Over the last few years, we’ve seen our societies polarise around divisive issues, be it around Brexit, lockdown and more recently, the monarchy. Often the tools used to sound out the population reinforce that division, like opinion polls or referendums. You can almost predict the result will be each side…

There’s an increasingly greater proportion of people looking for public services to take the lead and adapt to the changes that the pandemic will bring. This is the case with leading to responding to the pandemic but also with tackling the climate crisis. Will, that translates into the public being…

We often work with people as if the only insights relevant to use are the experience and needs they have towards a service — i.e. renewing a blue badge — an issue — i.e. getting a job — or a neighbourhood. But their experiences and expectations are shaped by similar…

I love reading and writing, and I instinctively prefer reading non-fiction — from delving into the history of different cultures to getting under the skin of people’s journeys across the world to recipes! All of my blogs are non-fiction too. At the same time, I love learning creative ways to…

A few years ago, the ECF Foundation launched a new fund for groups across Europe to bid for money to test out creative ways to build community. Nothing new you might say, except the way they did it was to start with your usual call for applications for ideas that…

I’ve written before about embedding a cooperative approach, but how do you translate that into commissioning? Here are a few lessons I’ve learnt: Focus on social value, not just cost Start with people and co-produce outcomes with them Think beyond service structures and invest in outcomes If through the commissioning…

What do we mean by invisible borders? It’s about the psychological, social and cultural barriers that people face to taking part in the community, with a particular focus on newcomers and identifying those people using unusual behaviours to break down those borders. As globalisation breaks down geographic, cultural & economic…