Presentation for the workshop "Supporting Young People through Social Innovation" of URBACT Annual Conference 2012. Author: Matt Gott, Swindon

1. "You can't solve a problem on the same level that it was created. You have to
rise above it to the next level."
Albert Einstein

2. Swindon

3. Growing and regenerating

5. Our challenge Increasing and
Changing Demand
Demographic change
Major policy changes
- Council Tax support
- Welfare to Work
- Localism
- Health & Social care reforms
- Academies
- Localisation of Business Rate
Money
Trust & Public Understanding

6. 10-year?

7. Page 7

8. A third believe they can currently influence decisions
Q5. Do you agree or disagree that you can influence decisions affecting your local area?
% satisfied
35%
27%
Gender Localities
Age
Base All valid responses (2012 - 3154, 2008 - 3692) Source : Ipsos MORI

9. Only half trust the Council
Q14. To what extent do you trust Swindon Borough Council?
 Men (14% v 7% women);
 From North Central and
Town Centre (13% and
16% respectively);
 Dissatisfied with the local
area (41% v 1% satisfied);
 Do not believe the Council
offers good value for
money (31%);
 Feel they cannot influence
decisions (16% v 4% who
feel they can); and
 Do not feel informed (16%
v 2% who do)
Base All valid responses (3603) Source : Ipsos MORI

10. “roo
m
way , oppor
s of
socia tunity a
l adv nd e
ance ncou
…ser rage
vice men
s of t for
a kin volu
d th ntar
at of y act
ten m ion in
oney seek
cann ing n
ot b ew
uy”

11. Embracing experimentation
Local communities involved in
setting and delivering priorities
“We are much more likely to act
our way into a new way of thinking
than to think our way into a new Service delivery
way of acting.” More meaningful
engagement with that is more
Karl Weick, American
people and locally sensitive
organisational theorist
communities
A greater sense of
Helping community
communities
do more for Developing
themselves meaningful
conversations

12. Stronger Together

13. Our Purpose
We will work alongside our communities to:
build healthy and resilient communities to reduce
vulnerability and the resulting long-term dependency
focus our collective resources to secure the most cost-
effective priority outcomes
ensure innovative solutions by developing a rich and
diverse market of community, voluntary, private and
public sector providers
shape Swindon’s future and grow a strong local
economy
meet our statutory duties in a way that supports safer,
stronger and creative communities

14. Our Underpinning Assumptions
There needs to be an appropriate balance between
citizens’ rights and responsibilities
Vibrant local democracy is essential and it must be
exercised responsibly and appropriately
We must always respond to need, but we must also
recognise, when we design services, that people have
capabilities that can help to reduce long term dependency
Invitation is more powerful than intervention – it opens
up greater possibilities to work together
The behaviours of leaders are the most powerful catalyst
for change but can also be the biggest barrier to change

15. Our Underpinning Assumptions cont…
A genuine partnership based on trust between public
service providers and Swindon’s communities will
result in more resilient communities
Investing more of our resources into root causes will
help reduce long term vulnerability and dependency
and represents better value for residents and service
users
A ‘One Swindon’ commitment to achieving agreed
outcomes between people and organisations will enable
us all to achieve far more than we could on our own
The decisions we make will be more appropriate and
effective if we use data, both quantitative and
qualitative
Learning is a fundamental part of everything we do and
we recognise the important role it plays in helping
people realise their aspirations.

16. We recognised that the organisation would need to move from being
organised by service to being organised in a way that puts people &
communities at the heart of what we do Working alongside
communities to better
understand and
From… To… prioritise needs, create
Cabinet capacity and broker
CE Locality local solutions
Local People
&
Communities
Functional services
Functional services
Functional services
Functional services
Commissioning
Delivery
Shaping and
defining
Local People & outcomes for
Communities local people, and Mixed market of
building the community,
framework for voluntary, private
delivery and public
Macro Organisation Design providers

17. Traditional Rhythm In the Future
Seek to respond to demand Seek to influence and shape demand
Offer ‘our’ solutions create solutions together
Shaped to optimise funds Shaped to optimise outcomes (within clear
financial framework)
Our ‘organisation’ is a significant determinant of Services are determined by a rich body of
services provided evidence, data and professional insight.
Corporate agenda is at the heart of what we do Locality is at the heart of what we do
We set priorities and deliver services and support Communities influence priorities, contribute to
delivery and share responsibility for outcomes
Solutions delivered through multiple functions, in Solutions coordinated in Locality
silos Respond to insights based on the ‘whole picture’ …
Respond to presenting issues…. focus on issue balanced investment in prevention as well as issue
resolution resolution
Join up at Corporate plan level Join up between locality and corporate level –
decision is taken at the most appropriate level
Creates dependency Builds capability and capacity

