The Public Trust Partnership

The confidence of India is infectious in Cardiff - future to be grasped

The High Commissioner of India visited Cardiff today and addressed a packed audience at the Cardiff Business Club. H.E. Mr. Nalin Surie stated “India is playing a progressively larger role in the global economy.  But, we are not in competition with any other economy.  We are not mercantilist in our approach.  Our basic growth paradigm remains anchored in domestic demand and meeting the growing social welfare needs of our population. He added “We seek access to technology, cooperation in R&D, development of urban centres, up gradation and expansion of our educational sector and increase in productivity in agriculture and food processing. “

The High Commissioner joined Indian Foreign Service in July 1973 and has served in Indian Missions in Hong Kong, Brussels, Dar-es-Salaam, Thimphu, New York (Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN), Warsaw (Ambassador) and Beijing (Ambassador) at Cardiff University (far right).

 “The National Skill Development Corporation in India is mandated to train a skilled workforce of 150 million by 2022 through skill development to graduation."

The High Commissioner  also stated, “The UK used to be our largest trade partner in the EU.  It no longer is.  Indeed, the UK’s share in India’s overall trade has declined. At a time when our needs are clear and your capabilities are complementary, it is time to leverage our traditional links and restore the primacy of the India-UK trade and economic partnership in Europe.”

The process of economic reform in India has been an ongoing one since 1991. 

“Given our democratic system, our domestic economic and social structure and the fact that the bulk of the Indian economy has since before independence and after, been rooted in the market. Our policy responses are designed to facilitate and nurture high growth and greater productivity while maintaining principles of equity and social justice. “

In 1947 India’s founding fathers gave India a vision of building a nation that is liberal, plural, secular, democratic and multi-cultural in its outlook, with a society founded on the principles of social justice and equity, with an economy that was self-sufficient, vibrant, and modern and open to the world.

"In 1991, as part of our ongoing quest for this vision, India undertook comprehensive reforms of the economy aimed at accelerating the pace and quantum of investments in India. "

Policy measures have since been taken to raise the standard of living of the people by stepping up investment activity in the country and generating employment opportunities. Today, India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. It offers huge investment potential in diverse sectors like infrastructure, retail, real estate, automobiles, food processing, information technology, knowledge process outsourcing, business process outsourcing, healthcare and telecom among many others. India’s economic policies have acceptance across its political spectrum. India is, undoubtedly, among the most attractive destinations globally for doing business.

In the infrastructure sector alone India investment requirements are expected to exceed US$ 550 billion over the next five years. This is sought to be realised through a combination of public investment, public-private partnerships and private investment. The British experience of public-private partnership and public sector capacity building would be especially useful to India.

India has a confident approach and the clear message  from the UK High Commissioner is that the future is to be grasped.  This is based on almost three decades of close to 6% growth in real terms per annum.  This growth rate was over 9% in recent times and even at the height of the global financial crisis remained at around 6.7% in 2008-09.  India hopes to sustain a 6 to 7% growth rate. The UK and euro zone countries would settle for much less than that.

The Guardian: Trust in the digital age: survey analysis

 

According to a Guardian Survey Britons online are a discriminating bunch who trust specialist advice sites and their friends' social content more than the views of celebrity bloggers or tweeters, according to a survey conducted by ICM on behalf of the Guardian and first direct.

The survey, of a random sample of 752 adults, asked Britons from a nationally representative online panel for their opinions on trust in the digital age. (You can see the full results in graphical format here).

The over-riding conclusion is that we're a cautiously trusting bunch - 56% of respondents thought that "most people can be trusted", whether online or in the real world.

But some people are seen to be more trustworthy than others. Many brands long for – and in many cases pay for – celebrity endorsement, but they may be wasting their time and money. Only 30% of respondents trust the opinions of celebrities or personalities who blog or tweet online to any degree. A tiny 3% trust them "fairly strongly" or "very strongly".

That compares to 94% who trust to some extent specialist information and advice sites such as NHS Direct, and 88% who value the opinions of internet experts such as Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert. Most people trusted such sources "fairly strongly". So it's good news for the professionals - there may be wisdom in crowds, but you can't beat specialist knowledge.

People have nearly as much trust in friends' recommendations on social networking sites (66%) as they do the online opinions of newspaper and magazine reviewers (68%), according to the survey. But before any editors get carried away with the power of their writers' virtual pens, most trust such sources "just a little". That's hardly an overwhelming endorsement.

Interestingly, friends' recommendations on social networking sites were trusted far more by people aged 18-24 (75%) than those over 65 (54%). This is not all that surprising – younger age groups are likely to be more at home online than older people.

Offline as well as online, the survey shows, it's not what you say but who you know. When respondents were asked to name people who they generally trusted, 89% said friends and 80% family, but only 3% trusted strangers.

Strangers we meet on the internet, it seems, are trusted even less than those we meet in the real world: 30% of us say we trust strangers on the street more than we strangers online, while only 3% of us say it's the other way around. Perhaps it's got something to do with being able to see the whites of someone's eyes.

But that doesn't mean people don't seek the opinions of strangers online. Far from it: 65% said they visited customer review websites such as reviewcentre.com, Kelkoo, which.co.uk and tripadvisor.co.uk – and significant minorities visit such sites at least monthly (27%) or at least weekly (12%).

Some 43% of us think online customer reviews are influential to at least some extent, compared with 15% who do not. But that gap widens as respondents get younger: in the 25-34 age group, 59% find such reviews influential, while only 3% do not – showing that in younger demographics, customer reviews are a key part of online decision-making. This is slightly anomalous, given that people don't generally trust strangers. However, it could be that if enough strangers say the same thing, then we do trust them. Consensus is a powerful force.

Comments on the survey suggest that people have developed fairly sophisticated strategies for working out which opinions to trust or ignore online.

