Roundtable – Business, Society and Public Services: a Social Productivity Framework, with Rt Hon Francis Maude. 10 May 2012

Business, Society and Public Services: a Social Productivity Framework

Thursday 10th May 2012, 12.15 (for a 12.30 start) – 2.00pm
The RSA, 8 John Adam Street, WC2N 6EZ

This expert roundtable will mark the launch of the new 2020 Public Services Hub report - Business, Society and Public Services: a Social Productivity Framework.

Ben Lucas – Principal Partner 2020PSH will chair the event and the report authors, Dr Henry Kippin and Heidi Hauf will outline key aspects of the report.  We are delighted to announce the following speakers who will respond to the report before we open up to wider discussion from the group:

Rt Hon Francis Maude – Minister for the Cabinet Office
Paul King – Chief Executive, UK Green Building Council
Neil Jefferson – Chief Executive, Zero Carbon Hun
Martin Moran – Commercial Director, Post Office
Ian Chesire – Chief Executive, Kingfisher (tbc)

The two big policy challenges of our time are not being considered together.  Public services need to be reformed in order to meet the demands of the long-term, under the fiscal constraints of today.  Economic growth needs to be re-kindled – but in a more sustainable form that carries public confidence and delivers fairer returns.  Arguments about ‘responsible capitalism’ and public service reform are live, ongoing debates – but they have been made in different places, addressing different audiences and needs. These agendas will pull in different directions unless they are brought together as part of a coherent narrative.  In this report we argue that the concept of social productivity should frame this process.

The report includes case studies on B&Q’s community footprint, smart city initiatives, public services spin-offs and social enterprises, and collaborative policy-making featuring the Zero Carbon Hub. One of the report’s key conclusions is the need to create shared space between government, business and communities so that new approaches can be developed on an open and collaborative basis.  The framework which we propose is based on three central approaches – shared spaces; shared values; and shared resources.  We set out a series of specific proposals under each of these headings for developing a new culture of shared working between sectors to achieve greater social value.

This invitation-only roundtable will bring together leaders from public services, business, the voluntary sector and social enterprise to discuss the implications of this timely report.