Being asked to chase money can detract from using it well
In the few years around 2020, Cornwall spent £650,000 on consultants to write funding bids. Money that could have gone into network design or service improvement was spent chasing overlapping pots with different rules, timelines and acronyms.
But it was still the right decision by Cornwall Council: the pots were real and they needed the money.
We’ve ended up with a system that forces everyone to spend public money proving they deserve public money. It’s obviously daft and the Government says it will stop it (let’s see).
But - believe it or not - even though it’s daft, we sometimes we design systems like this in our own organisations.
Take Action
If you’re a leader:
Track the real cost of seeking money - time, consultants, distraction. Then ask whether you could achieve more with fewer pots and longer funding cycles.
If you’re a team member:
Capture what’s being lost to the process. Use examples like Cornwall to start a conversation about value, not just compliance.