Well-being of Future Generations: Continuous learning and improvement plan progress update – February 2024 [HTML]

Introduction

The ‘Well-being of Future Generations Continuous Learning and Improvement Plan’ (WFG CLIP) sets out several ways in which the civil service can improve the support and advice given to Welsh Ministers by embedding the 5 ways of working. The WFG CLIP identified 11 actions in this theme:

• introducing development pathways for policy makers
• updating the support for policy makers through formal and informal activities
• reviewing and updating policy impact assessment
• reviewing and updating internal resourcing for policy makers
• continuing to embed sustainability into our internal policy capability plan
• creating a sustainability network to help civil servants make improvements to their personal sustainability
• finding ways to embed sustainable development through training, lectures and tailored awareness raising
• providing internal assurance
• publishing an annual budget improvement plan
• working on the ‘Wales Infrastructure Investment Strategy’.

For full descriptions of all the actions and the progress we have made in each (between February 2023 and February 2024) please go to ‘Our progress on CLIP actions 2.1 – 2.11 (February 2023 – February 2024)’. First, find out what we are learning from our work and what we are finding helpful.

What are we learning?

It is better to see what we face now not as a problem we can simply overcome but as a predicament with multiple dimensions and a wide variety of possible outcomes, some of which can be determined by our actions. This relays better the fact that we are facing a collection of interconnected crises that we need to understand collectively. It also helps us understand that we are living in and through a situation that has consequences now and into the future, one that we will have to live and work with for an extended period.

In the face of this increasingly turbulent, uncertain, and ambiguous predicament, we have found that it helps to develop an understanding of ourselves as parts of wider systems, to understand the precariousness/delicacy of such systems and to consider the inter-related underlying causes. Pausing to make time to consider the relationships between activities and aspects of the system we are in, helps us provide better advice to ministers and helps all of us make better decisions.

The Permanent Secretary has raised the ambition on how we work with a desire for the Welsh Government to be seen as the exemplar for Wales and the wider public service (Welsh Government consolidated accounts).

Even though it seems to take longer at the start, we are discovering that using the Act (increasingly well) is more efficient and effective in the medium term. Working in this way prevents us from taking action that undermines existing activities. It helps us develop integrated solutions that deliver on multiple well-being goals, across various organisations. Thus, we only do one very useful thing instead of several separate or conflicting things.

The Act has helped us to understand the relationship between different elements of Welsh legislation and how they are interconnected.

Following an intensive period of engagement with all our staff, the Permanent Secretary introduced Welsh Government 2025 (WG 2025). This is our 3-year plan for developing the organisation to be fit for purpose in a post-pandemic, post-EU exit world. One of the first pieces of work we undertook as part of WG 2025 was to co-produce with our staff and trades unions a new Values and Behaviours framework for the organisation.

This new framework underpins the whole change and development programme and aligns with our commitments under the Civil Service Code and the Well-being of Future Generations Act. It sets clear expectations on what we expect from ourselves and each other in how we go about our work.

As well as clarifying our expectations, we are strengthening our approach to strategic workforce planning with appropriate levels of accountability and delegation and investing in key skills and capabilities, including the Welsh language.

What are we finding helpful? (Our top tips)

This 10-minute training course on the systems approach.

In our Well-being of Future Generations National Stakeholder Forum and Knowledge Exchange sessions colleagues wanted to better understand how the Act worked with other duties such as the Equality Act. We were reminded of this guide to the links between the 2010 Equality Act and the Well-being of Future Generations Act. This was prepared to help public bodies consider opportunities to align application of the socio-economic duty, the public sector equality duty and the well-being of future generations duties.

In our stakeholder forum, we noticed that some of us understood the painful history and current crisis in non-human nature, while others understood the painful history and ongoing discrimination of human beings. Some of us had little experience of either and very few of us understood both and because of this we looked for ways to explore the interconnections. This poem helped us understand elements of the complex relationship between race and the environment.

Our progress on CLIP actions 2.1 – 2.11 (February 2023 – February 2024)

2.1 We will introduce development pathways for policy makers to mature and enhance their skills, knowledge and behaviours in applying the sustainable development principle

Policy making is one of the core functions that Welsh Government performs, supporting ministers in making effective and deliverable policies to deliver objectives and benefits for citizens, now and in the future. Within Welsh Government we have developed a ‘Policy Capability Strategy’ to build a high performing policy system that supports and enables good design making and is agile in response to changing needs and expectations.

As part of the strategy, and accompanying, we have developed a ‘Policy Capability Framework’ which defines the skills, ways of working and knowledge a policy professional needs across the Welsh Government and outlines development pathways to help officials to plan their learning and continuously develop those skills.

The framework embeds the Well-being of Future Generations approach in multiple ways. Firstly, an understanding of the Act is identified as a policy essential, the 5 ways of working are listed as key ways of working for policy makers, and skills around integration and citizen involvement are identified. The strategy was launched internally in July 2023 and is in its early implementation phase.