"If there are many and varied reviews," said one survey respondent, "then I begin to trust the reviews and then get an idea of the current trend. Reviews do help credibility. But I also note that sometimes people only leave feedback to complain, or if there is only good feedback I wonder if they are somehow affiliated with the product."

People spend considerable time researching purchases online. Some 60% of people who say they buy financial products, for example, spend more than a day online researching their decision.

Only 15% of those who bought financial products said they did not research their decision online at all, meaning that the vast majority of respondents go online as a matter of course when making important financial decisions such as opening a bank account.

The survey shows that most respondents (66%) trust banks less than they did five years ago. Asked what online banks could do to enhance trust with customers and the public, survey respondents named security, communication and transparency as the three biggest issues.

Half (50%) said they wanted online banks to "increase website security", while 28% wanted portable card readers for enhanced security. Nearly half (49%) wanted an easy-to-find phone number on the website and 31% wanted an "online messenger service" with a direct communication link to banking advisers online. More than a third (34%) wanted more transparent terms and conditions.

Meanwhile, the survey offered a bit of help to companies looking to build their brand in the digital world: focus on your own website.

Some 30% of respondents said they trusted a brand's official website "fairly strongly" or "very strongly" – compared to less than 10% for other forms of digital advertising. A further 46% said they trusted a brand's website "just a little".

* ICM Research interviewed a sample of 752 adults aged 18+ using an online method between 27 January and 1 February 2010. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/digital-trust/trust-in-the-digital-age-survey-analysis

 

Cities are places for healthy activity and not only spectators and tourism

Since we live in an urban age more than half our World population have lived in cities which increases the need to get City Planning right.This year the World Health Organisation World Health Day 7 of April focus on urbanisation and health.

It is the right message.We must live in our Cities and not be governed by local authorities intent on telling citizens on what to participate in.Cities needs need to be lived in and be healthy.

Worldwide, virtually all population growth over the next 30 years will be in urban areas, with the most explosive growth taking place in Asia and Africa. By mid-century, seven out of every ten people will live in a city. Wales will also see urban growth with young people migrating to Cities.

Director General of the World Health Organisation says:

"Municipal authorities know what this means in terms of attracting tourists and new businesses and winning the next election. City dwellers know what this means in terms of social cohesion, safety, security, and the quality of life.

Poor health, including mental health, is one of the most visible and measurable expressions of urban harm. Health inequities can also be a rallying point for public demands for change that compel political leaders to take action.

 When municipal authorities think about the future of the cities they govern, they need to think about health, and plan for health."

Some Cities take very little about promoting health for their citizens. Some promote locations spectators or tourist attractions instead of activities for the people. A policy shift is needed.

We used our lovely Park in Cardiff for the 2010 Walk For Life in March.Over 70 events took place across Wales.In September 2010 we will be working as a City for our annual Cardiff 10K and 2k which is for the people of Cardiff to enjoy.

Public Services UK Election and Wales - more shepherds needed in politics

" It's time for our business and political leaders to help redefine morality beyond sex, drugs, and rock and roll to include lying, hypocrisy, and callous indifference to those in need." Arianna Huffington

As we face the next 30 days of electioneering - public services are facing their biggest challenge for at least a generation. But will we have a real discussion. Capital and revenue spending in the public sector.We understand both are under pressure.

Real life is clearer when walking on mountains.We need more shepherds and not managers in politics.Walking on the mountains of Wales over Easter demonstrated what excellent husbandry is around on our farms.Lambing is in full flow. Gates in use. Stocks are healthy. Lambs are in need as the weather was not kind.Elwyn the Farmer on the edge of the Sugar Loaf said, as he allowed to us to park on his farm, " Can't believe the media and TV these  days even the weather forecast is not real - all I know is that it is a different world to the reality of where we live". He had seventy more lambs on the way after the five hundred already born.He gave you confidence.He knew his land and his vocation.

The figures in the recent Wales Audit Office  report show that public services in Wales face significant reductions in their budgets in the coming years. Although the exact scale remains unclear, a real terms reduction of around £0.5 billion a year seems likely and significantly sharper reductions are not unthinkable.

According to the WAO  public services need to move beyond being alert and start to take action now. Public services are going to have to deal with major change very soon. We all know including the WAO that public services tend to change incrementally over time. But if they carry on with business as usual, they will simply run out of money.

Change will come one way or another. The challenge will be getting those changes right with good planning and timely decision making.

The WAO says "Public services need to start preparing themselves for the coming changes immediately. That means looking at different ways of delivering services with a focus on new and innovative ways of working in order to maintain and improve outcomes for citizens. It also means using evidence to identify priorities and refocusing resources away from non-priority areas. Just focusing on costs is not going to be enough.Arbitrary, top-slicing of budgets could make the impact of reduced income very much more detrimental than it needs to be, because it takes no account of the priority of services and the impact on those who need public services the most.The lessons from our work over the past five years show that public services will need to base their responses around:

* a sustainable strategic approach that is well thought through, based on sound analysis of
evidence, links financial and delivery planning and sets out a robust approach to measuring
progress towards outcomes;
*an approach to collaboration that is focused on delivering shared outcomes from a citizen
perspective;
* a mature approach to risk that balances the need for robust governance and management with
the need for public services to take calculated and well-managed risks in order to change and
improve services;
* getting the best from the many people who work in public services, including flexible and smarter
ways of working; and
* a more comprehensive and radical approach to efficiency that focuses on innovation and
improving outcomes rather than just cost-cutting.”

The directness of Ms Huffington's statement should be reminder that there are real lives affected by public officials and they deserve better including our real shepherds.

Picture Pen Y Fan from the Sugar Loaf in the Brecon Beacons - Easter 2010