Adaptability:

Are governments just getting leaner, or are they truly becoming more adaptable to our evolving needs? Beyond cutting red tape, what truly defines an “effective” government?

The focus on efficiency, as highlighted by the Ontario government's recent "speech from the throne" and the establishment of continuous improvement departments in some larger municipalities, is undoubtedly important.

Yet, Dr. Paul Mott's framework for organizational effectiveness suggests we need to look beyond efficiency to ensure long-term success.

Mott's insightful work, "The Characteristics of Effective Organizations," provides a valuable framework, highlighting three key steps of organizational effectiveness: flexibility, efficiency, and adaptability.

Flexibility:

Think of your city dealing with an unexpected summer storm that overwhelms the ditches and storm sewers, or the local community centre suddenly seeing double the expected demand for a recreation program.

Flexibility refers to the capacity to adjust operations to cope with these unpredictable situations or emergencies without major disruption.  Mott classifies flexible organizations having the “...ability to cope with temporary, unpredictable emergencies.” He points out that any changes are often provisional and leading to a return to “normal” operations afterward.

Adaptability:

But adaptability is the game-changer for the future. It's about proactively evolving. 

Think about Apple's iPod and iPhone – products customers didn't even know they needed. These products also created billions in revenues! Or Amazon's evolution from an online bookstore to a global e-commerce behemoth.

In the public sector, consider the recent adaptability of many public libraries: lending ebooks, streaming movies, offering WiFi hotspots to rural residents, lending sports equipment, and even providing ‘maker spaces.’ These are tangible examples of adapting to the public’s changing needs.

Adaptability means scanning the environment to anticipate new opportunities and problems and deliberately changing methods to attain new levels of quantity, quality, and cost. Adaptability yields both new methods and new products and services. High adaptability means a high rate of positive change of routine and benefits.

We’ve helped municipalities to anticipate new problems, adapt services, and innovate projects:

• Empowering the public in designing and building a new $35.5M, 143,000 square-foot, multi-purpose community centre on-time and under budget;

• Redesigning a permitting process to increase output and reduce approval times by 61%;

• Establishing block party incentives to build meaningful connections between neighbours;

• Developing a mutually beneficial downtown parking plan for key special events;

• Collaborating with the public in formulating strategic plans;

• Incentivizing cross-functional staff teams to solve problems that help fulfill strategic goals; and

• Integrating a new development area into existing neighbourhoods and infrastructure.

As you can see, adaptability means not just reacting to changes but proactively anticipating and preparing for them. It can also vary widely across different municipalities and governments.