Guidance

Tailored Review of Wilton Park: terms of reference

Updated 29 October 2018

1. Background

Wilton Park (WP) is an Executive Agency (EA) of the FCO. It has been an EA since 1991. WP acts as HMG’s independent convenor of neutral and discreet dialogue on the UK’s strategic foreign policy priorities (and those of its friends and allies). It shapes and convenes events linking a global network of experts from a range of sectors, including academia, the military, civil society, business, politicians and diplomats.

As a front-line resource for the FCO and wider Government, WP’s purpose is to support HMG’s strategic priorities, with particular reference to the FCO’s Single Departmental Plan (2015 to 2020). WP is also a resource for a wide range of international partners and actors keen to explore issues of international importance.

WP has been prioritised as a Tier 3 organisation for this Review, which reflects the relatively small size of the agency. Its overall income is approximately £5.8 million per annum. The FCO provides annual core and capital funding which total £500k and £250K respectively for the 2017 to 2018 financial year. Wilton Park also received £1.4 million of additional Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) programme money in 2017 to 2018. The remainder of Wilton Park’s income is generated from FCO directorates, other government departments, foreign ministries, NGOs and the private sector. WP employs 74 FTE staff.

WP’s core objectives, as stipulated in its Framework Document are to:

• contribute to analysing, understanding and advancing the agenda on international issues
• contribute to the achievement of HMG priorities and inform the policy-making of HMG and the international community and
• support the FCO in pursuit of its objectives (to protect our people, project our global influence and promote our prosperity)

This Tailored Review is happening now as planned in the Implementation Plan of the 2015 Stokes Review of Wilton Park.

2. Objective of the review

Good government requires public bodies that are efficient, effective and accountable. The Government’s approach to public bodies’ reform for 2015 to 2020 builds on the successes of the 2010 to 2015 Public Bodies Reform Programme. This new approach is based on a two-tier approach to transformation: a programme of cross-departmental, functional reviews coordinated by the Cabinet Office, coupled with ongoing, robust ‘tailored reviews’ led by departments with Cabinet Office oversight and challenge. For the first time, these reviews will now include executive agencies and non-ministerial departments. The aim of all such Reviews is to provide a robust challenge to and assurance on the continuing need for the organisation in question – both in function and form.

If it is agreed that WP should be retained, the Review will assess in particular:

• WP’s capacity for delivering more effectively and efficiently, including identifying the potential for further efficiency savings. The Review will include an assessment of the performance of WP, or assurance that processes are in place for making such assessments and
• the control and governance arrangements in place to ensure WP and the FCO are complying with recognised principles of good corporate governance

3. 2015 Stokes Review

The 2015 Stokes Review of Wilton Park formed the following conclusions:

That WP makes a significant contribution to the FCO’s policy and policy implementation across a range of issues, as well as providing networking and soft power benefits. It offers greatest value when deploying its core attributes of convening power and skilled facilitation for neutral discussion focused on policy-related outcomes.

That the agency’s inconsistent profile belied the wide relevance of its services, the impact it could make and the value it could offer.

That Executive Agency status placed some limitations on Wilton Park’s financial management, but offered a clear advantage over other options in the balance it enabled between association with the FCO and neutrality. Notwithstanding the problems of distance, WP’s core activity remained rooted in Wiston House at least in the immediate future.

Finally, it concluded that if WP could successfully exploit the potential for a larger market, it had the capacity for a significant increase in utilisation, which would help place it in a stronger financial footing. It found additional scope for efficiency savings driven by changes to the financial model and potential for significant reductions in the cost of event delivery.

The WP Board, including its FCO representatives, agreed (at the October 2017 Board meeting) progress made on the recommendations of the Stokes Review. This was set out in a Review Implementation Plan. The Plan sets out how WP took action on the 41 recommendations, which were grouped into:

• overall conclusions and 11 primary recommendations
• 7 main and 11 secondary recommendations on WP’s contribution to FCO objectives
• 4 recommendations on our EA status
• 7 recommendations on further scope for improvement and
• 2 recommendations on control and governance arrangements

This Review will consider the progress made against the recommendations of the 2015 Stokes Review of WP and financial flexibilities and long range budgeting.

