Contemporary History of Whitehall 1979-2010
Lead Research Organisation:
Institute for Government
Department Name: Research and Learning
Abstract
The central Civil Service (Whitehall) is undergoing major change. Crucial to the success of that change is how well it can learn from its own history. This project, a three year partnership between the Institute for Government, King's College London, and the AHRC, will ensure the history of Whitehall's last 30 years is collected, understood and made available to those who would benefit from it.
This is an innovative approach to undertaking research and engagement:
The historical research will be used directly in engaging with current senior officials and political decision-makers;
Links will be built between government and academia through events and workshops at both King's and the Institute for Government;
The work will take full advantage of the Institute for Government's location and access and King's expertise and academic quality.
The project would be undertaken by a team led by Dr Catherine Haddon, Fellow at the Institute for Government and Visiting Fellow at King's College London. Professor Ken Young of King's College London will act as Principal Investigator and an early career Post-Doctoral Researcher (PDR) from King's will be seconded to the Institute.
The project will seek to convey how Whitehall looked, felt and acted (or was acted upon) during the 1979-2010 period, from the perspectives of those within it and close to it. The research will comprise archival analysis, published and grey literature, and online resources. It will draw on a large-scale interview programme, witness seminars and public events.
The project will trace the people, structures and cultures of Whitehall as a whole and of different departments. It will explore and analyse what those at the time may not have been able to see: Whitehall's successes and failures; the longer-term trends in behaviour and culture; how demographics altered; external changes in government and society; and what conclusions can be drawn about its Whitehall's role in government and relationship to its democratically elected political masters.
The project will use a variety of different methods to convey its learning, both to academic audiences through articles, conference papers and seminars and to practioners audiences in workshops and briefings papers. Witness seminars will mean valuable discussion is also a resource for future researchers. Public events will seek to draw out broader lessons of the role of history for institutional memory and on public policy more widely. Together these outputs will convey the topic as a whole.
The project has the potential to improve institutional memory within Whitehall, bringing a humanities perspective to bear on current debates around the changing shape of the UK Civil Service. It will provide engagement opportunities for academic researchers and practitioners with an interest in this area, complementing AHRC's programme of seminars, case studies, fellowships and publications on the humanities and public policy.
Since 2008 the Institute for Government, an independent charity, has been working closely with senior civil servants and politicians, undertaking research and providing development opportunities to increase government effectiveness. This project, in conjunction with King's College London, will provide a unique opportunity to take an academic understanding the history of Whitehall and use that knowledge in current efforts to help make Whitehall more effective.
This is an innovative approach to undertaking research and engagement:
The historical research will be used directly in engaging with current senior officials and political decision-makers;
Links will be built between government and academia through events and workshops at both King's and the Institute for Government;
The work will take full advantage of the Institute for Government's location and access and King's expertise and academic quality.
The project would be undertaken by a team led by Dr Catherine Haddon, Fellow at the Institute for Government and Visiting Fellow at King's College London. Professor Ken Young of King's College London will act as Principal Investigator and an early career Post-Doctoral Researcher (PDR) from King's will be seconded to the Institute.
The project will seek to convey how Whitehall looked, felt and acted (or was acted upon) during the 1979-2010 period, from the perspectives of those within it and close to it. The research will comprise archival analysis, published and grey literature, and online resources. It will draw on a large-scale interview programme, witness seminars and public events.
The project will trace the people, structures and cultures of Whitehall as a whole and of different departments. It will explore and analyse what those at the time may not have been able to see: Whitehall's successes and failures; the longer-term trends in behaviour and culture; how demographics altered; external changes in government and society; and what conclusions can be drawn about its Whitehall's role in government and relationship to its democratically elected political masters.
The project will use a variety of different methods to convey its learning, both to academic audiences through articles, conference papers and seminars and to practioners audiences in workshops and briefings papers. Witness seminars will mean valuable discussion is also a resource for future researchers. Public events will seek to draw out broader lessons of the role of history for institutional memory and on public policy more widely. Together these outputs will convey the topic as a whole.
The project has the potential to improve institutional memory within Whitehall, bringing a humanities perspective to bear on current debates around the changing shape of the UK Civil Service. It will provide engagement opportunities for academic researchers and practitioners with an interest in this area, complementing AHRC's programme of seminars, case studies, fellowships and publications on the humanities and public policy.
