Citizens rightly expect a lot from their government - now more than ever. Even as the shadow of COVID-19 recedes, the challenges of rising costs of living, a less predictable security environment, an ageing population and an acute climate crisis continue.
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The pressure on governments to do more (and spend more) means they must be more efficient, so there is understandable scrutiny of government action to reduce overall expenditure.
The commissioning of consulting services - on which the Australian government spent more than $1 billion in 2020-21 - is in the spotlight.
As a management consultancy that proudly works with government agencies across Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, we welcome this scrutiny. Here's why.
One reason governments rely on consultants is that the consulting model works. But that doesn't mean it is always used efficiently, or indeed effectively - and that's not good for anyone.
By design, the consulting model deploys highly capable and experienced staff onto projects with a clear scope and objectives, and delivers rapid outcomes.
Further, it does this without reducing program areas' full-time equivalent staff count or distracting staff from their core business.
That said, consultants are not the right solution for every project. Consultants add value for public sector clients in three scenarios - when clients need independence, capability or capacity.
First, independence. In some public service contexts, the independence consultants provide is not only valuable, it is essential. Consider the evaluation of a government program, where, by definition, an agency cannot independently assess its own work.
Consultants can be honest brokers when engaging stakeholders on politicised or controversial issues, and can understand, explore and balance competing views and experiences.
They can assess or evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of government activity or investment and can provide frank advice on improvement opportunities.
To deliver value, consultants must demonstrate rigorous research and use analytical methods to deliver defensible findings that hold up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, not all consultants operate with the independence required; some are used as mouthpieces to mechanically endorse a pre-determined policy position for the agency that hired them. If that is how a consultant is used, it is clearly a waste of time, money and effort.
Then there's capability. Public servants require a wide range of skills, expertise and experience to do the core work of government. But they cannot do everything - nor should they seek to. Some specialised capabilities are only needed occasionally and it is not economical for government agencies to keep these skills in-house.
The consulting model works when it fills capability gaps and transfers skills to the client organisation.
Good consultants will find ways to build on the skills in the client organisation, using arrangements such as hybrid client-consultant team to actively transfer capabilities.
Done well, this means the client will gain new skills, retain important corporate knowledge and avoid learned helplessness.
Done badly, clients will be bamboozled with irrelevant advice that delivers no value ("dynamic synergies", anyone?) and no or limited skills will be transferred. Why bother?
Then there's capacity. As the past few years have shown us, the inherent uncertainty of the future means the public service will often need additional capacity that can be deployed quickly to solve problems at pace.
Yet it would be foolhardy for departments to seek a permanent staffing solution to a temporary surge in demand. The long-term cost of idle capacity in a department would likely far outweigh the cost of temporary assistance.
When ministerial priorities shift, crises or global challenges emerge - this is when consultants shine. Used well, they bolster or release capacity so government activities can have greatest impact. On the other hand, care must be taken to ensure consultants do not become an eternal (and expensive) stopgap to a sustained and predictable workload - this is the exact circumstance in which consultants do not represent good value for money.
A strong public service benefits us all, and far-sighted consultants ought to be committed to being part of the solution. Used well, consultants can deliver great value for taxpayers and build the strengths of the public sector. But get it wrong and it will cost a fortune and erode capabilities.
- Lauren Ware Morand is a principal and Ned Lis-Clarke is a director at consultancy firm Nous Group.