Marching Towards Inclusivity: Bridging the Gap Between the Armed Forces and Society

How can the UK Armed Forces harness diversity to attract, recruit and retain future talent?

Serco Institute Staff

1^st March 2024

Breaking Point: Attitudes towards ‘career breaks’ across four countries & how to create a system fit for purpose

Serco Institute Staff

15^th December 2022

User Experience in Government Services: The Need for a Unique Approach (Saudi Arabia)

The Serco Institute's new report takes a deep dive into user satisfaction with government services, challenges with measuring it and why a new approach is needed.

Serco Institute & ExperienceLab

26^th July 2022

User Experience in Government Services: The Need for a Unique Approach (UAE)

The Serco Institute's new report takes a deep dive into user satisfaction with government services, challenges with measuring it and why a new approach is needed.

Serco Institute & ExperienceLab

25^th July 2022

Les électeurs français se sont exprimés et souhaitent que les services publics soient une priorité

Une nouvelle enquête menée par un think tank international met en évidence les priorités en matière de services publics avant le second tour des élections législatives

Geordie Morrison, Robert Liao, Ben O'Keeffe

16^th June 2022

French Voters’ Verdict: Prioritise Public Services

New survey from global think tank highlights public service priorities ahead of final parliamentary poll

Geordie Morrison, Robert Liao, Ben O'Keeffe

16^th June 2022

Micromobility: The future of urban transport?

The UK Government and local authorities should consider the wider social benefits of micromobility schemes – such as e-scooters and bikes – and not focus narrowly on funding considerations, argues this new report.

Geordie Morrison, Robert Liao, Ben O'Keeffe

28^th April 2022

People Powered Public Services: Monitoring Australian Opinion - March 2022

The Serco Institute tracks public sentiment towards public services in the UK and Australia.

Ben O'Keeffe, Geordie Morrison, Robert Liao, Samuel Durham-Moran

10^th March 2022

People Powered Public Services: Monitoring UK Opinion - March 2022

The Serco Institute tracks public sentiment towards public services in the UK and Australia.

Ben O'Keeffe, Geordie Morrison, Robert Liao, Samuel Durham-Moran

8^th March 2022

Delivering Better Services for the Public: How competition and choice can improve public service delivery in the UK

Andrew Evans (Capital Economics), James O’Rourke (Capital Economics)

13^th December 2021

People Powered Public Services: Monitoring Australian Opinion

In our first quarterly report monitoring sentiment towards public services, we find Australians are overwhelmingly satisfied with their country's public services, but there exist disparities between the sentiments of different age groups and in the satisfaction levels of different regions with the handling of Covid-19.

Ben O'Keeffe, Geordie Morrison, Robert Liao

14^th October 2021

Competitive Tension: The value of contestable public services in a post-pandemic world

In collaboration with Australian think tank the Menzies Research Centre, this case-study based paper argues that adding a ‘competitive edge’ to many areas of the public sector, services from public transport to healthcare can be markedly improved, productivity increased, and employment opportunities expanded.

Dr Peta Seaton AM, Matt Crocker, Henry Ergas AO

12^th October 2021

People Powered Public Services: Monitoring UK Opinion

In our first quarterly report monitoring sentiment towards public services, we find over twice as many Brits are satisfied with public services than not, but men are consistently happier than women and older generations are the most dissatisfied.

Ben O'Keeffe, Geordie Morrison, Robert Liao

1^st October 2021

What’s heading down the tracks? The Future of Passenger Rail in Britain

Passenger rail was in the process of transforming before the pandemic took hold. The pace and shape of this change has been significantly impacted by Covid-19. It has left the sector reliant on governments to ensure its survival in the short-term and unsure of the long-term habits of rail users. Government and industry must now collaborate to ensure the railways bounce back strongly.

Serco Institute Staff Team

14^th May 2021

Transformation, digitisation & happiness: Public opinion on UAE government services

In this ground-breaking report, we look at what UAE service-users think, how they want things to change and what governments can do to deliver futureproof services.

Serco Institute Staff Team

14^th April 2021

Policy People: Dr Ann Limb CBE DL

Policy People is a series of interviews with key figures across the international public service landscape. This time we speak to former senior UK civil servant Dr Ann Limb CBE DL.

Dr Ann Limb CBE DL

8^th March 2021

Transformation, digitisation & happiness: Public opinion on government services in Saudi Arabia

In this ground-breaking new report, the Serco Institute outlines its research into what Saudi Arabian citizens and residents think of the government services they use and how they want to develop in future.

