TOP TEAM 2006

This year the winner of the Top Team Competition (now in its eleventh year) was the Service Improvement Team from Peterborough & Stamford NHS Foundation Trust

The summary of the team's entry is available here.

To see the judges' comments on the finals, click here.

The Peterborough & Stamford NHS Foundation Trust winning team

The six finalists for Top Team 2006 were (in alphabetical order):

Avon Fire and Rescue: Youth Development Centre
As well as responding to 999 calls, the service is working to prevent emergencies happening. The team has put together programmes to ensure that its work reaches every child and meets their different needs, and changes the lives of young people in the community.

Banbridge Community Health Village, Co Down, Northern Ireland
The team is developing the first Community Health Village in Northern Ireland, from the closure of a former hospital. A range of service providers purchased the site in 2005, and planning and construction has been ongoing ever since.

'Leicestershire CareOnLine'
Part of Leicestershire County Council, Adult Social Care Services,'CareOnLine' is an integral part of the Council's e-government service. It was created by the Council in recognition that many of the population of people over 65, disabled or acting as unpaid carers did not have access to service information in their homes.

Knowsley Works Team
The Knowsley Works Team has an innovative approach to solutions to worklessness in the community. The team had to target the hardest to help five groups in order to achieve the desired effect on the employment rate. The team complement the values of the Council, one of which aims to improve peoples lives.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Trust
A story of how the Service Improvement Team at Peterborough achieved success by applying an unconventional team approach to implement change. The team's ethos is creating a positive climate to engineer change by promoting involvement from staff, patients and carers to identify opportunities and overcome barriers and resistance.

Wakefield MDC Procurement Team
The Strategic Procurement Team at Wakefield Council consists of nine officers with strong experience, skills and expertise; all contribute to achieving successful outcomes in all the projects that the team is engaged in. They believe that strategic procurement can be an enabler in improving the quality of services to citizens.

Notes Media partner: The Times Public Agenda The Top Team Competition is organised by the Public Services Management Network and sponsored by Harvey Nash plc, SOLACE, Deloitte, and The Improvement and Development Agency.

TOP TEAM 2004:

‘FINDING THE BEST IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR’

The 2004 Top Team Competition is organised by the Public Services Management Network (PSMN) in conjunction with the Improvement and Development Agency, Norman Broadbent and Deloite & Touche.

This year’s competition was held at Kensington Town Hall on 30 November its purpose to recognise innovation and excellence as a showcase of the range of good practice within the public sector. 65 expressions of interest resulted in over 50 submissions from which seven highly deserving finalist teams had been selected to tell their story. All were seeking to win the prestigious ‘Top Team’ Certificate and a prize of £2,000.

The PSMN organisers, an energetic and committed team of five of the 100 plus PSMN members, coach Top Team finalists to ensure the best possible presentations on the day. With just three to four weeks for preparation of presentations, opportunity to rehearse and receive honest, constructive feedback from this panel, produces positive results, with one team working on adjustments into the early hours and winning that year’s award.

The teams at this year’s event arrived complete with display boards, laptops, literature and an almost tangible degree of enthusiasm. The Judging Panel, comprising eminent people from local government, government agencies and the private sector, had an unenviable task to select one 2004 Top Team.

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council – Client Services Team

From assessment as a disparate service in 2000 to a service holding more Quality accreditations for ICT than any other in the country in 2004. Combining the ethos of the public sector with the professional attitude of the private sector. 100% of schools signed up to buy the Council’s ICT support package for the last three years. These were just some of the headlines which introduced the Tameside Project, i.e. a Hands on Support initiative for schools, that included intensive training, hardware provision and support, and, virtual personalised learning.

A no blame and shared learning culture was actively engaging children and teachers so that national ICT targets for 2006 had already been exceeded. Schools are provided with Broadband free of charge, sourced from effective deals outside established consortium arrangements; staff working within Corporate ICT and specific services to deliver faster response times; excellent support services had resulted in the commitment of all schools to implement ICT.

Two critical success factors were cited: detailed research to ensure the Project could deliver on customer requirements, and, strong leadership setting a clear vision and goals. This had supported higher levels of educational attainment against national targets (91% at level 4) and delivery on national requirements for teachers to utilise ICT in lessons. Clearly a success story of engagement by effective team working.

Hertfordshire Partnership HNS Trust - CONSENT Team

This Project had evolved from activity in 1989 which offered sex education and sexual health promotion to men and women with learning disabilities. The Project now provides opportunity to explore issues of sexuality on individual or group basis in the form of: consultancy; educational training packages; self advocacy groups; partnership working and a resource library.

