Public services are standing on a cliff edge. But it is not quite clear yet whether they are preparing to plummet to the ground or soar into the air. On the one hand, the combined demand and workforce crisis has reached unprecedented levels of intensity. On the other hand, there is real change happening on the ground as councils and others embrace community-powered approaches to solving problems and delivering prevention.
This is not as paradoxical as it may seem. We know the unsustainable status quo is now more risky than radical innovation. And this is adding significant momentum to the movement for change. As one senior council officer put it to me recently: ‘Community power is now the only game in town'.
What this means in practice is that many councils have moved beyond debates about whether community power is a good thing and are actually doing it. But this throws up its own challenges. Meaningful change is hard and many new, difficult questions need answering.
How do we ensure the least powerful communities are empowered not just those who already have the confidence and skills to mobilise? Where can we find the time and resource to make that long-term community powered shift while still dealing with endless short-term operational pressures? What steps must we take to really embed a community powered spirit into the DNA of our organisation and our communities rather than just launching a series of unconnected initiatives? These and other questions now crop up repeatedly in the work New Local does with councils, NHS bodies and other parts of the public sector.
This is why Stronger Things this year is subtitled ‘making it happen' and why so many of the sessions will focus on the nuts and bolts of actually doing community power. That spirit kicks off with a stellar opening panel including Donna Hall, Kim Leadbeater and Tony Travers asking what it takes to change a whole system; followed by two stages full of sessions dedicated to hearing from and discussing the practicalities of community power: everything from how to bring residents into decision-making processes with Georgia Gould to doing leadership differently – and plenty in between.
But change is not only happening on the ground. Finally, there is a growing interest in Westminster and Whitehall in the community power agenda following a long period in which it has lagged behind Cardiff and Edinburgh. Keir Starmer's announcement of a Take Back Control Bill, to be introduced by a future Labour government and designed to hand power to communities from central government, is the clearest sign of the shifting mood.
This is enormously important because national politicians have the power to set a new public service reform agenda based on prevention and community power. Their words and their decisions can shift the whole system in a way that local change alone cannot. By setting a strong community power tone, Westminster can also massively strengthen those seeking radical change on the ground and who often feel they are swimming against a tide of top-down thinking and risk aversion.
And so Stronger Things is ‘making it happen' in a broader sense by hearing from the national decision makers and exploring the big debates and global context within which community power is occurring.
The day is topped and tailed by keynotes from Bola Owolabi who leads on tackling health inequalities for the NHS and Lisa Nandy, shadow Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities secretary of state and the person tasked with developing that Take Back Control Bill. In between we have two further stages on national policy and on global change covering topics such as the changing nature of democracy, community-powered devolution, the environmental challenge, and recharging local economies.
One of the wonderful things about Stronger Things is how we have had to adapt it every year to meet the rapid forward march of the community power movement. This year is clearly no different as we stand on the brink of a really major shift in national policy and local practice. One thing that is guaranteed though is the event will have its trademark buzz and a range of speakers and conversations that leave everyone who attends feeling inspired and recharged. Tickets, as ever, are going fast, so sign up now.
Adam Lent is chief executive of New Local
@wearenewlocal
Stronger Things takes place on 23 May at The Guildhall in the City of London. You can get tickets here
If you work for a council or organisation that is a member of New Local, you can attend for free but please register.
New Local is very proud to be partnering with The MJ on Stronger Things.
