UK productivity has been highlighted as an economic weakness for over a decade. Yet, in response to the pandemic, businesses have shown that they can utilise technology to create entirely new ways of working.

There are many different ways to boost productivity. One way is through investing in infrastructure. Another way is by making sure that people have access to high quality education. Find out more from our guest Bart van Ark, Professor at the Productivity Institute.

Successful businesses and economies are increasingly built on intangible or ‘knowledge assets’ rather than physical ones.

The great reset of the pandemic has the potential to launch the UK’s productivity back on course, following record low levels in 2019 – but the key to unlocking post-pandemic productivity not only lies in further and greater technology adoption, but also in reskilling.

Between the collapse of 83% of the UK’s department stores, consumers moving online and many high street shops now becoming obsolete, town centres are no longer the beating heart of local economies they once were.

Hearing that we had achieved 98% overall satisfaction was probably the first time in my professional career where I have had an emotional response.

Why should we care about productivity in the public sector? Of course, productivity can raise efficiency, lower prices and make it possible to do more with less.

On Thursday 8 July, Andy Start, CEO of Capita Public Service took part in a roundtable hosted by cross-party think tank DEMOS and chaired by DEMOS CEO Polly McKenzie on the theme of ‘Relational Public Services’.

Despite heavy investment into tech firms, the country has been one of the poorest performing G7 nations in the decade or so since the global financial crisis of 2008-09, when what had been a steady rise in productivity began to flatline.

As the UK starts to look for ways to boost the economy and kick-start recovery from Covid-19, could part of the answer lie in unlocking the untapped value of public sector knowledge assets?