagstetter, Capella University / PACT .....................70
Common Constraints - Meg Hunter, CFA Institute ............................................72
Students have a say too! - Joshua Smith, Department of Veterans Affairs..........74
Learning That Makes a Difference - Julie Thompson, Xcel Energy .....................75
Part III: Learning in Action
The Impact of Knowledge Management on the Workplace Learning Organization
- Patty Glines & Eric Zenor, CUNA Mutual Group.............................................78
The New Ground Rules: A Collision of Knowledge at the Speed of Light
- Lisa Pedrogo, Turner Broadcasting/CNN BEST University...............................84
The Blended Future of Learning - MaryJo Swenson, Novell...............................92
Learning to Meet the Mission - John Guyant, CIA University ............................ 98
Blending AVON’s 125 year Old “Social Network” into Our Learning Approach
- Stephen Barankewicz, Avon .........................................................................107
Is Learning & Development Being Lost in the Age of Talent Management?
- Sean Dineen, Luxottica.................................................................................111
Part IV: Learning Changes
Combining “Cool” with “Core” in Learning
- Elliott Masie, The Learning Consortium .......................................................117
What Shapes the Future of Learning? The Third Industrial Revolution
- Wayne Hodgins, MASIE Fellow aboard the Learnativity ................................119
Trends in Learning Technology: The View from Late 2010
- Rick Darby, Rollins’ University .......................................................................132
The Times They May be a’Changing: From Sizzle to Fizzle in Learning Technologies
- Larry Israelite, Liberty Mutual Group ............................................................139

Social Marketing Podcasts from the Open University

I had a proud moment when listening to Michaela Firth via iTunes talking about Social Marketing. She is really a leader in this field and I'm glad we've shared coffee and brownies over the last ten years. The Open University has a series of podcasts that I recommend to anyone working in the field of trying to spread behaviourally related  good ideas to a wider audience.

Social marketing - Audio

by The Open University

View More from this Provider

To listen to an audio podcast, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to download and subscribe to iTunes U collections.

Description

Have you ever wondered how marketing techniques have been used to promote positive social change? In a series of lively interviews, Professor Gerard Hastings of the Institute of Social Marketing, faces questions from members of ISM-Open (the Institute of Social Marketing at the Open University Business School) on issues such as the ethics of social marketing, branding and advertising, and the morality of shocking or scaring people into changing their behaviour for the better. This material forms part of the Open University course B324 Marketing and society.

Social marketing	View In iTunes
What is social marketing?	View In iTunes
Critical marketing	View In iTunes
Ethics and advertising	View In iTunes
Evaluating social marketing programmes	View In iTunes
Ethical brands	View In iTunes
Ethics and social marketing	View In iTunes

eLearning 3: 5 Resources for effective online conferences

With the bans of travel and other cost reductions in place, eConferencing is on the up. Unfortunatley, this is iften paralled with a signficiant reduction in value for the participants. eConferencing is more than ticking the box that you've "run an event".

Let's look at what not to do in a video conference:



Other resources

• 19 tips for effective online conferences; from eLearning Technology
• http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/stvr.411/pdf (I liked the lessons learned and tips for the future) PDF
• Guidelines for running online seminars
•  Online conference - a participant's perspective

eLearning 2: 5 Resources for learning about Teaching Online

Teaching online is quite a difference from teaching face-to-face. If done properly it can be an inspiring and motivating process for both teacher and learner. If not, it can be awful, especially for the learner. In my experience there is not much mediocrity - just brilliance or horror.

Try a book or two:

• Collaborating online; learning together in community 
• The ins and outs of online discussion; transitioning from bricks and mortar to online teaching 
• Creating a sense of presence in online teaching; how to be there for distance learners

Check out a video or two:

eLearning 1: 5 Resources for supporting online discussions

Creating and moderating an online discussion group requires more than sending out an email inviting people to join. In some cases it is not the cheap, quick fix you may be after. It's work. Treat it like a project - from strategy, planning, resource allocation through to evaluation.

