Rethinking Transformation in Local Government: Why 74% of Programmes Fail and How to Succeed
- truthaboutlocalgov
- Nov 14
- 8 min read
Transformation: The Silver Bullet That Often Misses the Mark
Transformation in local government is frequently positioned as the ultimate solution to systemic challenges spiralling demand for services, chronic inefficiencies, and relentless budget pressures. Councils across the UK have poured hundreds of millions of pounds into digital platforms, structural reorganisations, and cultural change programmes, aiming to deliver faster, cheaper, and more citizen-centric services.
The ambition is clear: do more with less. Yet the reality is stark. Studies show that between 74% and 80% of public-sector transformation projects fail to achieve their intended objectives. This is not a marginal issue it’s a systemic problem that dwarfs even private-sector failure rates, which hover around 60–70% for large-scale change initiatives. Why does this matter? Because failure isn’t just a statistic it translates into:
Stalled projects that consume resources without delivering benefits.
Wasted investment, often running into millions per council.
Missed opportunities to improve lives at a time when residents need services more than ever.
Consider this: according to the Local Government Association (LGA), councils face a £2.3 billion funding gap in 2025/26, rising to £3.9 billion by 2026/27. Transformation is often seen as the lever to close this gap, yet when programmes fail, the financial hole deepens. Meanwhile, only 17% of UK public-sector leaders report their digital transformation efforts as “completely successful”, highlighting a disconnect between ambition and execution. The implications are profound. Every failed initiative erodes trust both internally among staff and externally among residents. It creates “change fatigue,” where employees become resistant to future programmes, and it locks councils into outdated processes and legacy systems that hinder innovation.
The Scale of the Challenge
Local government transformation is not just about deploying new technology it’s about rethinking how councils operate, deliver services, and engage with communities. Yet the scale of this challenge is immense, and the evidence shows that success remains elusive.
Success Remains Rare
Surveys reveal that only 17% of UK public sector decision-makers consider their digital transformation efforts completely successful. For the remaining 83%, transformation is either partially effective or has failed to deliver the promised benefits. This gap between ambition and execution costs councils time, money, and credibility.
Failure Rates Are Alarmingly High
Global research by McKinsey and BCG shows that 74–80% of public-sector transformation programmes fail to meet their objectives, a rate significantly higher than the private sector (60–70%). Public organisations face unique challenges:
Complex governance structures with multiple stakeholders and political oversight.
Rigid statutory obligations that limit flexibility.
Short-term political cycles that disrupt long-term planning.
Digital Maturity Remains Low
SOCITM’s Public Sector Digital Trends 2024 and 2025 reports highlight that many councils are still at the early stages of digital maturity. Key findings include:
Fragmented digital strategies: Councils often lack a unified vision, with service redesigns happening in silos.
Legacy systems and technical debt: Outdated IT infrastructure hampers integration and innovation.
Data quality and governance gaps: Poor data standards and lack of interoperability prevent councils from leveraging analytics and AI effectively.
Skills shortages: Digital and IT skills remain constrained, limiting councils’ ability to realise benefits from new technologies.
SOCITM warns that without addressing these foundational issues, councils risk “budget waste due to duplicated IT services” and missed opportunities for collaboration and efficiency.
Budget Pressures Intensify the Risk
The financial backdrop makes transformation both urgent and risky. According to the Local Government Association, councils face a £2.3 billion funding gap in 2025/26, rising to £3.9 billion by 2026/27. Transformation is often positioned as the lever to close these gaps, but when programmes fail, the financial strain worsens, forcing councils into reactive cost-cutting rather than strategic improvement.
The Human Factor
Change fatigue is real. Continuous waves of restructuring and digital rollouts have left staff exhausted and sceptical. SOCITM emphasises that transformation must be seen as a cultural shift embedded into business-as-usual, not a one-off project. Without strong organisational development and clear communication, even well-designed programmes falter.
Why Do So Many Programmes Fail?
Despite the billions invested in transformation, failure remains the norm rather than the exception. Understanding why is critical to breaking the cycle.
