Innovacion

Getting the big picture right: A guide to large scale urban design by CABE

Andy Rumfitt was a member of CABE's Strategic Urban Design Panel and the summary guide for large scale development and extensive online resources have now been published. 'Getting the big picture right' outlines a new approach to large scale urban design that allows people to shape the places they live or work in, and improve their distinctiveness and quality. It will help those organisations and partnerships – often with a mix of public and private partners – tasked with working with local people to prioritise actions and investment. The new guide is supported by a step-by-step guide to the large scale urban design process.

The CABE summary guide can be downloaded from here: http://www.cabe.org.uk/publications/getting-the-big-picture-right

For the extensive CABE web resource please go to: http://www.cabe.org.uk/strud

Outer London Commission: Geography matters

So the long awaited final report from the Outer London Commission (OLC) has now been published (25 May 2010). We produced a range of economic policy papers which formed the LDA's input into the ruminations of the OLC. Overall the report generally takes a fairly realistic view of the economic potential of Outer London across a wide range of issues - some of which sit uneasily together. With this wide remit it is inevitable that some areas are covered more convincingly than others. The consideration of the scale and nature of office development in Outer London sensibly concludes that aspirational super hubs are exactly that. Increasing development through public sector investment in higher and further education, hospitals and civil servant relocations by expanding the existing 'star and cluster' spatial structures is a realistic way to try to drive change.  

In other areas the ideas are more debatable. It is not clear why a high value service firm would want to use a local suburban library for meetings, even if it is renamed as an ICT hub. Today's launch of Apple's iPad is likely to be another uptick in what mobile working actually, rather than theoretically, means. Our hunch is that a greater freedom in where you work means that the importance of the other factors that make up desirable places actually increases. The result isn't a levelling the playing field effect but a concentrating effect. Desirable places become even more sought after: less desirable places even less so. While the report also suggests that putting firms together in an innovation park means they will work together these sort of developments have a pretty chequered history in the Capital.  In many sectors service firms will work the firms they need to rather than they are near to. Our survey partner is in Yorkshire. Our IT services come from San Francisco and Lancashire. Our accountant is in Cambridge.  

One overriding feeling remains.  While the OLC chose to look at the different rings around London the bigger and more meaningful economic difference is still that between east and west London extending out from central London and into the Greater South East mega-region.  So while the Crossrail benefits concentrate along an east-west axis they also spill out along radial links into Outer London. You can't change hundreds of years of geography that easily...

Outer London Commission Final Report (Pre-publication, May 2010)

Hung, drawn and quartered - what does a hung parliament mean in reality?

What is a hung parliament and why is it feared? How might a hung parliament work in reality? And who will form the next government? Amid all the interest in the emergence of the Liberal Democrats as a third party in what is likely to be an extremely close General Election the spectre of a hung parliament arouses strong feelings. While the UK has not had a hung parliament for 36 years they are common in 27 other European countries, many producing stable governments and enjoying the backing of their citizens. Read Bircham Dyson Bell's nice summary of what a hung parliament would actually involve. We work closely with BDB to develop the case and secure planning consent for light rail extensions in East London.

Download Hung, Drawn or Quartered April 2010

Innovacion develop economic options for London's Royal Docks

As part of a Regeneris team Innovacion have been commissioned by Newham Council, Design for London and the London Development Agency to develop and appraise the strategic economic options for investment priorities in the Royal Docks over the next 25 years. The economic study will explore development scenarios and options based around the current array of economic assets and identify the supporting infrastructure required to bring forward sustainable development. This commission forms the initial stage in the production of the Royals Development Framework which runs through to March 2011.

Coulsdon's Economic Future reviewed by Innovacion

Innovacion and EDP Associates have been commissioned by Croydon Council to review the economic, demographic, property and commercial conditions of Coulsdon which is a district centre in the south of the Borough. The study aims to set a baseline for any future local regeneration and development strategy and, in particular, guide any discussions with strategic partners around the redevelopment options for the nearby Cane Hill site.

Outer London - handle with care

While the diverse nature of Outer London has been rightly highlighted in the new consultation draft of the London Plan, strategies for accelerating its economic growth in tough times will have to be carefully handled with care.