Since 2008 the Institute for Government, an independent charity, has been working closely with senior civil servants and politicians, undertaking research and providing development opportunities to increase government effectiveness. This project, in conjunction with King's College London, will provide a unique opportunity to take an academic understanding the history of Whitehall and use that knowledge in current efforts to help make Whitehall more effective.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Catherine Haddon (Principal Investigator) | |
| Ken Young (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Haddon C
(2016)
Witness Seminar: Whitehall and Europe, 1979-2010
Haddon C
(2015)
Women and Whitehall: Gender and the Civil Service sine 1979
Haddon C
(2016)
Developments in British Politics 10
Weller P
(2016)
Westminster Traditions: Continuity and Change
in Governance
| Description | The overall project's value has been in producing a range of smaller, focused pieces of research and larger studies and as well as adding to the historical record on a number of previously under-studied areas. Its value has also been in mapping historical lessons and perspectives onto other work looking at current challenges within Whitehall. We also developed key findings out of particular research under the overarching project: 1. Our Women and Whitehall research provided many useful lessons for today's Whitehall about the types of diversity effort that had been attempted over the years, those that worked and those that were less successful. The key finding however was that rather than just being about gender, Whitehall's diversity was more affected by dominant culture and the kinds of successful attributes that were rewarded by the system. This affected women but it may also affect other groups and wider issues about managing workforce development and the impact of culture on skills and performance. 2. Our work on National Security Council looked at the evolution of National Security machinery over a century and the lessons for the current organisational approach. Our key finding was that the NSC demonstrates the potential benefits of 'strong grip' at the centre and the 'halo effect' of significant prime ministerial investment of time and effort in committee work but that the historical study showed a number of lessons for the current structure including:the significant potential gains from sustained prime ministerial attention and the concomitant risks of losing effectiveness if prime ministers fail to devote sufficient time to the process ? the necessity of inter-departmental co-operation, and the integral role that a national security adviser can play as an effective broker between competing departmental interests ? the potential tension between strategic and operational focus ? the need for a well-resourced central secretariat and the difficulty of driving delivery from what is, relative to international comparators, the small centre of UK government, as the secretariat - like any other part of the centre - suffers a capacity gap vis à vis departments, and has become smaller since May 2010. |
| Exploitation Route | Women and Whitehall work is already used by many academics in looking at gender in the civil service or at civil service reform. It can also inform other sectors as they consider issues of gender, diversity and organisational culture. We hope also the work on the NSC continues to be used by intelligence scholars and governments in the UK and abroad in thinking about organising for National Security. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Communities and Social Services/Policy Creative Economy Education Financial Services and Management Consultancy Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | The research from the project has been used to inform history seminars within the Civil Service, for the Cabinet Office's History week in both 2014 and 2015. It has also informed discussions about Civil Service reform, relevant civil service history, organisational changes and questions of contemporary diversity in the career management of the civil service. This has occurred through discussions with officials, in the wider work of the Institute for Government and in media work. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | 'Was there really a time sexual harassment was 'acceptable'?' Article for BBC website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | In the aftermath of Michael Fallon's resignation and Secretary of State for Defence i was asked to write an article for the BBC website which was at the top of their Most Read articles the morning it was released. By the morning after its release it had been viewed over 500,000 times. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41885963 |
| Description | Article for Fabian Review |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Article for Fabian Review on 'In Control: a brief history of the Treasury'. Formed part of their analysis of how the Treasury should be reformed. the article was requested in order to provide a historical perspective. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.fabians.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/FabianReview-Summer2014.pdf |
| Description | Article for Guardian Public Leaders Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article for Guardian Public Leaders Network to mark International Women's Day 2016: ''The Right Sort of female Chap' - the story of women in Whitehall', 8 March 2016. The article led their webpage on International Women's day and also their weekly newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/mar/08/women-whitehall-civil-service-gender-d... |
| Description | Article for Guardian online |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article for Guardian Public Leaders Network, 'The right sort of 'Female Chap' - the Story of Women in Whitehall' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/mar/08/women-whitehall-civil-service-gender-... |
| Description | Co-designed workshop with HM Treasury |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Co-designed half day workshop with HM Treasury on 'HM Treasury archives stakeholder event'. The workshop was designed to allow academics working on Treasury history to engage with the Treasury's records management team, staff from the National Archives and former and current officials in order to discuss the current process and progress of archive release, what can be learnt from their archives and how future releases can be modified. It led to a significant change in the Treasury's archives policy and was attended by the Permanent Secretary of the Treasury, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, who described the format and aim of the event as groundbreaking. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Conference on oral history |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on 'Interviewing Whitehall's Permanent Secretaries 1979-2010' to Queen Mary/ British Library/ British Academy hosted conference on Oral History and the Study of Contemporary British Politics on 25 November 2015. The discussion, not only my presentation but also the wider event, led to some very useful thinking about the challenges of oral history in exploring government and civil service and the particular challenges in interviewing officials. It also led to a very valuable discussion about how to best record and archive oral history for posterity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Conference, Queen's University Canada |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation 'Whither Westminster? Core principles, Contemporary Pressures' and participation in Colloquium on Westminster Government and Public Policy-Making in the 21st Century'. The conference brought together academics from Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand to exam the historical trajectory of civil and public services in those countries and use that knowledge to discuss contemporary issues. The discussion focused on a number of issues very relevant to the history of Whitehall and led to a number of discussions about taking this research forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Event on 100 Anniversary of Cabinet Secretaries |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Organised and held an Event with all 6 former and current Cabinet Secretaries to mark the 100th Anniversary of the creation of that role. The Event held at the Institute for Government formed part of various anniversary activities organised by the Cabinet Office. Dr Haddon worked closely with the team from the Cabinet Office both in organising this event, but also arranging and participating in a seminar at the Cabinet Office and other activities associated with that. The video and transcript of the Institute for Government event is located here https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/events/100-years-cabinet-secretaries-six-conversation Other events were held for Cabinet Office staff but not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007,2016 |
