The Spams have a 'Fraud, Waste and Abuse' hotline across the US military - might even be a government scheme - and I've always thought something like this would have mileage, as well as a 'good ideas hotline' which bypasses the flawed thinking that rank equates directly to having the best ideas.
In theory, we have such schemes. For example, there is a Fraud Hotline but it is manned by relatively junior staffs and as there are so many cases of fraud being condoned by senior staffs and Ministers they are rather toothless / scared to take action above their pay grade. In 1994 I suspected a company of fraud (triple billing and not delivering goods). I sought advice and was told I’d better make sure of my facts; that I should conduct a mini-investigation and collate a report. The upshot was that my report was accepted by both the company and MoD Plod and the monies were recovered (via credit notes). But I was severely bollocked for carrying out this initial investigation when it was not my job (apparently). That attitude would put a lot of people off. To his credit, my boss (1 Star) backed me up, but he was told to wind it in.
Similarly, we have had suggestion schemes, like MIDAS and GEMS. But, again, if you report waste the chances are that it is you who will catch it, because of the same attitudes (“waste is no concern of ours”). Any suggestion that saves significant sums makes them topple. I’ve seen many suggestions from procurers rejected on the grounds that we’re not allowed to make suggestions affecting our own area of expertise and, in any case, it is an offence to implement the regulations designed to prevent waste. Again, this deters people. Director Internal Audit issued a report in 1996 recommending these regulations be implemented, but it was rejected and continued waste condoned.
It is the ethos that must change. People who do their job efficiently should no longer be regarded as an “embarrassment to the Department”. It used to be a promotion board question (to the grade below the lowest grade in DE&S). “How would you save 10% on any avionics programme (without degrading capability)?” More than 10 seconds to reply and you haven’t been paying attention. Today, the correct answer (1. Implement the permanent LTC Instructions and 2. Conduct Requirement Scrutiny) is understood by a mere handful and no-one dare try it for fear of censure and ridicule.