The emphasis is on ‘care’ including provision of care and support for team members, helping staff put aside their values and / or breaking down institutional views, in order to focus on the needs of service users. The Team described the Project’s benefits for several people who were helped to come to terms with their sexuality, building confidence to openly acknowledge homosexuality or trans-sexuality issues and lead more fulfilling lives. One case illustrated the wider positive effects of the Project where, through staff mediation, one person’s sexual activity, considered totally unacceptable within their religion, was eventually ‘accepted’, as [people were helped to acknowledge the constraints of at person’s life circumstances.

The Team addressed questions from the Judging Panel on performance measurement and unmet need and described the interest shown by Oxford and other councils in extending this challenging and rewarding Project.

Birmingham City Council – Strategic Management Team

This large scale, ambitious Project summed up the power of partnership and the benefits of joint working. The ‘Bullring’ Regeneration Project aimed to re-vitalise the area and renew civic pride by addressing major socio-economic issues and problems. Cross party political support and engagement of the private sector were key to success in delivering the £500m development. Importantly the Project Board included two major property developers to encourage partnership instead of competition – moving everyone in the same direction for the benefit of the whole area and all its stakeholders.

From a position of serious decline, Birmingham is now perceived as “England’s number one venue for conventions and major events”. The Project resulted in 2,604 people being employed of whom 80% were previously unemployed; 89% were local residents and 48% were from minority groups. Surveys suggest significant improvement in Birmingham’s reputation with 89% of people regarding it a ‘good’ venue for college and 88% for business.

This Project demonstrated some significant environmental improvements resulting from effective team work –removal of road sections to re- establish green areas; revival of marketing and commerce; modern shopping centres. Better co-ordination of Council services had also contributed to Birmingham’s improved reputation as a major city.

In response to questions for the Judging Panel, the Team acknowledged the sustained efforts needed in the long term and that transportation remained the major challenge.

Shropshire County Council – Drug Action Team (DAT).

The presentation described the journey from being assessed as the worst performing DAT in England, to a Gold Star DAT of the West Midlands.

The Elected Member of the Team, significantly also Chair of the DAT, introduced a question and answer session to illustrate how the Project aimed “to serve the best interests of as many people as possible”. Lower levels of drug use were directly linked to lower crime rates with 95% of Prolific and Other Priority offenders misusing heroin. The jigsaw headline “a piece on its own does not make a picture” seemed a fitting summary of this submission.

The presentation included a short film interview with one of two service users who were members of the Team (she also attended this event). The statement “we felt we were being listened to” illustrated the Team’s success in engagement to seek solutions that had: increased the number of people accessing drug services by 27.7% within three years; lowered drop out rates between referral and starting treatment from 60% to 16%; increased capacity within treatment services by 60%.

The Judging Panel heard how the Project had both management and political support and had how difficult issues were addressed first, based on a typical service user scenario, leading to changes in basic practices. This Project had built upon, not replaced, existing services and its success was in part due to addressing not only drug habit problems, but also the resulting gaps left in a person’s routine to avoid repeat misuse habits.

The Team had been invited to join the National Learning Agency pilot and details of the Project are posted on national websites.

Wyre Borough Council – Food Safety Team

‘Mission: Possible!’ - 007 would have been proud of them! This cool, slick and fairly witty, delivery gave a new perspective to the work of the Food Safety Section. The Project was launched in June 2003 in response to the death of a child from E-coli food poisoning, and it aims to teach children in the 9-11 age group about food safety. The Team quickly realised that parents were in turn being educated by their children and that through homework activities and education 74% of parents have been encouraged to change food practices and, in some cases their appliances.

With over 1,200 children in 22 schools now engaged in the Project and support from partner agencies and organisations, satisfaction ratings are high – over 90% of children rating the Project “pretty cool” or “wicked” and 94% of teachers involved in ‘Agent Days’ held throughout schools also rating it ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ .As a result the Project is being adopted in other authorities including Blackpool and Lancaster.

An interesting and informative presentation which reinforced the effectiveness of something with which we can perhaps all empathise – children’s pester power.

London Borough of Southwark – Bermondsay Wardens Team project improving the area by being the ‘ear on the ground’ for residents.

