Through our work at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose on theory development, practice and training, we have studied and advised on how governments across the world can more effectively tackle complex societal challenges. Central to IIPP's work is the concept of "missions" – bold goals that set a clear direction for targeted, measurable and time-bound action – as a tool for driving innovation and addressing grand challenges. For example, our Mission-Oriented Innovation Network brings together global public sector organisations to share the challenges and opportunities they face when pursuing challenge-oriented (mission-oriented) policies.
This approach requires a fundamental shift in how the public sector is perceived, moving from a "market failure" framework to a "market co-creating" and "market-shaping" role. Under a mission-driven strategy, the role of the public sector is not just about de-risking the private sector, but about tilting the economy in the direction of desired goals to create and shape markets which increase the expectations of business around future growth opportunities, thus driving private investment.
But what does a mission-driven approach actually mean for those working within government? In the UK, for example, what does the Labour government’s adoption of a mission-oriented agenda – which we influenced – mean for how civil servants should do their jobs? This article explores the implications of mission-oriented government for practice-based theorising within government institutions at a more granular level.
While the UK government’s “mission boards” are a promising indication of its dedication to seeing through its mission-driven strategy, the implementation of its missions will not be successful without an investment in cross-cutting public sector capacities (such as resources) and capabilities (competences and ways of working). In other words, in addition to rethinking policy goals, missions require a more profound remaking of public organisations which enables them to take risks, remove barriers to implementation and design whatever policies, tools and institutions the missions demand. Part of this analysis is reflected in our work on the Public Sector Capabilities Index, which analyses where government capabilities are strong and where critical skills must be built up at the city level.
Lessons for capacity building and practice-based theorising in government
In practice, missions require a rethinking of how we do the work of government at every level. Otherwise, they can easily become new labels for existing policies and practices, or an extracurricular activity that does not change the way government works. At their core, missions as ambitious policy goals offer a way to rethink public policy. This must be based on iterative experimentation and learning feedback loops, embedded at all levels of a government that also embraces cross-ministerial working. The state must also have mechanisms for embedding learnings from experimentation back into knowledge building and policy design – a process we refer to as capacity building.
At UCL IIPP, our approach to public policy is rooted in the concept of “practice-based theorising”. This methodology emphasises the importance of working alongside policymakers from the outset, creating a feedback loop between theory and real-world applications. We have worked with governments around the world to implement this approach as part of their mission-driven strategies. The experiences of other countries can offer valuable insights for the UK civil service as it implements the government’s mission-driven agenda.
In Barbados, after helping the Prime Minister’s Office shape its six missions, we embarked on a process of co-discovery to create a platform of understanding with the government on what capacity gaps needed to be addressed. We highlighted the new ways of working that were needed within and between government ministries and agencies, and between government, industry and labour. In Brazil, our work helped to bring a learning and co-designing lens to government functions such as procurement. IIPP was in the weeds on the procurement teams to help them shape what works and what does not. In Camden, our work highlighted the importance of local participation and how this can be implemented in practice through the process of mission delivery. And in South Africa, our work has addressed how the government can improve upon its dynamic capabilities to improve the implementation of its chosen strategic missions (including its digital capabilities).
Key components of mission-driven government: structural capacities, organisational routines and dynamic capabilities
We define public sector capacities through three interconnected layers: state or structural capacities, organisational routines and dynamic capabilities of public organisations.
Structural capacity results in broader institutional arrangements such as the division of labour between central and local governments, the nature of the civil service, and the resources available for public organisations.
Organisational routines indicate how the public sector goes about its day-to-day business. In other words, routines are ways to activate the set of structural capacities, such as resources (including financial resources, tangible and intangible assets, and staff skills) that an organisation needs to achieve organisational goals. In public organisations, they are embedded within formal and informal rules and tasks and are generally focused on the stable performance of organisational functions. In the public sector, such routines are generally quite difficult to change. For instance, changing procurement practices to be more focused on sustainability would typically require changing legal frameworks, bidding and contracting documents, evaluation guides, and staff training, among other things. We argue that such decision-making processes require adaptability and the ability to transform existing routines or introduce entirely new processes. This is where dynamic capabilities enter the picture.
"Missions require a rethinking of how we do the work of government at every level. Otherwise they become new labels for existing policies and practices"
Dynamic capabilities are about exploring new opportunities while, at the same time, exploiting existing strengths. They can be defined as the specific abilities embedded in routines that enable organisations to adapt their resources, processes and skills in response to an evolving strategic environment (like the adoption of a new mission). In other words, dynamic capabilities identify the specific abilities that enable the renewal of governments through the structuring and restructuring of their organisational routines and broader structural capacity.
Breaking it down even further, on a managerial level, the skillset and capabilities relevant for missions in government include:
- Cultivating strategic awareness to identify and understand problems and explore potential opportunities
- Adapting focus areas to balance priorities with the flexibility to meet unseen needs
- Building coalitions and fostering partnerships to maximise resources and impact
- Transforming teams to reshape the skills, resources and ways of working necessary for effective delivery
- Embedding experimentation in work routines to foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation
Civil servants have a valuable role to play in ensuring the success of the UK’s mission-oriented agenda. The government must refrain from continuing to outsource its core capabilities and functions to consulting firms that have no incentive to help the civil service become more self-sufficient. Concurrently, civil servants should consider how their individual roles and organisations can best engage with the broader mission agenda set by the UK government. Across the board, civil servants should consider the specific skillset of capabilities that needs to be fostered to maximise the creation of public value, in addition to considering the structural changes (like interministerial collaboration) they can help to promote. While IIPP’s work can provide valuable insights, the experience of civil servants on the ground can in turn inform and shape what missions look like. In other words, everyone has a role to play in helping the UK government best achieve its missions.
Mariana Mazzucato is professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London, where she is founding director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Rainer Kattel is professor of innovation and public governance at the IIPP. Learn more about the Mission-Oriented Innovation Network here