🌿 What it looks like in practice
Here’s what’s in the framework — and how we’re using it:
1. Design learning around real work
🛠 Instead of theory first, build learning through projects people already care about.
We’re using live programmes (like Thriving Together or participatory budgeting) as places for reflection and skill-building. That includes things like co-hosting devolution workshops with colleagues, not just for them.
2. Use blended and inclusive methods
🧑🤝🧑 Mix formats so people with different roles, rhythms and needs can participate.
We’re combining:
- Visual storytelling (short vlogs + drop-in posters)
- Peer conversations (in community, cross-team, or manager groups)
- Structured reflection (before-and-after prompts, shared learning logs)
- Lunch & learns and ‘teach-ins’ for teams with specific challenges
3. Create feedback loops, not one-off sessions
🔁 Build in follow-up that helps people test ideas, adapt practice, and shape the next phase.
Whether through Go Vocal feedback tools or reflection spaces at staff drop-ins, we’re collecting insights that directly shape programme design.
🧭 How other organisations can try this
You don’t need a big budget or a central L&D team to build learning into your culture. You need a few committed people, a willingness to reflect in public, and a learning mindset. Here are a few places to start:
- Start small
Choose one live project and run a short reflection session with your team.
Use prompts like: “What surprised you?” “What shifted your thinking?
2. Share what you’re learning
Post weekly or monthly insights on Slack, a staff blog, or a shared doc. Keep it short and honest — it builds momentum.
3. Open it up
Invite another team or external partner to co-run a learning session. It builds trust and shared ownership.
4. Make it visible
Use posters, digital pinboards, or 2-min videos to share what people are learning. Helps others feel like they can join in.
5. Connect to values
Ask: “How does this learning help us become more inclusive / adaptive / mission-focused?” Make the values visible in how you learn.
🌍 What others are doing
You’re not alone if you’re trying to shift learning into something more alive and embedded. Here are some examples that have inspired us:
🇬🇧 New Local’s “Community Power” report
Highlights how community-led change requires learning environments where professionals and residents learn together. We saw this mirrored in our Delving into Devolution sessions — where the learning happened in the room, not in a handbook.
📖 Read: New Local — Community Power
🇪🇺 Barcelona’s Public Innovation Lab (BIT Habitat)
Uses community assemblies and city labs to run participatory learning programmes — helping staff and residents explore what resilience and care mean in practice.
🔗 bit-habitat.barcelona
🇬🇧 Co-operative Councils Innovation Network (CCIN)
Puts forward the idea of “co-operative learning” — through peer support, shared tools and resident-led review sessions. It’s not centralised — it’s decentralised, trusting people to learn locally and share globally.
📖 See their work on participatory practice
🌎 B Lab (global B Corps)
Encourages companies to embed learning through reflection rituals and impact measurement dashboards — so values-based change is visible in day-to-day decisions.
💬 Why this matters now
In strategy, in delivery, in participation — we’re all trying to shift systems, often while still surviving them. Learning isn’t a luxury in that space. It’s a survival strategy. And more than that — it’s a way to help people feel part of something shared.
As budgets shrink and expectations grow, we need places where learning isn’t performative. We need honest spaces where people can say: “I don’t know,” “That didn’t work,” or “We need to try again.” We need learning to reflect the realities we’re working in — and the futures we want to shape.
🤝 A call to connect
If you’re also trying to build a learning culture that reflects your values — whether in a council, a startup, a civic space or a public institution — we’d love to connect.
- What rituals or tools have helped you make learning stick?
- How do you help people reflect in a way that’s inclusive, not intimidating?
- What’s one thing you’ve learned recently that shifted your practice?
Thanks for reading. If you’d like to explore this with us, drop me a line or share your reflections. I’m always up for learning together.
