Government crest UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)

Go to Local Digital homepageALPHA

Laying the foundations for better local public services

The Future Councils playbook

A set of tools to help you understand complex problems and their impact

Future Councils is a MHCLG programme to support local authorities across England to become modern and resilient.

From March to November 2023, we worked closely with 8 councils as part of a pilot to understand the shared challenges that councils are facing. During the pilot, we supported the councils to explore the root causes behind what’s blocking them from becoming modern and resilient. Learn more about the pilot of Future Councils.

The Future Councils playbook is a collection of some of the tools we used during the pilot that can help you on your own transformation journey.

About the tools in this playbook

During the pilot we used these tools to help us identify the barriers to change for each of the pilot councils, and identify common patterns across the 8 councils.

We are making the tools available to the wider sector to help you:

  • define how a particular problem manifests at different levels across the council
  • identify the root cause of a problem
  • distinguish between service- and product-level problems, and council-wide problems that are agnostic to a particular area
  • understand where to target interventions and improvements

You can also find tools to help you quantify the cost impact of a particular problem. This is important to gaining a fuller understanding of the problem.

How to use the tools

The tools are available as Microsoft Word or PowerPoint files that you can download and fill out on your computer. They can also be printed to facilitate conversation in meetings or team workshops.

The tools

If you have any questions about the tools, or issues accessing them, email [email protected]. We also encourage you to share your feedback on the tools to help us ensure they are meeting the needs of the sector.

Interactive PowerPoint template

Cost impacts

A step-by-step process to develop cost impacts
from insights about systemic challenges.

Why use this tool

The tool will help to articulate the full range of potential costs from a particular problem, such as cost impacts on staff, council services and residents.

When to use this tool

Use this tool:

  • after you have gathered insight into a problem
  • when you need to understand the scale of the problem in relation to cost
  • when you need to evidence the cost of a problem
Download the tool
Interactive PowerPoint template

5 ‘Why’ questions

Analyse and understand a problem space by asking 'why?'.

Why use this tool

This tool will help to get under the surface of a problem and find the root cause.

When to use this tool

Use this tool:

  • when you need to understanding and align on the root cause of a problem
  • when a visual and engaging approach will help you openly discuss a problem from multiple perspectives
  • for stakeholders to identify patterns and connections in order to uncover the root cause of a problem
Download the tool
Interactive PowerPoint template

Pain points

Trace a problem from the service level through to its systemic root cause.

Why use this tool

This tool will help you think about how a problem manifests in different areas across your council, and identify its root causes.

When to use this tool

Use this tool:

  • when a team needs to see how
big a problem is, and the associated risks
  • when teams are focussing on problems from a siloed perspective
  • when you need to write a problem statement
  • When you need to understand the complexity around a particular problem or challenge
  • when you see high volume calls or complaints that are not getting resolved easily
  • when you’re continuously spending time trying to solve a particular problem space
Download the tool
Interactive Word Document

Cause, problem and impact

Visualise problems, causes and impacts and their relationship to each other.

Why use this tool

This tool will help you to illustrate the relationship between the problems you experience and their root causes and impact.

When to use this tool

Use this tool:

  • when you need to think through how problems are connected to the root cause, and the corresponding impact of these problems
  • when you need a simple visual to explain the connection between problems, causes 
and impacts
Download the tool

How we developed the tools

MHCLG awarded each pilot council £750K to spend on the digital priorities they had raised through the application process.

During the pilot, the 8 councils took part in research to identify the systematic problems that block transformation, seen through the lens of a real service transformation opportunity.

This approach enabled the councils to look beyond siloed organisational structures, products or single services, and to think bigger and wider when looking at transformation. By looking beyond surface-level problems, we were able to identify the root causes of what’s blocking them from becoming modern and resilient.

Each of the pilot councils was at a different point in their transformation, and how they prioritise and make decisions is unique to the context in which they deliver. The tools were developed to help us uncover and make sense of common patterns across councils in a tangible way.

By promoting a systems-thinking mindset, we hope the tools will support your organisation in conversations about the root causes or core challenges that you face in your own transformation journey.