A question, dear scrutineer. What challenges do you think lie ahead for scrutiny? What are the pressing issues for you looking forward? I’ve made a start on a list, what do you think?

I’ve been reflecting on this as I prepare for a workshop I’m running at the ADSO national conference titled: ‘Fit for the future? Rethinking scrutiny and scrutiny support’.

The starting point, I’d say, is getting some understanding of what the challenges might be.

Of course, as William Gibson suggested, the future is already here, just unevenly distributed. So we can see something of what’s coming by looking around.

Here is my initial list of six challenges.

I’m drawing on the recently published Revisiting the 21st Century Public Servant research but also some of the thoughts of Catherine Howe. And yes, this list is from a local government perspective, but I hope it has a wider value.

⚖️ Perma-austerity. Like all public services, scrutiny has to cut its cloth to meet ever shrinking budgets and be a ‘frugal innovator’. Support is reduced, there's less money for research, engagement, training. And as services experience continuing austerity, and communities experience greater distress, scrutiny must figure out its role is in response.

🤖 Technology. Virtual meetings are becoming more prevalent and, whilst they improve access and transparency, do they damage the governance quality of meetings? Whilst AI is becoming increasingly significant for the way that public services work, how will scrutiny respond to its opportunities and its threats

👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏾Equality, diversity and inclusion. The rising profile of EDI issues means a more complex landscape for public servants who need to pay more attention to culture and identity, whilst also being aware of the complex politics that surround this. How should scrutiny consider these issues when setting work plans and gathering evidence, for example.

😡Incivility in public life. Over recent years public servants have noticed some citizens becoming more demanding, less patient and, at times, abusive. Social media has made it easier for ‘keyboard warriors’ to express their frustrations. The challenge for scrutiny is find safe ways of working whilst still addressing issues that might be controversial or divisive.

👨🏾‍💻The networked citizen. As Catherine Howe suggests, the expectations of many citizens have changed - they expect transparency, to be listened to, to access data and to be able to act. The challenge for scrutiny is not just how to respond to networked citizens but how work with them through co-option and deliberation.

🧭 New governance. Decision making is changing. Less project management and more agile, buying services rather than products all means that decision making is more fluid and responsive. How does scrutiny operate if the world has moved on by the time a 6-month scrutiny group has reported?

So, what have you started to notice? Which challenges chime with you? Something I’ve missed?

I hope this is useful to think about 🙏