Labour wants to drive big change in the UK with missions, but how will they do it?

Labour has won and Keir Starmer wants to "rethink" the way Britain is governed. He wants to change Whitehall, the street in London where most government buildings are located, to work mission-driven. It's a fundamental shift to tackle Britain's wild problems. But what will the transformation look like if he succeeds? INVI explores that in this article, and then we hear from Geoff Mulgan, author and University College London professor, what he thinks could go wrong and how the Labour government could respond.

Keir Starmer will recalibrate the government and civil service to work on five missions to tackle the old monarchy's biggest challenges.

"Given the scale of the challenges, and the ambition of our missions," writes Labor in its Strategic Mission Plan, "a rethink of how we govern our country is needed."

The great transformation of the civil service is centered around five major missions:

1) Kickstart economic growth

2) Make the UK a green energy superpower

3) Take back the streets (fight crime)

4) Break down the barriers that prevent children from succeeding

5) Build a healthcare system that's ready for the future

Keir Starmer

But it's a long way from announcing a mission to actually achieving it. How are missions different from what's written in our government's constitution here at home? And what does it actually take to change course on a supertanker like the UK? Find out now.

And be sure to read to the end when Geoff Mulgan points out the five biggest icebergs that Keir Starmer must steer the ship around if he is to succeed in his gigantic project.

What does it mean to work mission-driven in a government?
There is no set template for how to work mission-driven. But basically, it's about setting big, ambitious missions and organizing yourself around achieving them. For example, one of Labor's objectives is to be "a superpower in green energy".

It may sound like an ordinary policy objective, so let's start by outlining how mission-driven work differs from ordinary governance.

When you work mission-driven, you first set a clear goal for the end result. This goal forms the starting point for everything else. Whereas the government would normally consider spending, politics and balancing interests in achieving its goals, a mission focuses first and foremost on the outcome. In theory, this means that you get a more innovative and flexible approach to change creation because the political apparatus, and society at large, can mobilize around a clear and common goal.

Secondly, you take a long-term approach to tackling a complex social problem. The longer time horizon allows you to continuously learn from what works and what doesn't and adapt your actions to the reality of the situation.

Thirdly, missions are great for forming new partnerships that - if designed correctly - can mobilize a lot of resources and, not least, ensure insights from all angles of problem solving. 

Finally, missions should include goals that are (i) clear, (ii) measurable and (iii) time-bound. For example, the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals follow a 'mission framework'. Each of these goals includes specific sub-goals to measure the mission against. The goal to "eradicate poverty in all its forms everywhere" includes targets such as no one living in extreme poverty (earning less than $1.25 a day) by 2030. It's measurable, tangible - and hard.

Campaign platform or real change?
In a nutshell, missions have the potential to mobilize many more resources around common goals, which - if all goes well - can succeed in making inroads into the most complex societal problems.

Now for all the things that can go wrong.

The think tank INVI spoke to Sir Geoff Mulgan, one of the leading voices in the field. He has led the innovation unit Nesta, which has been a key player on the global stage in developing the way governments work, and has written several books on the field, most recently Another world is possible.

"Sir Keir Starmer has said that he is a pragmatist, interested in getting things done rather than abstract theory," says Mulgan and continues:

"But he has said very little about how he will put this into practice and Labour has been careful not to say too much about how they will govern for fear of jeopardizing the election."

Mulgan fears that the lack of reflection on what it actually means to be mission-driven could become an obstacle to Labor's mission-driven approach becoming anything more than an election slogan.

The Five Icebergs
It's a long way from intention to action, and the ship Keir Starmer wants to change course can sink for many reasons.

Mulgan's overarching concern is that Labor is not aware of what it will require of them to be mission-driven. And he breaks his concern down into five parts, which he serves up with an accompanying tip for success in the big missions:

1: "One size doesn't fit all"

Labor uses the word too broadly without taking into account what it actually means to work mission-driven.

"It's much better to focus on the specific. When you do that, it becomes clear that a mission in an area where the national government has lots of power and money is completely different from one where it has to convince others - such as business - to act in a different way," says Mulgan.

He elaborates on what can make missions different from each other. For example, a mission with easily measurable outputs and outcomes can be very different from one that lacks them. A mission that requires a lot of money is very different from one that requires laws and regulations. And a cross-government effort in AI will be very different from a cross-government effort in relations with the EU. Labor needs to take those differences into account.

2: "Avoid committees"

Many governments choose to set up committees as the best way to achieve coherence, often because it's easy. But they often have little effect unless they are very focused, says Mulgan.

"It's far better to build teams that can focus on strategy, state management, prioritization and sequencing, which are essential for big goals. And it's better to focus on the mechanisms that can be used for cross-cutting tasks: budgets, roles, goals, data and shared teams."

3: "Pay attention to capacity"

Mulgan points out that missions cannot be achieved without competent actors at the local level. But the capacity of local governments and cities has been drastically reduced due to austerity and the erosion of local governments.

4: "Don't have too many goals"

Many are tempted to support broad missions with a cascade of goals and centralized mechanisms to enforce them, but goals can also backfire, says Mulgan.

"Sometimes ambitious goals can spark action, even if there isn't a clearly thought-out process for change where business is involved, or for local public services that lack money or motivation."

5: "Be aware of the possibilities AND limitations of missions"

It remains very unclear whether Labor believes this mission approach should be applied to 80 percent of what the government does, 50 percent, 20 percent or 10 percent.

"This matters," Mulgan believes, "and of course much of the government's work needs to focus on events and issues that don't fit neatly into mission frames."

The big questions for Starmer

Finally, Geoff Mulgan mentions what he'll be watching out for when Keir Starmer comes to power.

"Will he encourage local experimentation and innovation?" Mulgan asks rhetorically, continuing the line of questioning: "Will he give a freer hand to those who will create change? Will he address the problem of 'cognitive load'? Will he follow countries like Estonia or India that have used digital platforms to radically reshape government?

The mission-based approach is a breakthrough in a democracy as large as the UK. The big question, however, is whether Labour will put the missions into practice. It will be exciting to watch!

Want to learn more about missions? Then listen to the first episode of the podcast Masterclass in Wild Problems, where Sigge Winther Nielsen has Christian Bason, founder of Transition collective, in the studio to talk about missions: