Issue - meetings

1.         That the strategic framework for innovation set out in the report in order to build on the council’s recent achievements and further strengthen its innovation capacity and capability be agreed.

2.         That the Chief Executive works with colleagues to develop and implement the strategic framework for innovation and a progress report be provided to the Cabinet on 26 March 2013     

Reasons for Decisions:

To further refine and strengthen the council’s approach to innovation so it can exploit new opportunities, navigate significant challenges and achieve improved outcomes and value for money for Surrey’s residents. 

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee]

The Leader of the Council presented this report to Cabinet Members and stressed the importance of innovation for the Council in order to continue improving outcomes and value for money for Surrey’s residents. He cited specific examples of innovations – the street-lighting and highways contracts, changes to the provision of youth services, the introduction of community partnered libraries and the opening of citizen hubs run by and for disabled people. He also gave examples of innovative joint working with other organisations such as new agreements with Districts and Boroughs to regenerate local communities and work with South East 7 regional collaboration of highways.

He reminded Cabinet that, in his Leader’s statement to County Council on 16 October 2012, he had mentioned the need to strengthen capacity and capability to innovate in order to deal successfully with the significant challenges that the County Council would face over the next five to ten years.

Finally, he said that this report set out how the County Council would begin to go about achieving this. It would require sustained effort over the long term but he believed that staff and Members had a vital role to play in taking it forward. He also advised Cabinet that there would be an LGA organised peer challenge on innovation taking place between 26 February – 1 March 2013 and there would be an update report to Cabinet on 26 March 2013.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the strategic framework for innovation set out in the report in order to build on the council’s recent achievements and further strengthen its innovation capacity and capability be agreed.

2.         That the Chief Executive works with colleagues to develop and implement the strategic framework for innovation and provides a progress report to the Cabinet on 26 March 2013.    

Reasons for Decisions

To further refine and strengthen the council’s approach to innovation so it can exploit new opportunities, navigate significant challenges and achieve improved outcomes and value for money for Surrey’s residents.