The Bermondsay Warden Team, or ‘Red Jackets’ as they are known locally, have helped transform an area with a poor reputation for crime, particularly race hate crime. With five schemes operating and two more planned, the Project’s success was impressive: reductions of 40% in overall crime; 40% in burglaries; 34% in drug related crime.

The physical environment of Bermondsay has improved by tackling graffiti with 58 sites cleaned up, in some cases providing resources directly to private property owners. 362 fly tipping sites have been removed and the problem of discarded needles is being addressed. Abandoned vehicles have also reduced by 42% with 154 cars removed from the streets.

The success of this Project was effective teamwork within the community, operating the ‘ear on the ground’ for local residents and working with partner agencies in the interests of protecting older people and victims of crime. The Warden Team were clearly committed to caring for their team members, but the simple gesture when an elderly lady gave a box of biscuits to two wardens on patrol, demonstrated the value of this Team to the community.

Leeds Teaching Hospital – Neonatal Transport Team

The Yorkshire hospitals network covers 12,680 square miles, deals with 37,000 births per year and has 12 newborn baby units which prior to this Project required transfer of very sick babies in less than ideal circumstances. In 2002 the Project pioneered the Yorkshire (multi-disciplinary) Neonatal Team. Its two main aims are to minimise trauma arising from the transport of newborn babies, keeping them as close as possible to home, and, to establish a national example of clinical excellence within neonatal transport. This unique team of 45 nurses has a medical lead and management support – all the nurses are supernumerary to provide the dedicated focus to the Project. This has achieved significant results through a 24 hours, seven days a week service: increased speed of organising neonatal transfer; improved access to intensive care cots closer to home; improved training and education of all staff in the Region; improved region-wide links within the neonatal service; international recognition through media items (BBC and Yorkshire Post). Regionally accepted guidelines are also now adopted within every hospital in the Region.

In the past two years the Team has completed 850 transfers within an average time of 15 to 20 minutes compared to the previous timescale of 50 –60 minutes, reducing risk and trauma for babies and families. Considerable care and support for individual Team members was evident in the presentation which emphasised strong working partnerships with paramedics of the Ambulance Service.

This was a complex and highly skilled Project based on a very simple aim to “make a positive difference to people during the whole scary business of transporting newborn and sick babies”.

There followed an update from the 2003 Top Team from Harrow who described progress since the competition and the opportunities to cascade their good practice which had followed.

The Chair of the Judging Panel then gave feedback on each presentation before announcing that the 2004 Top Team was Wyre Borough Council Food Safety Team, who collected their well-earned certificate and prize.

So, what can we learn from this event?

Firstly, there is an absolute wealth of creativity, enthusiasm and energy within local government and the public sector, ready to be tapped and cascaded as widely as possible. In a fast changing world we are well up there and keeping pace.

Secondly, it is very important to believe in yourself and your team – all of the teams demonstrated their collective strength in overcoming barriers and achieving a ‘can do’ culture to deliver positive life experiences and outcomes for the people for whom we are seeking to make that difference. The Top Team Competition is a reminder of the power of effective team working.

Finally, challenge and risk are healthy and necessary to organisational development and should be encouraged. What may seem a small idea for change, may cause us to re-think and change opinions, recognise new expectations and improve upon traditional patterns of service – so don’t fear failure in seeking success.

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TOP TEAM 2002:

This year’s event was the first Top Team run in partnership with the Improvement and Development Agency, and proved to be an inspirational, rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable event.

The LGMN wishes to express its appreciation to all the organisations which supported the event, especially the sponsors; AT Kearney, GMB and Deloitte & Touche.

Seven teams were short-listed for the finals, which were held in Kensington Town Hall on 27 November. Each team made a presentation and were put under penetrating questioning by the panel of judges:

Annie Ralph, chair of the judging panel

• Annie Ralph, Chief Executive, Braintree District Council
  
• Martin Horton, Director, Improvement and Development Agency
  
• Rashpal Kaur Singh, Director, Norman Broadbent International
  
• David Newell, Chief Executive, Bournemouth Council
  
• Mick Graham, GMB
  

After much deliberation, the title of Top Team 2002 plus a cheque for £2,000 was awarded to the Lifelong Learning Team from Blackburn with Darwen.

The Blackburn with Darwen team

Details of the winning team, plus the other finalists, can be accessed via the links below—

Blackburn with Darwen
Lifelong Learning Team

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Streetclean Team

Dudley MBC
Strategic Research and Information Team

North Yorkshire County Council
Registration Service, Births, Marriages & Deaths Team

Nottingham City Council
Achievement Team

Sevenoaks District Council
Community Development Team

Suffolk County Council
Go For Change Team

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TOP TEAM 2000:

The Finalists

The Judges

• Pamela Gordon, former Chief Executive, Solace
  
• Deborah Goodwin, Partner in Charge (National Public Sector Group), Deloitte & Touche
  
• Phil Swann, Director of Communications, LGA.
  
