03 October 2008
Northern Ireland Finance Minister Nigel Dodds has said public services must be willing to innovate and adopt cutting-edge ideas in the face of global economic challenges.
Speaking at the annual CIPFA Northern Ireland conference in Newcastle, County Down, on October 1, Dodds said the Budget agreed by the Executive had involved making difficult decisions. He added that public services should 'strive to do more with less'.
Dodds said: 'We have to become more efficient. Delivering better public services requires a willingness to innovate, and public sector organisations need to scan the horizons for emerging ideas. They need to learn from those at the cutting edge within the public, private and voluntary and community sectors.'
He said innovation involved a willingness on the part of leaders to take managed risks, as well as new partnerships and new technology.
Dodds called for realism in facing economic challenges to get the right policies in place and said growing the economy remained a focus for the Executive.
'This challenge was always going to be difficult but the rapid deterioration in the global and national economic outlook makes it ever more imperative that we have a clear view of what economic policies are needed.'
PFoct2008