18. We worked with ...
... 12 families
13

19. 18 year timeline
Whole family
15

20. The 80/20 split
One worker’s time
12%
indirect
12 14%
face-to-face
74% admin

22. Maintaining the Status Quo
£250,000 spent in direct costs
each year on engaging with,
reporting on and monitoring a
family in chronic crisis
Of that £250,000 nothing is
invested in:
- opportunities for change
- building capabilities
- building support networks

23. building new Lives
for Individuals & Families
to Enjoy
Enjoying family life in
the community you
The LIFE Programme is an opportunity for families live in
to build new lives. It is for families who feel that
on their own they cannot bring about the change
that they desire and that current circumstances
get in the way of anything changing.
By the end of the
programme, families are
LIFE is a constant throughout
families’ ups and downs. seeking less help from LIFE
Stage 0 – Invitation Stage 1 – Aspirations Stage 2 – Capabilities Stage 3 – Opportunities
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Invitation Connecting & Engagement Revealing Hopes & Family in Opportunity Experiencing Contribution Building Social Independence Exit
Committing Potential Dreams Action Seeking New Outcomes Networks
Families are finding Families are finding Families start to Families are revealing Families create a BIG Families test things Families discover the Families start Families are Families open Families are doing Families are talking
out about the out about the team, recognise what they their true potential plan. In these weeks out on their own for a underlying theme to experiencing the engaging in themselves to new much more for about the success of
programme and whether they do in their lives that and having that they explore the structured period of their desires and start benefits of their outward-focused relationships and themselves now and the programme and
connect with them they want to stop, recognised and values and capacities time, and reflect with seeking those changed behaviours activities such as local building networks do not want the team a desire to finish
Families are deciding and own what does reinforced by the they want to develop the team qualities in their daily and are telling others gardening, helping beyond their current to engage as often
not support them as team activties, friendships, about it neighbours, friendship circles
whether to commit to a family. They engage Families learn how to work, and family volunteering
the programme with the team in identify the relationships
changing aspects of experiences that will
their environment help them create
and the way they live. what they want in life

24. The Four Capabilities The Fundamentals
Valuing Myself Building Valuable Relationships
Being Loving Offering an Open
Designing a Life that I Value Invitation
Being the Change Living within the Community
Being Family- Led
Development not Fixing
A Team not a Key
Worker
Co-building Capabilities

25. Essence of Life in Practice
Focus on change and outcomes
A developmental programme
Building capabilities of individuals in families
through coaching
Holistic family working
A team not a key worker
A real relationship – co creation/production
Reducing the bureaucracy – live recording

26. Our agenda for locality working
Neighbourhood fund – to build local engagement and enhance
involvement in decision-making.
Big Conversation – to inform wider public about the challenges
ahead and involve them in the debate – deliberative democracy.
Build trust, respect and relationships – listen to people in their
communities to build trust and change the relationship between
decision-makers and citizens.
Local & personal capacity building – a plethora of local projects
to build resilience and reduce demand on services.
Local Partnerships – bringing One Swindon to life locally by joining
up services in communities to serve people better.

27. •Not prescriptive in
outcome but a systematic
process for linking
personal development,
local action and wider
society influence
•Open agenda – focussed
on the person and uses
strengths, not the
problem or data
•Challenges blame
culture
•Builds trust and
develops community
ownership

28. A sustainable future…
Engaging people at the grass roots to build their capacity,
so they can start to take action locally, develops their stake in
the way the area is run. Using this strategy the actions of
networks of hundreds and sometimes thousands of local people
impact on lives and communities socially, environmentally,
culturally and economically.
Building the networks capacity and supporting people to
engage with agencies increases their employment opportunities
and employability and ability to develop projects. It helps the
agencies to deliver public services more effectively and in line
with people’s concerns and aspirations for their area.
Encouraging people to start to shape the delivery of their
services and encouraging enterprising and locally led solutions
engenders a can do attitude that challenges dependency culture.
People rely less on intervention and start to tackle issues for
themselves.

29. In summary…
Develop a strategy that gets to the root cause
Listen 1:1 and build trust, respect and relationships
Develop active networks that link people locally,
regionally and nationally
Transform people’s attitude to the state and agencies
through action and reflection
Facilitate. Don’t do anything for anyone they can do
for themselves Reflect on your own role and your
impact.

30. People must be more positively and
concretely engaged in understanding the
kinds of dilemmas which exist at every level
-not just globally and nationally but on a
neighbourhood level too.
People cannot persist in having a cynical
consumerist approach to politics and
decision making in which excessive demands
are impossible to meet - they need to
understand the underlying conflicts.

31. Policy
Practice
Politics
Innovation
Leadership
Organisation
development (OD)
Transformation