In Scotland, local authorities, civil servants, voluntary and private care providers have responded well and are already using the scenarios, and rehearsing their responses to the different futures.
The chancellor promised over the summer there would be a consultation, via a website and a series of meetings in every region of the country, to engage members of the public, thinktanks, voluntary groups, civil servants and all political parties in the plan to reduce the £156bn fiscal deficit.
A proposed voluntary redundancy scheme for public servants in Northern Ireland could result in the loss of 6,000 jobs, the union NIPSA has warned.
Every day, thousands of community health workers, voluntary groups, teachers, entrepreneurs and civil servants engage in development activities in their own communities.
Robinson said it would allow the executive to introduce a voluntary redundancy scheme for 7,000 civil servants and public sector workers in the region.
In 2005, the South African government introduced a voluntary, subsidised health insurance scheme for civil servants.
Contributions and membership are compulsory for all civil servants and formal sector employees, and voluntary for those in the informal sector and retirees.
Our previous guidelines on communication partnerships were unwieldy, outdated and probably just as offputting for potential private and voluntary sector partners as they were for the civil servants administering them.
Many individuals from the sector have moved into positions in government, and in taking their knowledge with them ministers and civil servants are now more aware of the contribution that voluntary organisations can make.
And the very process of giving power away requires civil servants to have certain skills, such as contracting with private and voluntary providers.
