Civil Service Reform: learning from failure
A constant in successive grand plans for Civil Service Reform since Northcote Trevelyan in 1854 is the desire to improve the skills and capability of civil servants. The recently published plan from Sir Bob and Sir Jeremy is no exception. But if they want to avoid the often miserable impact of previous reforms they should act on four sobering lessons from a previous reform programme: the ambitious launch and rapid decline of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies [CMPS], 1999-2005.