It’s been a couple of weeks since my last View from the Top, with Dan stepping in while I was away. In his article, he highlighted the importance of understanding “what didn’t work” when introducing innovation, especially when collecting case studies. I touched on this in my last vlog – maybe “failure” is too strong a word, but recognising what didn’t go well, how it was rectified, or what was changed is crucial. We all know this happens in the sector, yet people are often reluctant to share this side of innovation adoption.
There has been a lot happening in the press recently. AIA released its latest annual survey results, and the DfT wrote to Chief Executives outlining the requirements for receiving full funding after previous reports suggested the government might hold back 25%. You can read the correspondence to Chief Executives and the Prime Minister’s comments online.
A positive development has been the DfT’s decision to hold three webinars last week – two for highways authorities and one for elected members. These sessions allowed councils and members to hear directly about the reporting requirements tied to DfT funding.
From my perspective, the discussions highlighted just how challenging reporting will be for both civil servants and council officers. Not because the task itself is difficult – many councils already share their work with the public as part of their commitment to transparency, but because of the frustration around having to provide data on the number of potholes filled over the last five years. Some councils already track this, as it’s something the public understands, but others have moved away from this language due to its short-term focus and the way it can dominate or detract from meaningful conversations about long-term asset management practices. Seeing both sides of this issue, I understand how tricky it can be. Even suppliers have voiced frustration over the pothole count request. My concern is that this focus might overshadow other important aspects of road maintenance data being requested by the DfT, which would provide a more complete picture for the public.
This week also brought the latest Innovation Board meeting, chaired by Ian Large at Blackpool Council. We heard from a relatively new entrant to the market, and I must admit, I enjoy watching new players come in. There was also an interesting debate about AI, a topic that has been occupying a lot of my thinking lately. We have several initiatives coming up to support our members in this area, so if you’re interested in sponsoring future webinars or reports, feel free to reach out to Keely Metcalfe, our Relationship Manager, or Dan Cullern, Head of Sector Insights.
Paula Claytonsmith, CEO