Timeline
2009
July
June
March
January
2008
December
November
August
- Report summary [PDF 750KB, 24 pages] of the Cabinet Office June 2008 publication Excellence and fairness: Achieving world class public services - 1 August 2008.
July
June
March
February
January
2007
December
August
June
May
March
February
January
Four papers published as background to the individual strands of the Policy Review on 16th January 2007:
2006
November
October
September
July 2006:
- The Strategy Unit worked jointly with DWP on new arrangements for delivering child support [DWP website]
- The Strategy Unit worked jointly with DTI and other departments on the Energy Review report [DTI website]
June 2006:
- The Strategy Unit prepared a paper on The UK Government's Approach to Public Service Reform as background to the conference '21st Century Public Services - Putting People First' hosted by the National School of Government on 6 June 2006.
- The Strategy Unit produced a joint paper with DfES reviewing the international evidence on the impact of Schools Reform.
March 2006:
January 2006:
2005
October 2005
July 2005
- The Strategy Unit supported a fundamental legal aid review published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs: A fairer deal for legal aid [GNN website]
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
2004
July 2004
June 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
- 15 January: A revised version of the Strategy Survival Guide has been published. The guide is a collection of best-practice material for people involved in strategy work in government. It provides a framework for conducting projects and advice on the skills that this requires.
- 6 January: The Home Office publish Managing Offenders, Reducing Crime, a joint Home Office and Strategy Unit review of correctional services.
2003
December 2003
October 2003
- 24 October: Strategic Audit: Discussion Document: During the first half of 2003, the Strategy Unit worked with departments to consider future priorities and strategic choices across departmental boundaries. The process included analysis of long-run trends and benchmarking the UK against other countries.
- 9 October: The Strategy Unit publishes the discussion paper Innovation in the Public Sector . The paper is intended to provide a framework for thinking, debate and action on the conditions for successful innovation and its diffusion in the public sector.
September 2003
- 18 September: The Alcohol project publishes its Interim Analytical Report as part of its work to produce an alcohol harm reduction strategy for England.
- 4 September - Geoff Mulgan, the Director of the Strategy Unit, becomes Head of Policy at Number 10, working alongside Jeremy Heywood, the Prime Minister's Principal Private Secretary. Geoff Mulgan will continue to oversee the work of the Strategy Unit, ensuring that Number 10's policy and strategy work are more closely co-ordinated.
August 2003
- 29 August: The Strategy Unit launches the first version of the Strategy Survival Guide . This electronic publication sets out a series of methods for doing strategy work in Government, based on the working practices of the Strategy Unit. It provides material on tools, approaches, templates and examples.
July 2003
June 2003
- 10 June: The Strategy Unit publishes a fisheries consultation document setting out a series of questions on key issues facing the UK fishing industry over the next 10-15 years.
May 2003
March 2003
February 2003
- 20 February: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Biosciences to explore what developments are anticipated in these areas over the next decade; how such developments might impact on society; and how government should respond to the challenges and opportunities that they present.
- 10 February: Launch of a project looking at local government in the future. The Strategy Unit begins an analysis of the key social, economic and political trends likely to impact on local government over the next 10-15 years.
- 7 February: Launch of the London project. The Strategy Unit is asked to undertake a study of the long-term issues facing London.
- 4 February: The Unit publishes an Assessment of Technological Options to Address Climate Change (pdf, 1040kb) which reviews the technical potential of low-carbon technologies to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
January 2003
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2002
December 2002
November 2002
- 27 November: Publication of Waste Not, Want Not: a strategy for tackling the waste problem. This report recommends ways to reduce the rate of waste growth and for more re-use and recycling to combat the country's growing rubbish mountain.
- 20 November: Publication of Risk: Improving government's capability to handle risk and uncertainty. This report sets out new proposals to improve risk management by the public sector by building on best practice. It included publication for consultation on a new set of principles that the public sector should follow when managing risks to the public.
- 14 November: Publication of In Demand Adult skills in the 21st century - part 2 . This report sets out the Government's action plan to increase skills training and development over the next five years. Part One was published in November 2001.
