Thinking about make/buy/merge/demerge/shape the market in public services/local government reorganisation? Introducing the RedQuadrant Delivery Leverage and Control Matrix: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_redquadrant-delivery-leverage-and-control-activity-7431979380886626304-SrSS
Most ‘delivery model’ debates are really arguments about control. This is going to be critical in #localgovernmentreorganisation.
– In-house vs outsource.
– ALB vs JV.
– Shared service vs mutual.
– ‘Build a market’ vs ‘keep it simple’.
We often jump to a preferred structure… before we’ve made the trade-offs explicit.
So we created a simple decision support tool: the Delivery Leverage & Control Matrix.
You score 22 questions from 0–10, where, broadly
0 = you need a tight public-sector grip
10 = you’re comfortable with real autonomy outside the public service body
The spreadsheet then gives you three outputs:
1) the pattern of scores (the ‘shape’ of what the service needs)
2) model-fit percentages (which families of delivery model align best)
3) a list of ‘inconsistent criteria’ (where your intent clashes with what that
model can realistically deliver)
That last list is where the best conversations happen.
A few sample questions (to show the flavour):
Grip: is tight day-to-day control improve necessary for outcomes… or just for comfort?
Contestability: do you actually want pressure on performance through the possibility of switching?
Roll-back: if it goes wrong, could you realistically bring this back in-house?
Fall-back: do you end up carrying the can?
Try this three-minute version:
Pick one service you’re redesigning and give it a rough 0–10 on those four questions.
If you’re scoring ‘high autonomy’ but also ‘easy roll-back’… you’ve probably found the hidden contradiction that will come back to bite you later (usually during procurement, mobilisation, or the first crisis).
I’ve shared an excerpt of the framework as a short document below (not the full tool).
If you’re working on a live decision and want the template + guidance, just ask – and say what you’ll use it for, or DM me, and I’ll share the pack.
Question for you: what’s the most common hidden assumption you see in delivery / governance model decisions?
#publicservices #governance #commissioning #LGR
chosen path 