1. Lack of Clear Outcomes
Many initiatives begin with vague aspirations like “modernise services” or “go digital” without defining measurable outcomes. This lack of clarity leads to scope creep, misalignment, and ultimately, wasted investment. As Steve Mawn put it:
“Unless you have that baseline… it’s a losing battle.”
Without clear success metrics and a benefits realisation framework, councils cannot track progress or justify investment.
2. Siloed Structures and Fragmented Governance
Transformation is rarely enterprise-wide. Instead, service areas redesign in isolation, creating fragmented systems and duplicated effort. Ashley Roper warned:
“I see too many examples of individual service areas going through redesigning in silo… When the programme is complete, there’s a lack of joy in the join-up.”
This siloed approach undermines ambitions like becoming “data-led” and prevents councils from leveraging shared platforms and economies of scale.
3. Underinvestment in People and Culture
Technology often takes centre stage, while the human element is sidelined. Yet research shows 70% of transformation failures are linked to poor adoption and behavioural resistance not technical issues. Ashley stressed:
“Transformation is really hard… It can be a lonely place.”
Without strong organisational development, staff engagement, and training, even the best technology will fail to deliver.
4. Budget Pressures and Unrealistic Expectations
With a £2.3 billion funding gap forecast for 2025/26, rising to £3.9 billion in 2026/27, transformation is often positioned as a cost-cutting exercise rather than a strategic enabler. Steve warned:
“Local government is at a cliff edge… ever reducing budgets and ever increasing need from the public.”
Short-term savings targets overshadow long-term value creation, and underfunded programmes collapse under financial and political pressure.
5. Failure to Address Technical Debt and Data Quality
Even when councils invest in new technology, they often overlook the foundations enterprise architecture and clean, accessible data. Without these, advanced tools like AI and analytics cannot deliver value. Steve highlighted this critical point:
“You are in an absolute world of pain if you haven’t got your enterprise architecture sorted out… Is your data in a fit state to run AI over?”
SOCITM echoes this concern, warning that technical debt and poor data governance are among the biggest blockers to digital maturity. Councils that fail to tackle these issues upfront risk costly delays and underperforming systems.
A Smarter Approach to Success
To reverse the trend of high failure rates, councils must stop treating transformation as a one-off project and start embedding it as a continuous mindset. Successful transformation is not about buying the latest technology it’s about aligning people, processes, and systems around clear outcomes. Here’s what works:
Define Outcomes First
Every technology investment should be linked to specific, measurable objectives. Councils need to ask:
What problem are we solving?
How will success be measured?
What benefits will residents see?
As Steve Mawn stressed:
“Be very clear on what you want to achieve and translate that into tangible outcomes.”
Without this clarity, programmes drift and fail to deliver value.
Align Corporate Strategy and Service Redesign
Avoid siloed approaches. Create a golden thread that connects corporate vision to departmental plans and technology choices. Ashley Roper explained:
“It stops being about the programme we deliver and becomes about how we manage resources and outcomes continuously.”
This alignment ensures that transformation supports the council’s overarching goals rather than isolated service improvements.
Get the Basics Right
Enterprise architecture and data readiness are non-negotiable. Councils often underestimate the importance of clean, accessible data. Without it, advanced tools like AI and predictive analytics cannot deliver value. Steve warned:
“You are in an absolute world of pain if you haven’t got your enterprise architecture sorted out… Is your data in a fit state to run AI over?”
SOCITM echoes this, identifying technical debt and poor data governance as major blockers to digital maturity.
Invest in People
Technology alone doesn’t transform services people do. Councils must build capacity for change management, staff engagement, and skills development alongside technical upgrades. Ashley emphasised empathy:
“Transformation is really hard… It can be a lonely place. You need to expand capability and capacity to deliver while keeping the lights on.”
Without this investment, even the best-designed programmes will fail due to resistance and fatigue.
Case in Point: Why Shared Services Work
Shared service models like Strata Service Solutions prove that transformation success is possible when councils collaborate strategically. Strata was established in 2014 as a joint ICT partnership between East Devon, Exeter, and Teignbridge councils. Its mission: deliver cost savings, improve resilience, and enable digital innovation through shared infrastructure and expertise.