| URL | https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/events/100-years-cabinet-secretaries-six-conversation |
| Description | Goodbye Westminster: Conference panel for ANZSOG Annual Conference 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give the Plenary address to the annual ANZSOG conference: : Hyper Government: Managing and Thriving in Turbulent Times. In addition to this plenary in also gave 5 talks across Australia and New Zealand to National and State government officials about issues relating to civil service reform and future government challenges. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blMnynpEHXc |
| Description | International Women's Day Cross-Whitehall Women's Network conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presented the research findings from our Women and Whitehall: Gender and the Civil Service 1979-2010 report to two workshops of 20-30 people in each and discussed the relevance of the findings for current debates about the experience of women in the civil service and wider diversity events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | International Women's Day Cross-Whitehall Women's Network event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Appeared on a panel with Melanie Dawes, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Alex Chisholm, Permanent Secretary Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Helen Pankhurst to discuss the role of women in public service and mark International Women's day 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2018/03/07/celebrating-civil-servants-past-present-and-future-on-in... |
| Description | Panel discussion on knowledge exchange in Whitehall |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Dr Haddon participated in a knowledge exchange discussion on records management and how today's officials contributed to future history. The discussion was lively and provocative. it helps provoke wider debate about issues of archives and historical knowledge in Whitehall. It also led to further work with HM Treasury on thinking about their archives and their engagement with academics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Panel discussion on women in whitehall |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Panel discussion with three former civil servants, including the former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service to discuss the experience of women in the civil service since 1979 and past and contemporary efforts to improve diversity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/11833/women-and-whitehall-how-did-whitehall-change-aft... |
| Description | Presentation to Cabinet Office/ HM Treasury History week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on Women and Whitehall: gender and the civil service, 1979-2010 to officials from the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. The presentation led to discussion about the contemporary issues of diversity and the audience's own reflections on gender, diversity and the civil service during their own careers. it was well received and led to further requests for presentations and discussions about the theme of the talk and about Whitehall history more generally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Presentation to Cabinet Office/ HMT Treasury History week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on 'What did we learn from civil service reform in the 1980s' to the Cabinet Office and HMt Treasury history week. the presentation focused on the reforms of the early 1980s and the lessons that could be taken away for contemporary reforms. the discussion afterwards focused on issues of reform, how Whitehall has changed over time and stimulated useful debate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Presentation to Civil Service live |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to Civil Service live 'Women and Whitehall: gender and the civil service, 1979-2010'. The presentation garnered useful discussions about the lessons from history for today's civil service and led to a stimulating discussion about diversity today. The engagement scores for the presentation were highly favourable and it led to further presentations on the topic with women's networks in two departments and one non-departmental body. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Presentation to Department for Energy and Climate Change |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The presentation on Women and Whitehall, gender and the civil service 1979-2010, stimulated discussion about the progress of diversity in today's Whitehall. It led to a lively debate with feedback afterwards about the positive and useful nature of the discussion. It led to a further invitation to present to Ofgem. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Presentation to Ofgem |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to Ofgem's women's network on Women and Whitehall: gender and the civil service 1979-2010. The discussion that followed explored some of the difficulties in the progression of women in the civil service and in wider sectors. it explored some of the contemporary diversity debates and how history could help inform and aid progress. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Seminar series on performance measurement in government |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A series of 4 seminars in early 2014 looked at the history of performance measurement systems and initiatives in government. The series led to useful new insights into the history of these initiatives and the continuity between them. the 4th seminar brought together the lessons from the series and thought about how it could be made useful to current officials. The lessons from the series were used to inform discussions with officials about current initiatives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Talk to No10 Downing Street |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Asked to give talk to No10 for International Women's Day 2023 on our Women and Whitehall research. Discussion to look at the history of women in Whitehall, and also in particular to think about female participation in policy making in No10 Downing Street. They approached on basis of our previous research and report on this subject. The presentation, alongside other academics and experts who had looked at role of women in policy making, also led to discussion of contemporary diversity in No10 and government more generally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Visit to Canadian public servants |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A series of presentations to a variety of Canadian public servants in Ottowa to discuss some of the lessons from UK's historical and current governance issues in order to learn lessons and draw comparisons. The presentations and discussions covered a variety of topics which drew upon history of Whitehall and led to further correspondence and contacts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |