RESEARCH CENTRES POLICY
Q - Does every industry sector, and public service have a dedicated research centre that is tasked with finding the most efficient and best ways of carryout every aspect of their work?
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A - There are some organisations who have a limited role in this area, but usually the answer is no.
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Q - How then does the government play it's part in helping industries learn how to operate in the most efficient and best ways, so that we have a thriving and efficient economy, that delivers all the wealth we need for our livelihoods, and our public services?
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A - It doesn't. There does not seem to be a co-ordinated effort across all industries from the government; we believe this is something that needs changing.
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Our policy.
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Our policy is that every industry sector, and public service will have a dedicated national research centre. Some examples of research centres would be for construction, engineering, retail, hospitals, education, civil engineering, agriculture, banking, etc. These research centres will be lean, they will operate with a minimum number of staff on strict budgets. In cases where there is a government department that takes on relevant roles, the centre will merge or integrate with this department. They will be staffed by professionals who are both highly experienced in the industry and highly academically qualified in their fields. These professionals will have broad ranging experience, preferably having started near the bottom of their industry, and worked up through the different levels of the industry, so that they understand all aspects of the business. Many of them will work on a part time basis for the research centre while continuing their work in the industry, so there is always direct contact with the industry. Each centre will be physically joined directly to a company or institution in the industry sector, so that there is the maximum direct connection with the reality of that industry. Generally these would be larger organisations, so for example, there would be one hospital in Britain that has a research centre attached to it, one construction company, one engineering firm. They will make connections with all relevant organisations such as industry magazines, academic research centres, and government departments and promote the sharing of knowledge. They will be funded by a compulsory tax on all organisations; given that there is only one centre per industry this tax will be small, and proportional to turnover. The tasks of the research centre are to support the industry in all ways, the main areas being:
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Producing all the open source education resources, such as videos and manuals, for the specific industry so that people entering or progressing in the industry have access to all the essential training and knowledge they will need to carry out their job in the best way.
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Continual research to improve efficiency, i.e. greater productivity achieved with less labour, less materials, and less resources. This research extends to every aspect of the industry; it's processes, machines, software, working procedures, communication and data handling, management techniques, etc. The research will be carried out directly in the organisation the research centre is attached to, and others if necessary.
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From the research, improving and then re-benchmarking all processes, to establish a new standard in efficiency and quality.
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When a significant improvement is found, this new method and standard is then recorded and formulated into new open source education resources, which replace the old, and which are then sent to all the organisations in that industry area, so all staff automatically receive training improvements.
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Any improvements relevant to pre-school, and school education will also be sent to the governments education department.
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The improvement, simplification, and stabilisation of statutory industry regulation and rules, so that companies have a simple set of sensible rules which can easily be followed, and which only change if it creates a definite improvement.
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Improving and encouraging a safe and enjoyable working environment.
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The research centres themselves will be regulated, and they will have to publicly report on the support they have delivered, and the improvements they have brought, to their industry.
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An example of the workings of a research centre:
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The challenge faced by research centres is to evolve the entire culture and knowledge base of all the economy. This challenge can be greatest in the large organisations that have long histories and established cultures. Our public services, transport system, and large corporations are examples of this. The NHS has around 2.04 million employees as of 2024, it is also one of the world's largest employers, and the world's largest employer of highly skilled professionals, how would a research centre improve the function of the NHS?
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The NHS research centre would be attached to a forward thinking hospital that seeks constant improvement (as should all organisations). It would then analyse every process that the NHS carries out in a time and motion study, from cleaning, to ordering supplies, to delivering care such as surgery or medicine, to all levels of management. These processes are essentially the same and highly repeated across all hospitals in Britain. Each process is first catalogued and then it's purpose is clarified. Once this is done, the people that carryout this process in the most efficient ways are sought, and their performance is measured, analysed and further improved. This then creates a bench mark for exactly how long that process takes, and exactly how to do it in the most efficient way, with the least use of resources. It is generally the case that there is a huge difference in the perform and skills of people when carrying out the same task, and there are always those that are exceptionally good at what they do. The processes analysed include all those that extend across many departments, such as the processes by which information is shared, and the way the building and its systems infrastructure are managed. Opportunities to take advantage of new technology and knowledge in each process are also explored. Once the best way of carrying out a particular process is established, this information is then disseminated to all the people that carryout that process throughout the NHS using videos, educational materials such as booklets, and training, which is delivered in all hospitals.
When all processes are analysed in this way, a complete map of the entire working of the hospital can be produced which clearly establishes how much labour and resource is reasonably required in every part of the hospital. This map is circulated to all managers at all levels in all hospitals, and creates a simple guide to the management of the hospital. Given that the amount of time and resource is known for every process, it is a much simpler matter to identify shortfalls, and correct these with the correct training and resources, thus maximising the efficiency and running of all hospitals. Not only this, hospitals that exceed this map in certain areas can equally easily be identified, and the research centre can then investigate how they are doing even better, this knowledge can then be distributed to all other hospitals.
This analysis is carried out sensitively and much of it will be done by, or with, the staff in the hospital, extra resources will be made available to the hospital given that it is part of the research centre. The process is ongoing and never stops, constantly reassessing areas and looking for new opportunities to improve, as knowledge and technology progresses.
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Supporting Policies
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Witten by Marcus white 25-4-2024 © updated 2-1-2025.
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