Grade 7 Changing and Improving 250-word statements need to show how you created meaningful change, encouraged challenge and considered the wider impact of implementation.
At Grade 7, a strong example goes beyond suggesting a better process. The assessor should be able to see how you created space for ideas, used technology appropriately, challenged senior thinking where necessary and made sure the change worked for different users.
Need more Grade 6/7 statement examples?
The complete Grade 6/7 guide contains 50 worked examples across all nine Civil Service behaviours.
What Changing and Improving means at Grade 7
At Grade 6/7, the behaviour expects you to encourage ideas from a diverse range of colleagues and stakeholders, give people space to take initiative and create an environment where challenge is safe. You should also understand the role of technology and consider the effect of change on culture, structure, morale and different end users.
💡 Encourage innovation: seek ideas from people with different experiences and perspectives.
🗣️ Create safe challenge: make it possible for colleagues to question decisions constructively.
💻 Use technology deliberately: apply digital tools where they genuinely improve public service delivery.
♿ Consider varied impacts: think about accessibility and how different groups will experience the change.
⚠️ Spot problems early: respond quickly when evidence shows the change is not working as intended.
📣 Challenge upwards when needed: give senior leaders constructive evidence when a proposed approach creates avoidable risk.
How to structure a 250-word Changing and Improving statement
💭 Belief: one sentence on how you approach improvement and change.
📍 Situation: identify the problem and why the existing approach needed to change.
🎯 Task: state the change you were accountable for shaping or implementing.
🛠️ Action: show how you gathered ideas, tested impacts, challenged assumptions and implemented the change.
📈 Result: explain the improvement and how you knew it had worked.
Grade 7 Changing and Improving 250-word example
I believe sustainable improvement comes from understanding the problem with the people affected by it, then testing change against user impact rather than assuming a new process will automatically be better. I led a review of a casework service where manual checks were slowing decisions and creating inconsistent outcomes across teams.
I invited frontline staff, analysts and accessibility colleagues to map the process and identify where effort added little value. I also created a confidential route for challenge so colleagues could raise concerns about the proposed automation without feeling they were blocking progress.
The evidence showed that several routine checks could be automated, but one proposed rule would disadvantage users who supplied information in alternative formats. I challenged the original design with senior stakeholders and recommended a phased approach that automated low-risk checks while retaining human review for exceptions.
I set clear measures for processing time, error rates and accessibility issues, then reviewed these after launch. When early data showed confusion in one user group, I paused expansion and changed the guidance before continuing.
Processing time reduced and consistency improved without increasing accessibility complaints. The phased approach became the model for later automation work because it combined efficiency with safe challenge and evidence-led implementation.
Why this statement works
The example shows senior ownership of change rather than a small process tweak. Different perspectives influence the design and the candidate is willing to challenge a proposed solution when evidence shows a risk.
Technology is part of the improvement, but the decision is still driven by user impact and accessibility. The candidate also monitors the change after implementation and adjusts it when early evidence shows a problem.
Build the rest of your Grade 6/7 statements
Use the complete guide for worked examples across Changing and Improving and every other Civil Service behaviour.
What to include in your own statement
✅ A genuine improvement opportunity with enough scale for Grade 7.
✅ Evidence that ideas came from more than one source.
✅ A clear trade-off or risk you had to judge.
✅ How technology, accessibility or user impact influenced the decision where relevant.
✅ Evidence that you monitored whether the change worked after implementation.
Common mistakes
❌ Describing change without challenge: show what made the improvement difficult or contested.
❌ Assuming technology equals improvement: explain the user and service benefit.
❌ Ignoring implementation impact: consider how the change affects people, structures and different users.
❌ Stopping at launch: strong evidence includes monitoring and adjustment.
❌ Writing a team story: make your own judgement and challenge visible.
For broader guidance, see the Changing and Improving 250-word statement guide.
Need examples across all nine Grade 6/7 behaviours?