- 14 November: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on High Performing Cities to explore the ability of the UK's big cities to perform and compete as sources of economic growth, and examine latest evidence on trends that may affect them and the impact of systems of governance.
- 6 November: Publication of Delivering for children and families: inter-departmental childcare review . This report sets out the detailed strategy behind Government plans to create at least 250,000 childcare places by 2005/06, double funding for childcare, and bring responsibility for childcare and early years into one-stop shops at local authority level.
- 4 November: The Unit holds a Strategic Thinkers seminar called Life Satisfaction to explore the growing literature on life satisfaction and what makes people happy.
October 2002
- 28 October: The Home Office and the Strategy Unit are consulting on the recommendations in the recent report on the legal and regulatory framework for the charitable and wider not-for-profit sector, Private Action, Public Benefit .
- 21 October: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Addictive Behaviour to look at the major forces driving current trends in addictive behaviour and how government policy addresses them, as well as the social, health and economic impacts of addiction in the UK.
- 15 October: The Strategy Unit and the Department of Health jointly publish a consultation paper on alcohol misuse, as part of the Government's commitment to tacking the problems associated with alcohol misuse.
- 1 October: Publication of Creating public value , which contains an analytical framework for public service reform, alongside other background papers.
September 2002
- 25 September: Publication of Private Action, Public Benefit : a review of charities and the wider not-for-profit sector. This proposes wide-ranging changes in the law and regulation of the charitable and wider not-for-profit sector.
- 25 September: Publication of a Scoping note for a study on the overall costs and benefits associated with the growing of genetically-modified crops in the UK.
- 24 September: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Creating Public Value to discuss new ways of thinking about the objectives and performance of government.
- 18 September: Sue Duncan is appointed Government Chief Social Researcher to lead the Strategy Unit's work on maintaining quality and standards of government social research.
- 13 September: Publication of Waste: an analytical review . The interim paper sets out issues surrounding waste management and invites comments on how the growth in waste volumes should be dealt with.
July 2002
- 26 July: Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett asks the Strategy Unit to carry out a study into the overall costs and benefits of GM Crops, including their effect on conventional and organic farming interests, as part of the wider public GM debate.
- 19 July: The Prime Minister announces that he has asked the Strategy Unit to carry out a project looking at how to tackle the problems associated with Alcohol Misuse.
- 8 July: Publication of a discussion paper on Geographical mobility .
June 2002
- 22 June: The Strategy Unit is formed following a merger between the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU), the Prime Minister's Forward Strategy Unit (PMFSU) and the Policy Studies Directorate of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS).
- 6 June: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Geographical Mobility to review the trends and main drivers as well as the costs and benefits of different levels of geographic mobility.
May 2002
- 8 May: The Prime Minister announces that he has asked the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) to carry out a project examining the development of electronic networks in the UK over the next decade.
April 2002
March 2002
- 26 March: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Social Capital to review recent trends and examine the potential importance of social capital for a range of economic and social outcomes.
- 20 March: Publication of Lending Support: Modernising the Government's use of Loans which contains a new framework for the use of government loans and proposals for harnessing new technology to improve customer access to them.
- 19 March: Launch of Policy Hub , a new online resource to help improve the way public policy is shaped and delivered, which has been developed by the Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS).
February 2002
- 20 February: Publication of Ethnic minorities and the labour market: analytical review which looks at the labour market achievements of ethnic minorities and the underlying causes of these achievement levels.
- 14 February: Publication of the Energy Review which aims to help the UK prepare for the challenge of changing energy systems over the next 50 years.
- 1 February: The Prime Minister announces that he has asked the PIU and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to carry out a joint sports review to examine long-term sports policy.
January 2002
- 18 January: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Electronic Networks to focus on the long-term trends in the development of electronic networks, how they might alter and the lessons from other countries and industries.
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2001
December 2001
14 December: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Managing Risk and Uncertainty to explore how the nature of risk might change in the future and how Government and the private sector will need to develop risk management procedures.
November 2001
- 27 November: Publication of In demand: adult skills for the 21st century which sets out a new framework to make skills training and development more responsive to the needs of businesses and employees.