Serco Institute Staff Team

3^rd March 2021

Vaccine Passports & UK Public Opinion

Are vaccine passports the next big policy tool in the response to Covid-19 in the UK? Our new research explores the UK population's attitudes towards them.

Serco Institute Staff Team

15^th February 2021

Policy People: Justine Curran QPM

Policy People is the Serco Institute’s series of interviews with key figures from across the international public sector landscape.

Justine Curran QPM

25^th October 2020

Whole Force By Design: Optimising Defence to Meet Future Challenges

How can regular armed forces best be supported by industry, civilians, reserves and contractors? Our study tries to answer this question.

Professor John Gearson (Study Lead); Dr Philip Berry (Senior Researcher); Dr Joe Devanny; Dr Nina Musgrave

13^th October 2020

Smart Cities: The critical importance of private sector finance

Research from Siemens Financial Services shows public funds alone fall far short of the resources needed to develop smart cities. Smart, sustainable financing needs to be harnessed from the private sector.(localgov.co.uk)

Smart Cities: The critical importance of private sector finance

31^st October 2019

The Structure and Future of the UK Public Services Market

The public service industry in the UK – that part of the market made up of non- government suppliers – accounts for almost 6 percent of GDP and employs some 1.2 million people. However, virtually nothing is known of the supply side of this market.

Alexis Sotiropoulos, Gary L Sturgess, 2012

4^th December 2012

Integrated Commissioning: Building a better model for the delivery of social value through diverse networks of local providers

Decentralisation has been identified as an important key to unlock more productive and responsive public services. The closer the services are to service users, the more accountable they are for addressing users’ diverse and individual needs. As such, increasing the impact of public services means devolving control and providing more choice.

Stephen Duckworth, Alexis Sotiropoulos, June 2012

30^th June 2012

Frugal Innovation: Learning from social entrepreneurs in India

Over the last 60 years, innovation and improvements in India's public services have frequently emerged in the absence of state intervention or involvement. Social enterprises have stepped in to address the challenges where the government has failed.

Shalabh Kumar Singh, Ashish Gambhir, Alexis Sotiropoulos and Stephen Duckworth, February 2012

29^th February 2012

To Guide The Human Puppet: Behavioural economics, public policy and public service contracting

Behavioural economics is the latest fashion in Westminster and Washington. The Serco Institute explores this new trend and asks what it means for public service contracting.

Lauren Cumming, November 2012

30^th November 2010

Put To The Test: Commentary on government sourcing of public services for cost efficiency

Gary Sturgess originally published this article in Ethos magazine in 2010. He discusses the benefits of competition in driving large initial cost-savings for public services as well as the impact of buyer’s choice on enduring cost-efficiency, innovation and quality from public service suppliers.

Gary Sturgess, June 2010

4^th June 2010

Payment By Performance: Commentary on payment mechanisms for policy outcomes

'If policy analysts carry bumper stickers they should read: Payment on Performance'. The great American political scientist, Aaron Wildavsky, wrote these words almost forty years ago, and yet only recently have politicians begun to give them serious attention.

Gary Sturgess, June 2010

4^th June 2010

Government Business: Commentary on the cultural and historical factors that shape public service markets internationally

When it comes to involving the private sector in public service delivery, opinion differs greatly. So is there such a thing as an inherently governmental function?

Gary Sturgess, June 2010

4^th June 2010

Competitive Edge: Does contestability work?

One of the principal reasons why governments contract with private firms for the delivery of public services is to be found in the belief that competition will deliver financial benefits. To some this seems self-evident, but others have questioned the scope of these savings, insisting that even where costs have been reduced, it has only been achieved at the expense of workers’ terms and conditions. This paper assesses the impact of contestability across five sectors.

Gary L Sturgess, Briony Smith, November 2007

23^rd November 2007

What Gets Measured: Contracting for delivery

Why measuring performance matters, when measurement works, new challenges and approaches, and how to develop the right competencies

Briony Smith, November 2007

23^rd November 2007

Built To Serve: The benefits of service-led PPPs

Understanding the benefits brought through the integration of asset design and service design.

Briony Smith, February 2007

23^rd February 2007

Bound For Botany Bay: Contracting for quality in public services

A contracting fable that shows it is the design of the contract that matters for successful delivery – in the evaluation criteria, the performance regime, and the manner in which the contract is managed.

Gary Sturgess, August 2005

23^rd August 2005

Good People, Good Systems: Former public servants speak about delivering public services in the private sector

Former public servants speak about delivering public services in the private sector and the decision-making environment that enables these people to get on with the business of delivering efficient and effective public services.

Emma Reddington, June 2004

23^rd June 2004