Rumfitt A; "Outer London - handle with care"; Town & Country Planning (December 2009)

Download Outer London - handle with care (TCPA December 2009)

Croydon and Gatwick: Competitive Opportunities and Risk

For Croydon Council Innovacion is considering the strategic options and issues in developing the functional relationship between Croydon and Gatwick including its economic hinterland. Risks to Croydon’s attraction and retention of firms were considered along with its sectoral strengths and the required supporting infrastructure.

People or Proximity: Where does growth come from in outer London?

As a successful retail centre in a great location on the Thames, Kingston is the desirable home for highly skilled workers. Access to high quality environments (parks, river) and the transport network (Heathrow, Gatwick, roads) also add to the attractive locational mix. And Kingston has the high house prices and waiting lists for good state and private schools to prove it.  

Retail aside Kingston’s relative specialisation in business services aligns with a key international strength of London. Parts of this specialisation will be in providing local business services. In Kingston, the usual range of local accountants and solicitors will service the needs of the local business community and a burgeoning army of freelancers, many home based, as well as benefitting from a high level of passing trade. Other parts will be linked to London’s globally competitive strength in business and professional services. These are built on an extensive and deep labour market across the 21 million residents in the Greater South East.

Two thirds (64%) of the residential workforce in Kingston are managers and professionals compared to just 42% in Croydon. This is a non-trivial difference. Being able to source highly skilled local labour is a key comparative advantage for the firms in Kingston. And goes some way to explain the relatively low level of out commuting for such a residential part of outer London. The make-up of a local area’s population including its occupational profile has a big impact on long term economic development.

Over the other side of outer London different drivers are at work. Despite its relatively poor river crossing options, north Bexley has developed as a relatively (in a London context) cost effective location for a range of near market functions. As time really is money Michael Porter and others identified this proximity advantage many years ago. These locations offer potential as the profitable base for time sensitive activities. So in Belvedere we have a concentration of food logistics operations such as ASDA, Londis and Lidl, office support services such as Viking Direct, Iron Mountain and Office Depot plus construction and printing. Here the most important competitive advantage is proximity to a very large consumer market plus the central London concentration of office functions. Without this near market logic other economic activities which are exposed to international cost pressures such as the manufacture of cables are very much history.

Understanding the underlying drivers explains how a local economy got to where it is today. But it also sets parameters on where it can go tomorrow.

Innovacion advise on the strategic future of the Greater South East

The LDA, SEEDA and EEDA have commissioned Innovacion to draft a prospectus for the Greater South East mega-region which is home to 21 million people and a £523 billion economy - 43% of the national economy.  Drawing from wide range of internal research across the three RDAs, including new low carbon initiatives and New Industry New Jobs sectoral priorities, Innovacion will develop a top level narrative for the UK's only mega city-region that outlines what the Greater South East needs to secure its future economic competitiveness and respond to the UK's current economic challenges.

Innovacion advise on the future economic development of Merton and Wimbledon

As part of a Regeneris team Innovacion have been appointed by Merton Council to provide advice on the future economic development of Merton, the home borough for the world renown Wimbledon tennis championships.  To help design the economic development strategy Innovacion's specialist inputs will cover town centre development within London's hierarchy of places, the role and functioning of the outer London economy, sectoral development options and the identification of endogenous sources of growth in the local economy.

Innovacion study for Outer London Commission published

Innovacion's analysis of eight key locations in outer London produced for the LDA has been published by the Mayor of London's Outer London Commission. Using a range of information sources the study considered various economic characteristics of Croydon, Stratford, the Heathrow Area, Brent Cross, Wembley, Kingston, Woolwich and the Upper Lee Valley. These included economic scale, economic profile and performance, business and skills base, property (current supply), planning (future supply) and economic catchments.

View the study on the Outer London Commission website

Download Key Locations in Outer London Published Version

When a hub is not a hub

Launched yesterday the Mayor's proposals for the London Plan give an indication how the Spatial Development Strategy for London is likely to develop in the future. Economically this comes at a tricky time when it would be easy to be distracted while getting used to the "new normal" - as Lee Shostak has correctly termed where we are now.

The sub-regional conundrum continues.  Despite abandoning a rather peculiar sub-regional division of London that removed central London (the so called pizza slices and about as memorable) the new sub-regional split puts Tower Hamlets and therefore Canary Wharf in East London.  I'm not sure any of the occupiers of Canary Wharf, which is more Manhattan than anywhere else in London, see themselves as anything else but a (better) part of the Central Activity Zone.