• Sue Charteris, Local Government Modernising Team
  
• Claire Arnold, Managing Director, AT Kearney Executive Search
  
• John O'Brien, Director of Improvements & Consultancy Services, I&D&A
  
• Sid Platt, Director, WMLGA
  
• John Farrall, Strategic Partnerships, Xerox

Keynote Speaker
Clive Grace, Honorary Secretary of SOLACE

Clive Grace provided context for the day by outlining Torfaen Borough Council's experiences of Best Value and performance reviews. Clive focused on the problems and difficulties encountered, which appear to be common for most Welsh authorities (and probably England as well).

Lessons learned

Council's need to embrace Best Value properly and fully, irrespective of how or why it has been introduced.
Best Value needs to be embedded in the organisation - it impacts on every aspect of the management and performance.
The Best Value Performance Plan must be used clear and determined way as a tool to improve communication and deliver service improvements.
Good team working is fundamental to Best Value, and needs to go hand in glove with good leadership.

Daventry Waste Management Team

The Daventry team considered themselves to be "the best at teamwork and communication, and we recycle 46% of all the crap we collect."

The team explained how, through teamwork, public consultation and participation, they achieved radical service improvements.

Trials of using different bins for pre-sorting of household waste resulted in 53% of waste being recycled. The key to success was good communication, and the scheme has been extended district-wide, with 46% of household waste being recycled.

• They are at the leading edge of economic waste recovery and recycling
  
• They develop practical approaches to service improvement
  
• They have succeeded in changing household habits.

South Ayreshire Rapid Response Team

The team comprised a multi-agency partnership between the Council, NHS Trusts and other local stakeholders. The team objectives are:

• Prevent hospital admissions
  
• Achieve earliest possible discharge from hospital
  
• Provide the most appropriate care in the home
  
• Above all, maximise the number of hospital beds available

The benchmark time for the evaluation and placement of community care is four weeks. The South Ayreshire Rapid Response Team does it the same day.

The team supported its presentation with a video testimonial of two elderly people who had directly benefited from the work of the Rapid Response Team. The team is outcome focused, is spreading good practice, and is achieving national recognition for its work in addressing a topical issue in such a positive and innovative way.

Kettering BC Property Maintenance

The team has turned round a failing service, which three years ago was losing money, to one which is now in the top quartile for all performance indicators.

Teamwork, improved contract management, good communication and effective user responsiveness has transformed the service.

In addition to achieving good performance in responsive repairs, a ten year improvement programme has been developed to reassure residents that their property will be repaired.

Stockton—The Bond Girls (Catering Team)

The Stockton team provided a presentational highlight with an integrated multimedia presentation. Dinner ladies took on a whole new image!

The team demonstrated how they turned a problem service into a resounding success story, explaining how they bonded as a team to provide innovation and excitement in a service not traditionally known for such values.

The team has gone beyond the traditional boundaries by involving the wider community, raising awareness of their service, improving performance and striving for continual improvement.

In response to questions, it also became clear that the team had introduced, and adheres to, comprehensive quality management procedures.

Liverpool Anti-social Behaviour Unit

The presentation clearly demonstrated how Liverpool City Council developed a partnership with the Police and other agencies to address anti-social behaviour in a new and pioneering way. In less than two years the new team has transformed a service from a position of weakness to one of effectiveness and promise. The value and impact of the work was reinforced by a Chief Inspector from the Merseyside Police working as a member of the team.

Marian, a 'victim' of anti-social behaviour, put the service into clear context, vividly explaining how the team had enabled her and her neighbours to regain quality of life from a position of fear and intimidation.

East Riding Consumer Advice and Education Team

The presentation outlined the geographic size and diversity of the East Riding, and how the Consumer Advice Team developed its services to address this, using new technology to improve regional communication and access to services.

The team demonstrated how they are delivering Best Value through meeting and involving consumers, learning and review, and continuous service development. Public advice and information is disseminated swiftly through good liaison with the Council's newspaper and the press.

