How governments can develop the capabilities to solve the 21st century’s sustainability challenges - Rosie Collington
Oct 17, 2023
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Rosie Collington discusses the decline of state ambition in addressing sustainability challenges. She explores the impact of consulting firms on government functions, emphasizing the need to rebuild state capacity for green transitions. The episode also touches on academia's role in demystifying ideas for sustainability solutions.
Declines in public sector ambition hinder effective policy implementation for tackling global sustainability challenges.
The growth of the consulting industry intersects with historical economic shifts impacting government capabilities.
Ideological shifts towards market-led approaches have entrenched consultancies in government functions, influencing policy decisions.
Activist bureaucrats and grassroots initiatives play pivotal roles in driving meaningful policy responses for sustainability transitions within governments.
Deep dives
Challenges in Government Leadership for Sustainable Transformations
Governments face challenges in leading sustainable transformations due to declines in public sector capabilities despite the urgent need for more effective leadership in addressing global sustainability challenges. The history of state-solving major challenges through ambitious public policy contrasts with recent declines in governmental ambition and entrepreneurship, hindering effective policy implementation aligned with ecological economics. Rosie Collington highlights the role of the consulting industry in weakening public sector capacity, thus impeding governments from effectively addressing societal challenges.
Evolution of the Global Consulting Industry and Its Role in Governments
The global consulting industry's emergence in the late 19th century was marked by engineers forming companies to address innovation needs, evolving through corporate governance changes and government demands during major historical events. The industry's exponential growth, especially during neoliberal policy reform eras like the 1980s, reflects a transformative journey intertwined with broader economic shifts. Examples like the UK government's dramatic increase in management consulting spending under Margaret Thatcher exemplify the industry's growth parallel to capitalist developments.
Impacts of Ideology on Consulting Industry Growth
The rise of consultancies coincided with ideological shifts favoring government retreat and market-led approaches, transitioning into the 'steer but not row' ideology in the '90s. The book 'Reinventing Government' exemplifies altering perspectives on government's role in steering economies, distinct from the previous neoliberal motives. Such ideological shifts, including under the Third Way era, influenced the entrenchment of management consultancies in governmental functions, reflecting diverse ideologies' impacts on the consulting industry's prominence.
Case Studies Revealing Dysfunctions in Government-Consultancy Collaborations
Examining cases like Deloitte's involvement in the UK's flawed COVID testing system and McKinsey's conflict of interest in Puerto Rico's debt restructuring reveals systemic dysfunctions. Less emphasized cases, such as climate consulting boom, expose how consulting trends intersect with broader capitalist shifts, notably around carbon reduction mandates. These cases underscore the complex dynamics between governments' reliance on consultancies and the consulting industry's influence on government policies.
Building Government Capacity for Green Transitions
Amidst enormous public sector disinvestment, governments face the vital task of rebuilding capabilities for addressing environmental challenges. Rosie Collington's research in Denmark and Chile highlights contrasting approaches to green governance, emphasizing resource access, bureaucratic structures, and coalition support as crucial factors. The role of activist bureaucrats within governments emerges as a potent force in pushing for meaningful policy responses despite challenges posed by financial constraints and conflicting priorities.
Academia's Role in Addressing Sustainability Challenges
Rosie Collington's rebellion against typical academic perspectives involves questioning academia's efficacy in dictating policy pathways for sustainability transitions. Acknowledging academia's role in demystifying issues and offering insights based on research findings, she calls for a broader range of influences, including grassroots initiatives and activist bureaucrats within governments, to drive effective solutions for sustainability challenges.
Influence of Activism and Bureaucracy in Driving Green Transitions
The interplay between grassroots activism shaping government actions and bureaucratic processes underscores the multifaceted approach needed for sustainability transitions. Rosie Collington emphasizes the significance of activist voices, scientists, and bureaucrats in influencing environmental policy decisions and catalyzing transformative change within government structures. Acknowledging the valuable role of diverse actors in driving sustainability agendas underscores the collaborative efforts required for impactful societal transformations.
There’s a long history of states solving major social challenges through ambitious and mission-driven public policy, such as getting a person on the moon, or the foundation of the UK’s national health service. But the last few decades have seen declines in the ambition and entrepreneurship of the state, at a time when global sustainability challenges have called for more and better leadership. How did this happen, why is this a problem for implementing policies consistent with the goals of ecological economics, and what can we do about it? In this episode we discuss these themes with Rosie Collington, the author alongside Prof Mariana Mazzucato of The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies. Rosie is a political economist at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL, studying how governments can develop the ability to govern socio-economic transformations. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.
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