The proposals also give some indication of the emerging policy for Outer London and the impact of the Mayor's Commission in getting a greater a better deal for the suburbs.  The mooted hubs (and at one point super hubs) have become "strategic Outer London development centres".  This is probably due to the existence of the fairly elaborate town centre hierarchy in London and how different the four suggested potential hubs locations are.  

The loosely defined Heathrow area is a very specialised and enormous airport economy. It is also congested so there is little appetite for increased development. Brent Cross is currently a regional shopping centre that if bolted together with Cricklewood could, on paper at least, become a Metropolitan Centre. Despite being a "pillar" of the London economy and touted as the seventh largest "city" in the UK, Croydon has been losing employment for the last 15 to 20 years to growing centres outside the Green Belt and has a mediocre office stock. Which leaves Stratford. With its vast development potential and planned investment, Stratford probably is closest to having the capacity to become a hub, genuinely grow jobs on the back of its proximity to the Central Activity Zone and have a real "polycentric" or spatial economic impact on the London economy.  By avoiding a "one size fits all" approach to developing these strategic Outer London development centres the Mayor is accepting the extent of these differences.  Though, on the flip side, the danger of allowing limitless local flexibility could leave people asking exactly what the plans are.  It is a tricky balance.

How Monmouthshire used Open Strategy to hear every voice in their Local Strategic Partnership

The Monmouthshire Local Strategic Partnership was struggling to gain buy-in from local people and to start implementation.  Conventional approaches to agreeing one clear purpose did not work well for the complex nature of communities and the many agencies involved in the partnership.  In response OpenStrategy was adopted to structure information using a common language and capture the results using web-based software.  As a result each voice is now heard more equally, implementation gaps are identified and addressed, and there is greater commitment to realistic and joined up actions across the new Local Service Board.

Read more in Innovacion's case study in IDeA's Partnership and Places library

How housing is supporting the Community Strategy, Local Area Agreement targets and Local Strategic Partnership in Hull

Hull City Council has closely integrated their new Housing Strategy with their Community Strategy, Local Strategic Partnership and a range of national indicators from their Local Area Agreements.  This was made possible by having four clear outcomes in the Community Strategy which were supported by two objectives in the Housing Strategy.  Hull City Council identified the direct and indirect impact of housing services on the four outcomes by reviewing international and national evidence, secured full Cabinet support at an early stage and completed a comprehensive consultation programme to develop the Housing Strategy.  The benefits have been much improved understanding amongst all Council staff and partners about the contribution of housing, more inquiries handled at first point of contact by housing staff and increased joint working both internally, especially with Hull City Council’s Children and Young People’s Services, and externally with partners including the Primary Care Trust.

Read more in Innovacion's case study in IDeA's Partnership and Places library

Humpty Dumpty Effect in the Public Sector

At the LGA Annual Conference in July 2004, James Strachan, Chairman of the Audit Commission, addressed efficiency and devolved decision-making in the public sector. A key concept was the humpty dumpty effect.

“As taxpayers’ money flows down vertically from the Exchequer to the locality, what we see is the ‘humpty dumpty’ effect: large amounts of taxpayers’ money are earmarked for say regeneration, which is then broken down and channelled through numerous central government departments. The result is a plethora of agencies at work and a multiplicity of funding streams, all often operating with little or no co-ordination. Then you (the authorities) at the local level are forced to try to put humpty dumpty back together again. Extraordinarily inefficient.”

So what does James Strachan suggest to address this problem and improve the delivery of public services to citizens?

a) Understand each other better. Second civil servants from Central Government to Local Agencies.

b) Make co-operation mandatory between Central Government departments in common policy areas. Turf wars over ownership do not improve service delivery to the end user.

c) Work in partnership. Local Strategic Partnerships bring together leaders of different services. By meeting and understanding each other better trust grows. Local Public Service Boards should be able to develop whole plans for local areas.

d) Combine different streams of funding into a single flow. Pooled budgets, joint decisions and joint understanding.  This is the next logical step for partnerships.

e) Local government to become more proactive and ambitious in how best to manage central/local relations. 

f) Use partnerships to break down boundaries and old structures to achieve the efficiency gains outlined in the Gershon report.  It is estimated that over £200 million can be saved from the administration of council tax and housing benefits alone just by implementing best practice that already exists.

g) Regulation as a tool for improvement rather than a meddling regime. Reduce and improve the co-ordination of public sector regulation but the focus will remain on helping the poor performers.

h) People not structures make an impact. “Create a culture of customer responsiveness where innovation is prized and where calculated risks to experiment with new ways of providing services are encouraged”.