The Results Speak Volumes
£7.6 million in cumulative savings since inception far exceeding original business plan targets.
£683,000 in benefits delivered in 2024/25 alone, achieved through:
Joint procurement of software and hardware, leveraging economies of scale.
Staffing restructures to reduce duplication and optimise resources.
Enterprise-scale architecture, enabling data integration and future-proofing for AI and analytics.
These figures are not just numbers they represent tangible improvements in service delivery and financial sustainability. For example, by consolidating ICT systems across three councils, Strata reduced technical debt, improved cybersecurity, and created a platform for digital innovation that individual councils could not have achieved alone.
Why It Works
Strata’s success highlights three critical principles:
Collaboration Across Boundaries
Councils break out of silos, pooling resources and expertise to tackle shared challenges.
Shared Infrastructure and Expertise
A common enterprise architecture reduces complexity and accelerates digital maturity.
Relentless Focus on Outcomes
Every initiative is tied to measurable benefits whether cost savings, improved resilience, or enhanced citizen experience.
As Steve Mawn explained in the episode:
“Doing things once and learning from it makes things cheaper… joint procurement and enterprise architecture drive transformational change.”
The Bigger Picture
SOCITM and LGA have long advocated for shared service models as a way to overcome capacity constraints and budget pressures. In fact, councils that adopt collaborative approaches report up to 20–30% cost reductions compared to standalone transformation efforts, alongside improved resilience and scalability.
Actionable Recommendations
Turning transformation from aspiration into reality requires discipline, clarity, and a relentless focus on outcomes. Here are five practical steps councils can take to improve success rates:
1. Start with the “Why”
Define your North Star outcomes before selecting technology. Ask:
What problem are we solving?
How will residents benefit?
How will success be measured?
As Ashley Roper said:
“Understand your why… at corporate, departmental, and user level. That will help people follow the journey and buy in.”
2. Assess Readiness
Audit enterprise architecture, data quality, and organisational capacity early. SOCITM warns that technical debt and poor data governance are among the biggest blockers to digital maturity. Councils should:
Map existing systems and integration points.
Identify gaps in data standards and interoperability.
Evaluate resource capacity for change delivery.
3. Embed Change Management
Allocate resources for training, communication, and cultural adoption. Research shows 70% of failures stem from behavioural resistance, not technology. Councils should:
Create a dedicated change team.
Communicate the “why” clearly and consistently.
Provide ongoing training and support.
4. Measure and Iterate
Use benefits realisation frameworks to track progress and adjust course. This means:
Setting KPIs linked to outcomes (e.g., cost savings, service speed, citizen satisfaction).
Reviewing progress regularly.
Pivoting when priorities or conditions change.
Ashley highlighted:
“Enable digital teams to give better business intelligence so leaders can make better decisions as things change.”
5. Think Continuous Improvement
Make transformation part of business-as-usual, not a time-limited programme. Councils should:
Embed continuous improvement into governance.
Review people, process, and technology annually.
Treat transformation as a cultural shift, not a project.
As Ashley put it:
“Don’t do transformation programmes be transformative. Make it part of your DNA.”
Conclusion
Transformation in local government is hard but not impossible. The statistics may be daunting, with failure rates hovering around 74–80%, but success stories like Strata Service Solutions prove that councils can deliver meaningful change when they adopt the right approach.
The key lies in shifting the mindset: transformation should not be treated as a one-off project or a quick fix for budget gaps. It must become part of the organisation’s DNA a continuous cycle of improvement driven by clear outcomes, strong governance, and cultural alignment. By:
Focusing on measurable outcomes rather than vague aspirations,
Aligning corporate strategy with service redesign to avoid silos,
Investing in people as much as technology, and
Getting the basics right with enterprise architecture and data readiness,
councils can break the cycle of failure and deliver lasting benefits for residents.
As Ashley Roper summed up:
“Don’t do transformation programmes, be transformative.”
The future of local government depends on this shift. Those who embrace it will not only survive the pressures of funding gaps and rising demand they will thrive, creating smarter, more resilient councils that deliver better services for every citizen.
