Going to scale: lessons from the private sector

The Mayor's Fund for London and the SRU hold a round table seminar to debate what the public sector could learn from the private sector about scale and replication. 

 
The Mayors Fund for London and the Social Research Unit hosted a seminar in London on July 5th 2011 with representatives from industry, philanthropy, parliament, and the third sector and public sector to explore what the private sector can teach us about the scaling up of innovation in the public sector.
 
There can be no doubting the private sector’s expertise in taking products to scale. In the public and social sectors, it is mostly true to say that most things taken to scale are unproven, and most things known to work have not been taken to scale. An added irony is that some products known to be harmful reach a wide market. The private sector has had some successful scale-up stories, but does not always get it right. Indeed the usefulness of the sector to us in many ways is its varied experience. Positive examples include commodities like the mobile phone but, also processes such as the Toyota ‘Just-in-time’ methodology, and Microsoft’s operating systems that provide the platform for seven in ten laptops in the world.
 
The seminar provided a platform for participants to debate the conditions that support innovation and scale, as well as the lessons learned in the field that could influence the scaling up proven programmes. A PDF copy of the issue brief that was distributed at the Event is available to download below.
 
The Unit runs seminars throughout the year around ideas and efforts to improve outcomes for children. Please visit our website for more information on forthcoming events.