Knowsley New Deal Overall Winner

Many new deal schemes are suffering from low retention and high fall-out rates. The Knowsley New Deal Team developed a fresh approach, taking a real interest in their 'clients'. The team established procedures to build confidence and esteem amongst the unemployed young people, providing the motivation for them to continue training and obtain employment.

The lasting impression is of a young, vital, dynamic team, able to resolve problems and overcome barriers that would have daunted many other teams.

The scheme's retention rate of 90% is the highest in the country. The team achieved this by "working outside the box", embracing lateral and holistic thinking to develop innovative but effective solutions.

Summary

This year saw seven finalists demonstrating innovative teamwork and delivering the principles of Best Value in practice. A recurring phrase in presentations was "leap of faith". Schemes, projects and service improvements were achieved not only by the commitment and enthusiasm of the teams, but by senior management, members and partners having faith in new ideas and innovation, and through "champions".

TOP TEAM 1999

Worcestershire Gypsy Liaison Team

The winners of Top Team 1999 accepted an invitation to return and recount what winning the Top Team event meant to them. Pat, Jenny and Jim from the Worcestershire Gypsy Liaison Team gave a powerful, honest eloquent and stirring presentation which received a lengthy standing ovation. In less than twenty minutes they expressed the highs and lows, the pleasure and frustration, the rewards and the pain of working in local government.

Click on the following for the text of their speeches in full—

Pat's speech
Jenny's speech
Jim's speech

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The Local Government Management Network's annual Top Team Awards on 15 April resulted in a remarkable final this year. Six finalists gave sparkling presentations at Kensington & Chelsea Town Hall to a team of judges, chaired by Mel Usher, Director of the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency.

There were some fifty entries for this years competition. Six teams were shortlisted for the finals, but many other entrants also deserve recognition for their achievements. The six finalists represented the rich diversity of local government, and demonstrated clear, living examples of what the term "best value" can mean in practice.

North Tyneside Borough Council and Northumbrian Health Care showed how a unique team was working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of adaptations for people with temporary and permanent disabilities to enable them to live in the community. They showed how disparate services can work seamlessly to reduce cost and improve the quality of service. The presentation fully justified their adage; "working together is progress, but achieving together is success".

Birmingham Council's Urban Care Team illustrated dramatically how the serious problem of a declining standard in public sector housing was being addressed through innovative team work. There has been much rhetoric about community empowerment and capacity building; the Birmingham Team showed how it can be made reality with tangible results. Not resting on their laurels, they demonstrated how a truly holistic approach, winning the support of other agencies, could transform communities.

Housing Benefit is a traditionally bureaucratic, process driven service. Tameside Borough Council's Benefits Service showed how team work, a willingness to tackle issues head on, and a true understanding of customer needs, could dramatically transform a service.

Front line services receive a lot of attention, central and strategic services less so. The London Borough of Lewisham's Best Value Team showed how their team acted to anticipate, influence and manage change to promote the principles of Best Value. They lived their message, introducing new flexible ways on working for their own team through the use of new technology, "hot-desking" and practising what they preached.

Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Council's Library Service described how they survived Local Government Reorganisation, improved the profile of the service and became a team delivering high quality, appreciated services.

The Gypsy Services Team of Worcestershire County Council provided a dramatic, stirring account of how they came through a punishing internal enquiry and out of adversity forged a supportive, innovative team capable of turning an ailing and unpopular service into a success story. The team brought a wide range of talents together, set hard targets, and demonstrated measurable improvements.

Whilst the teams represented a wide range of services, there were many common elements, the most notable being:

teams working well can truly deliver more than individuals;
innovative and multi-agency teams can achieve tremendous results;
individuals in a good team are enriched by the experience.

However, one word stood out, and was common for all teams: "fun". All finalists conveyed a sense of pride, joy and fun. The judges deliberated at length to select a winner, and tried several processes to select one above the rest. In announcing the winning team, Mel Usher spoke not only for the judges, but for everyone present when he announced that a deciding factor in selecting the Gypsy Services Team of Worcestershire County Council as the winner was because they "made our hearts soar". The team received a unanimous and emotional reception as they took the stage to receive their £2,000 prize. Whilst there was one winner, all finalists, and Local Government itself, triumphed.

The Judges


From left to right:
Joan Jones, Director, Local Government Association
David Schmidt, Local Government Learning Network, South Africa
Mel Usher, Director, Local Government Improvement and Development Agency
Claire Arnold, Managing Director, A.T. Kearney Executive Search
Heather Rabbatts, Chief Executive, Lambeth Council
John Farrall, Strategic Partnerships, Xerox.

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