The TDP Group, which sells itself to potential clients as being able to ‘change the culture to fit your new reality’, will work together with States chief executive Charlie Parker and his team of top civil servants. The £3.5 million will cover the consultancy’s fees as well as what a States spokesman called ‘any other internal costs’.

According to a States announcement, TDP will work with the States as a ‘change partner’ and will collaborate with stakeholders, Islanders and government employees to ‘co-design’ a programme for changing the culture in the civil service. There has also been a commitment that TDP will create a company in Jersey and employ local people to help deliver the change programme.

When asked for specific examples of what the design and delivery of a change programme would involve, a States spokeswoman said that it would be divided into two phases.

‘The first phase of work will identify the strengths to build upon and the changes needed,’ she said, ‘and will determine exactly what the programme will entail. The second phase will involve staff in workshops and other training events, to help the organisation work as one government.’

She added that TDP had an established track record of doing this kind of work with large organisations in the UK.

‘TDP has supported major change programmes for public, private and third-sector organisations over the last 25 years, including the NHS, Aviva, Bupa, Royal Mail, the UK Prison Service and UK local authorities.’

However, the announcement appears to be causing confusion within Jersey’s civil service. Everyone in the organisation has been sent an email informing them that a ‘Team Jersey programme’ has now been launched, and that it will last for three years, but details remain vague as to what exactly the programme will involve. One senior civil servant told the JEP that, even after reading the email twice, they still had ‘no idea’ what the programme was.

The most specific reference in the communication to staff, which the JEP has seen, was to a series of workshops exploring leadership.

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‘Through workshops and training events,’ the email said, ‘we’ll explore the themes of teamwork, collaboration and leadership. We’ll also look at how we’ll need to adapt our organisational “habits” to successfully deliver the one-government vision and embody its values.’

Chief Minister John Le Fondré, meanwhile, said he was ‘delighted’ to have signed the decision to launch the £3.5 million programme.

‘I made it clear when I stood for election that our organisational culture needs to dramatically improve, to benefit both the public and our workforce,’ he said, ‘so I am delighted to have signed the decision to launch this essential improvement in our organisation. It is an integral part of the modernisation of our public services and will help to transform the deeply entrenched, siloed culture that has grown over decades. It is especially important that our public sector is fit to meet the challenges posed by Brexit, globalisation and a fast-changing technological landscape.’

The States have also announced that a further private-sector partner, Jersey’s head of human resources for RBS, will be seconded to the programme from October this year.