4. Scope

The Review will be proportionate to WP’s size and specialised nature. The FCO accordingly intends to adopt a light touch approach to overseeing delivery of the Review. It will examine WP’s current functions, which are to:

• help achieve HMG’s strategic foreign policy priorities by bringing together policy makers, opinion formers and expert practitioners to focus on practical challenges and policy delivery
• continue to help strengthen the UK’s reputation for resolving international problems through dialogue
• continue to enhance the UK’s ability to engage with, inter alia, a network of governments, civil society organisations, and the private sector
• build new contacts with and develop the networks of alumni from events by focusing on those who are likely to become the successor generation of opinion formers and policy makers and
• continue to foster a strong and diverse community of investors and sponsors drawn from the private and not-for-profit sectors

The Review will address:

• How each of these functions contributes to WP, FCO and HMG core business and whether they are (all) still needed
• if the Review finds the functions continue to be needed, how each should/can best be delivered, including an analysis of the current model;
• ensuring WP is operating in line with Cabinet Office guidance on corporate governance
• the potential impact of exiting the EU on Wilton Park’s model
• the significance of WP’s location in light of Cabinet Office’s relocation programme
• the current diversity of the organisation
• the potential for the use of shared services
• the sustainability of the current funding model, including the ability to generate commercial income; and
• the impact of ODA/non-ODA funding balance has on the themes of WP events

Devolution issues do not directly impact WP, and have therefore not been included in the Review’s scope.

4.1 Efficiency

The Review will consider, if, how and where further efficiencies can be made within WP, including continued focus on wider, civil service drives for efficiencies. It will examine WP’s current operational structure, corporate functions and unit/transactional costs and progress made as a result of the 2015 Review. Proposals to deliver new or additional efficiency savings should be set out clearly in the final report.

4.2 Effectiveness

The Review will look at the effectiveness of WP, principally:

• the suitability of WP’s priorities in relation to FCO’s Single Departmental Plan, government commitments and in supporting work of other government departments
• the effectiveness of its current strategy
• the effectiveness of WP’s use of resources to deliver against its objectives and
• how the impact of WP is measured and evaluated

4.3 The robustness and transparency of WP’s governance

The effectiveness of WP’s Board (including the Audit and Risk Committee) will be considered in the Review, including:

• the role of the Board in setting and monitoring the strategy of WP and how this is assessed
• whether governance controls in place follow the principles set out in the ‘Partnerships with arm’s length bodies: code of good practice’ and
• the relationship between WP and the FCO

Scoping pack to include

• Stokes Review Implementation Plan
• the Framework Document
• Annual Report
• 2016-2020 Corporate Plan
• 2018-2019 Annual Business Plan (as per Stokes Review rec 1)
• WP Priority Outcomes Document
• organograms
• key Stakeholder lists
• governance papers
• 2017 Staff Survey results

Review team

The Review Team comprises of FCO officials from outside the Sponsor Team. The team will formally take up their roles on 19th March 2018.

• Mark Rush – Team Leader
• Kathryn Lindsay – Senior Project Officer

The Review Team are responsible for launching the Review by Written Ministerial Statement, consulting stakeholders, gathering evidence, analysing results, writing the report and disseminating its results.

Methodology

The Review will begin in April 2018 and end by July 2018. A senior manager in the FCO will have oversight of the interim findings to ensure the review is robust and rigorous. The Review Team will consult him/her throughout the process and will maintain regular discussions with the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Reform Team. The methodology will include:

• conduct desk research of key documents
• call for evidence with relevant stakeholders followed by meetings to explore some of the issues in more detail
• conduct site visits to WP to speak to staff members to gain an in-depth understanding of how the EA operates
• consult with FCO policy colleagues, Whitehall partners and sponsors to inform and support the Review; and
• work with relevant FCO policy/financial leads to provide advice on analytical, financial, legal and policy aspects to make sure any recommendations are robust and achievable

Ministerial approval

The Minister for the Constitution will sign off the Terms of Reference.

FCO Ministers will have the opportunity to comment on the scope of the Review and will sign off the final report and recommendations.