- 21 November: Speaking at the Waste Summit, Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announces that the PIU is to carry out a study on waste.
- 20 November: Publication of Resource productivity: making more with less which highlights the scope for improving the environment while benefiting the economy.
- 13 November: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on how the nature of Transport might change and how any changes could affect issues such as congestion, the environment and civic engagement.
- 5 November: Publication of Renewable Energy in the UK: Building for the Future of the Environment (pdf, 82kb) which sets out how the Government will spend the £100m million boost for renewable energy announced earlier in 2001.
- 5 November: Publication of a discussion paper on Satisfaction With Public Services .
October 2001
- 26 October: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Visions for Energy Policy to examine the issues that impact on how we use energy, potential changes, and what Government might need to do in response.
- 25 October: Announcement that the Unit is taking forward a study on childcare
- 16 October: Publication of Understanding Best Practice in Strategic Futures Work (pdf, 84kb), summarising some of the best practice employed in futures thinking and how to utilise this approach in policy making.
- 12 October: Start of Ethnic Minorities in the Labour Market project
- 5 October: The Prime Minister appoints a number of independent advisers to his Forward Strategy Unit. They are: Arnab Banerji, Penny Hughes, Nick Lovegrove and Adair Turner.
September 2001
August 2001
- 9 August: Lord Birt is appointed as the Prime Minister's strategy adviser. He will play an overarching role on a number of projects and will be supported by the Forward Strategy Unit.
July 2001
- 19 July: The Prime Minister announces that he has asked the PIU to look at how to improve the government's risk management.
- 4 July: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Strategic Futures to share and debate the results of research into some key futures issues.
- 3 July: The Prime Minister announces that he has asked the PIU to carry out a review of voluntary sector law and regulation.
June 2001
- 29 June: Publication of the discussion paper Benchmarking UK Strategic Futures Work (pdf, 78kb) which aims to identify best practice in the use of strategic futures work to inform policymaking.
- 28 June: Publication of Strategic Futures Thinking: meta analysis of published material on Drivers and Trends (pdf, 246kb), examining published literature on strategic futures issues.
- 25 June: The Prime Minister announces that he has asked the PIU to carry out a review of the strategic issues surrounding energy policy for Great Britain.
- 22 June: Prime Minister's Forward Strategy Unit is established to provide strategic, private, thinking for the Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers on a range of topics, across key areas of government policy. It will be run by Geoff Mulgan, director of the PIU.
- 16 June: Publication of a Short Survey of Published Material on Key UK Trends 2001-2011 (pdf, 569kb), synthesising existing predictions on trends in sectors such as the economy, demographics, the environment, housing and health over the next decade.
- 15 June: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Future Structures for Central Governments to explore the future roles, structures and management systems for central governments.
May 2001
- 24 May: A Strategic Thinkers seminar is held on Workforce Development to explore trends in the UK labour market and workforce development.
- 8 May: Publication of Tackling Diseases of Poverty which sets out how the international community can work more closely together to help combat the growing burden of disease in developing countries.
April 2001
March 2001
- 27 March: Publication of the PIU report Strengthening leadership in the public sector which calls for action to strengthen and support leadership across the whole public sector.
- 21 March: The Prime Minister announces that the PIU has been asked to study the issues surrounding ethnic minorities and the labour market, including ethnic minority unemployment, access to skills and training, and progression in the workplace.
February 2001
- 19 February: Publication of Ethnic Minorities Economic Performance, an analysis of the possible economic performance of these groups over the next 20 years, given the increasingly important role that minority groups will play in the UK.
- 6 February: The Prime Minister announces the launch of a new PIU project on resource productivity which aims to support the development of a long-term programme to create a truly sustainable economy and society for the UK.
January 2001
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2000
December 2000
- 7 December: Announcement that the Unit is taking forward a study on modernising government loans.
November 2000
- 8 November: Announcement that the Unit is taking forward studies on: workforce development; resource productivity; and global health.