Run Your Company Like Churchill

The process of globalisation and increasing levels of competition mean that leading and managing a business is becoming more challenging than ever.  Directors and managers now have to make critical choices that will determine their ultimate success and survival.  With these challenges, there are lessons to be learnt from great war leaders who have had to make similar strategic choices under intense pressure and with enormous consequences.  While Winston Churchill’s grand strategy of the Second World War has attracted enormous academic and political attention there are many lessons for the management and leadership of all firms.

1. Courageous and heroic.  Churchill’s leadership style was courageous and heroic.  He is acknowledged as a truly awe-inspiring character.  Churchill demonstrated this by being highly visible, memorable and wanting to be at the centre of action.  For example, he had to be prevented from taking part in the D-Day landings.  This is MBWA – management by walking about.  This courageous and visible leadership style builds loyalty far beyond what is rational and is the necessary approach in certain situations rather than a consensual, managerial approach.  So in certain circumstances strong visionary leadership should be accommodated and encouraged despite the often high risks involved.  Risk taking can produce success if a leader is strongly supported by a highly competent team who are equally dedicated to the same goals.

2. Knowledgeable with good communication skills.  Churchill had both verbal dexterity and a good strategic grasp based on a deep knowledge of political history and war.  Almost uniquely for a politician Churchill was deeply interested in and understood military matters after over 30 years of experience prior to the Second World War.  This started at the end of 19th century when he was as a journalist reporting on the Boer Wars in South Africa and was followed by time in the Admiralty.  As a result “the sweeping character of Churchill’s personal authority was almost unprecedented in modern democracy”.  Being a skilled communicator is a necessary skill for all leaders but not enough on its own.  However, when allied with good strategic judgement based on experience it is a powerful combination. 

3. Overcome early barriers.  While Churchill enjoyed social privilege he had an emotionally deprived childhood and poor school achievements to overcome.  Successful leaders are often very driven and ambitious people.  Much of the motivation for this is linked to early disappointments in their lives or wanting to prove themselves in a way others don’t.  So leadership traits can be strengthened by relative early failure and delayed intellectual growth.  Early struggle is often a prime motivator of an entrepreneur. 

4. Dominant character.  Churchill quickly matured and developed into a dominant character – both charming and rude  as circumstances dictated.  However, his powerful personality often became a draw back.  There were time consuming wrangles over grand strategy in which Churchill appeared to have overruled the right of the military in a bid to impose a new initiative or scheme without the necessary preparation or proper consultation.  Therefore gifted leaders have to be skilfully managed by an effective peer-group which can be a formidable undertaking.  Re-structuring of the top management teams and decision making processes can go someway to deal with this.  However, dominant leaders can be difficult to work with.

5. Action orientated.  High achievers tend to be action orientated - one of Churchill’s motto’s was “action this day” – and are hugely beneficial to firms.  The ability to deal with urgent and important tasks and leave less important issues is a key skill in time management. 

6. Strategic sense.  There is much debate about Churchill’s strategic decisions.  He managed to get more things right (e.g. the spectre of iron curtain falling across Europe) than wrong (e.g. Gallipoli and the Dardanelles campaign).  His strategic shortcomings undoubtedly diminished his influence at critical times when his influence should have mattered more.  For example his influence waned in the face of slow American decision-making and Stalin’s strident agenda.  No leader is able to get every decision right but the trick is to get the majority right and learn from the ones you get wrong.

7. Creative Tensions.  By becoming an expert in a tightly centralised hierarchy that he had devised, Churchill was able to be hugely effective.  As well as being Prime Minister, Churchill made himself Minister of Defence and the one civilian member of the four-man chiefs of staff committee.  Churchill therefore produced a creative tension of both a positive and negative kind which is necessary for to consistently good leadership.  Strong leadership will create both positive and negative tensions at all levels in an organisation.  As in the case of Churchill, for an organisation to be successful the positive must outweigh the negative.