Here are a few of my favourite resources on the topic:

1. Designing and Managing online discussions from Oxford Brookes University (PDF paper, with references - my favourite)
2. Teaching with online discussion forums - good introduction 
3. Online discussions: Tips for Instructors from the Centre of Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo. Web page with bullet hints
4. Using discussion boards to engage students 
5. How to avoid problems with online discussions - student guide. Short web page with more links on it. USeful because it is from the student/user perspective

Productivity 8: Where to find ideas for improving productivity in the NHS

This is the 8th in a series of Productivity notes by Sarah Fraser. So where do we find the "no-brainer" ideas for improving productivity in healthcare.

There is no need to start from scratch if you're looking to improve productivity in your organisation, team, ward or practice.  Many have gone before you and many have spent time writing up their experiences so you can learn from their efforts.

This is where I start looking:

1. NHS Library (or any other academic library). DO some proper searches. I do feel that starting on productivity initiatives without doing a couple of hours research is shortsighted.  Google is not enough..
2. NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement; for NHS England there is a lot of information available.  Scotland and Wales I know have similar organisations who gather and share productivity and improvement information. The same is true for most countries which have a public sector health system
3. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has a great deal of case studies and resources freely available

If I find nothing in the above then I will find another topic to work on. There is so much to learn from what others are doing that can make the productivity process easier that it doesn't feel worth being the one person who decides to design a research project instead of getting on with the change process.

If you have any favourite place to look for productivity ideas then please add a comment to this post.

Productivity 7: How replicable is productivity?

This is the seventh in a series of productivity notes by Sarah Fraser.  If one organisation or region is classified as productive, can we make generalised statements that the rest of the organisation or nation can implement the same and be as productive?

A new report by York University is making big claims.

"The NHS could cut expenditure by £3.2billion without reducing the number of patients treated if all parts of the country were as productive as the South West, according to a report published today by the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York."

The report has many maybe's and possibly's as to whether the rest of the NHS could see the same cost savings if they performed like the South West Region.  I have no doubt the SW is producing excellent care. My concern is headlines like this paper produces sets unrealistic expectations on others. The delivery of healthcare is significantly contextual in its nature. Services all over the country reflect the complex make up of the areas they serve. The report summary on their website states:

"South West may also benefit from a more stable workforce, vacancy rates for non-medical staff being well below the national average. Lower productivity in the hospital and community sectors may be because more work is undertaken in primary care."

I believe this is enough uncertainty to warrant being very cautious about ratcheting up national numbers. Additionally, there is significant use of the "average" in this report. I am not convinced that averaging data and using the average as a measure is a good one for healthcare. As I pointed out in my earlier Productivity note, there is a big difference between accuracy and precision; basically, it is possible for there to be little variation across the regions (precision) but they are all delivering the wrong solution (accuracy).

Like all theories, this research is helpful to a degree (mostly in applying judgement) and like all theories, needs to be treated with a pinch of salt. If you are going to quote the headline £32billion on the stage then make sure you've read and understand the limitations of the report.

(To those who read the previous Productivity note about definitions - productivity is defined in this research report as output / input - how much output you get for the inputs...)

Productive 6: Are Patients Productive?

This is the sixth note in the the Productivity series by Sarah Fraser. You can find the earlier notes here.

Mark Russell commented on the first in this series and he got me thinking. Healthcare is different from being a consumer of say a car dealership. We know that. We can learn from techniques used in industry and we can apply them to our services to gain some benefits.  But I wonder whether we are too focused on programs such as Lean, or too focused on seeing the patient as someone with whom we need to engage?

The car dealership or company with be thinking about their customers constantly. It feels to me they spend time in empathy mode, figuring out how to make things easier for the customer. This ease translates into more sales (yes, I know I am reducing an entire academic discipline into two sentences.) They may even run focus groups.

When it comes to patients and productivity I am thinking the relationship is more than one of engagement. As a patient I am not seeking to be engaged with my local healthcare providers. I am expecting the provision to help me be a productive member of society. This means, for example, I don't' want to take an entire day off work so I can have an 8 minute blood test. Equally, I am prepared to to help the providers be productive by being an efficient and responsible patient - but I may need help to do so. If I have a chronic disease, then help me learn how best to manage it so everyone benefits from this productivity.

When the patient's interface with the provider is not productive for either party, then we have work to do.