October 2000
- 6 October: Launch of the Strategic Futures project which aims to improve the ability of Government to think about, react to and potentially shape the future. Its work will Include seminars, research studies, and a cross-Government forum to promote the integration of futures thinking into day-to-day policy making. The impetus for the project was provided by the earlier PIU Strategic Challenges project which set out the key issues that Government might face in the report The Future and How to Think About It .
September 2000
- 28 September: Announcement that the Unit is taking forward a study on privacy and data sharing.
- 13 September: Publication of Rights of exchange: social, health, environmental and trade objectives on the global stage .This PIU report which sets out to show that it is possible to balance an open system of free trade with raising labour and animal welfare standards and protecting human health and the environment.
- 11 September: Publication of E-Gov: electronic government services for the 21st century .This report set a strategic framework for the electronic delivery of government services in line with the Government's target of having all services available on-line by 2005.
- 1 September: Geoff Mulgan is appointed as the new Director of the PIU following an open competition. He replaces Suma Chakrabarti.
July 2000
- 7 July: Publication of Prime Minister's review of adoption . This report helped to address concerns about the fairness, clarity and consistency of the adoption process, and the time the procedure takes.
June 2000
April 2000
March 2000
- 2 March: Announcement that the Unit is taking forward a study on leadership.
February 2000
January 2000
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1999
December 1999
- 10 December: Rural economies , a new PIU report that suggests changes to Government policy to promote rural England with enterprising economies, a sustainable agriculture, an enhanced environment, and thriving communities.
- 9 December: Launch of a new project on global trade that aims to provide the Government with a policy framework for balancing social, health and environmental objectives with that of increasing trade liberalisation.
November 1999
- 24 November: The Prime Minister announces the launch of the Electronic Delivery of Services project which aims to set a strategic framework for the electronic delivery of government services in line with the Government's target for having all services available online by 2005.
October 1999
- 26 October: PIU Director Suma Chakrabarti, is presented with the Public Sector Diversity Award, by Sir Richard Wilson, Head of the Home Civil Service. The award recognises high achievement by a public sector worker from the Asian community.
- 21 October: The Prime Minister announces the launch of more PIU studies: Criminal Assets, which will look at what role pursuing the money trail can play in the fight against crime; Post Office, which will examine the options for modernising the Post Office network; Global Trade; and Better Policy Making, Analysis and Modelling.
September 1999
- 13 September: Publication of E-commerce @its.best.uk This PIU report contained 60 detailed recommendations grouped around three key priorities: overcoming business inertia; ensuring that Government's own actions drive the take-up of e-commerce; and ensuring better co-ordination between Government and industry.
May 1999
- 26 May: Publication of the first PIU report Encryption and law enforcement which helped to establish a new approach to encryption based on closer co-operation between Government and industry.
April 1999
- 26 April: The PIU begins work on identifying the key, long term strategic challenges which Government will have to face, as announced in the Government's recent Modernising Government White Paper. This work will help departments and other organisations to look beyond their existing policies towards the Government's long-term goals.
March 1999
- 31 March: Publication of a consultation paper looking at ways to improve the delivery of government services and policies, both regionally and locally.
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1998
December 1998
- 10 December: The Prime Minister announces the first set of PIU projects. They are: Developing Electronic Commerce in the UK: how to make the UK the world's best environment for electronic commerce; Active Ageing: how to improve the well-being and quality of life of older people by helping them to remain active; Central Government's Role at Regional & Local Level: getting the right arrangements in place for delivery of central Government policies in regions and communities; Accountability and Incentives for Joined-Up Government: examining how to encourage more joined-up policy-making and delivery; Objectives for Rural Economies: examining the differing needs of local rural economies, and the key factors affecting performance.
July 1998
- 28 July: The Prime Minister announces the creation of the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) one of the changes following Sir Richard Wilson's review of the effectiveness of the centre of Government. The PIU aim is to improve the capacity of Government to address strategic, cross-cutting issues and promote innovation in the development of policy and in the delivery of the Government's objectives. It will be a resource for the whole of Government, tackling issues on a project basis, and focusing on long-term problems that cross public sector institutional boundaries. The PIU will report direct to the Prime Minister through Cabinet Secretary, Sir Richard Wilson.