2.2 We will update the support for policy makers through formal and informal activities, including a series of focused exercises on each of the 5 ways of working in the sustainable development principle

We have completed a focused exercise looking at involvement and policy making in Welsh Government.

We have delivered formal training sessions as part of the Policy Essentials Programme, designed to provide the knowledge, tools and networks to understand policy making in the Welsh Government. We continue to run policy seminars for policy makers covering a range of policy topics.

2.3 We will continue to review and update our approach to assessing the impact of policy in an integrated way, supported by our Integrated Impact Assessment approach

We continue to provide support to impact assessment users across the organisation and carry out development work. This includes updates to the template and a new Directory of those who can provide support to those completing impact assessments.

A paper on ‘Understanding and delivering better impact’, was presented to executive committee in December 2023. There was considerable support for improvement proposals but members wanted to consider them alongside other proposals and in light of ongoing budget work. They will return to executive committee in early 2024. The timescale for delivery of this work is under review and is now likely to launch in 2025 not 2024.

2.4 We will continue to review and update internal resources to support policy teams as they involve, engage and consult with citizens in policy formulation and delivery

We continue to deliver support to the organisation on consultation (trouble shooting and queries). There is limited capacity for proactive development work at present whilst available resource is tied up on action 2.3 (impact assessment). However, we have prepared contextual information for the Welsh Government website on Welsh Government consultations, filling an information gap for members of the public. This should be live in early 2024.

2.5 We will continue to embed the Act in our broader organisation-wide internal capability plan and Learning and Development programme

Understanding the Well-being of Future Generations Act and embedding the 5 ways of working continues to be a mandatory part of our corporate induction programme for new staff. We are currently updating this course and once completed will make it available. In the meantime, our new learning programme includes access to several self-directed resources on the Future Generations’ principles. Staff can access these resources at a time that works for them.

Meanwhile, as part of the ‘Capability Plan’, we have committed to create a new skills strategy. Embedding Future Generations’ behaviours in all staff will form part of the considerations in this strategy. We are also reviewing the initial Well-being of Future Generations Act induction offer and delivering a new ‘top-up’ course through the Sustainable Futures Division (see also Action 5.2).

2.6 We will raise awareness of the Act with corporate teams through a tailored approach reflecting their respective roles

The Sustainable Futures Division continues to attend and present at a range of internal groups on the Well-being of Future Generations Act and its implementation. This has included teams from across Welsh Government, such as the Chief Operating Officers group, the Project Delivery team, the Digital team and Knowledge and Analytic Services. Several corporate service leaders benefited from attendance at Policy Capability sessions which enabled them to reflect on how the Act applied to development and delivery of internal Welsh Government policies.

2.7 We will continue to draw on information from our robust system of internal control to provide assurance to the Permanent Secretary, including updating the questions on an annual basis

Having agreed our approach we have drafted an initial assurance report. We are now considering this draft with colleagues to ensure that we can write it once and use for several purposes.

2.8 We will establish a Living Sustainably staff network to help us learn more about how we can make more sustainable choices and help reduce our carbon footprint both at home and in the office

The ‘Living Sustainably Network’ was set up in November 2022 and has approximately 150 members. It offers ‘lunch and learn’ sustainability sessions for all Welsh Government and Welsh Revenue employees linked to corporate objectives, including the delivery of the ‘Welsh Government Net Zero Strategic Plan’.

It aims to promote the establishment of employee led sustainability groups to champion engagement at a grassroots level and provide a forum for employees to input into sustainable decision-making. The network has hosted 4 sessions to date:

• home energy (use and cost)
• re-wear and repair – fast fashion and repair cafes
• home gardening and veganism
• ‘Welsh Government Net Zero Strategic Plan’ and the ‘Just Transition Framework’.

The events feature expert speakers and input from staff. The network also has a Teams channel for sharing tips and information. It includes a pledge board and a subgroup for electric vehicle (EV) users.

2.9 We will run series of seminars and tailored sessions for directorates on the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act to re-fresh, re-engage and re-energise

This work will commence in 2024.

2.10 We will annually publish the ‘Budget Improvement Plan’ to show progress over the last 12 months, alongside our short and medium-term ambitions over a 5-year rolling period

We published an updated ‘Budget Improvement Plan’ alongside the 2023-2024 Draft Budget which outlined progress over the last 12 months and detailed proposed next steps. A new ‘Budget Improvement Plan’ has been developed and published alongside the 2024-2025 Draft Budget, detailing the actions to take forward for the next 12 months and beyond.

The Budget Improvement Team and Children in Wales worked together to co-produce a ‘Young Person’s Budget Improvement Plan’ and animation which can be seen on youtube (launched in February 2024).

2.11 The Wales Infrastructure Investment Strategy (WIIS) supports the delivery of a zero-carbon economy, built around the 4 sustainable development principles of the Well-being of Future Generations Act to improve the economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of Wales

The ‘Wales Infrastructure Investment Strategy’ was published in 2021 and supports the delivery of a zero-carbon economy. The strategy sets out a framework for the Welsh Government’s investments in infrastructure over the next 10 years with an overarching commitment to tackling the climate and nature emergencies.