nehemiah-space

Big Society Goes Live- Are You Ready?

So, the appointments are made, the first tranche of commitments are out and the Big Society Blog has gone live. 

The new language involves "the civic state" which is to replace the "welfare state" , "market state" and nurture responsibiilty and civic association; "community organisers"  who catalyse community activity and "civic responsibility" where everyone is encouraged to think beyone their own immediate needs.

Twin track thinking is happening all over the place at the moment- those who have been or been along side community organisers and community activits are carrying on with what they know to be right because of their practical experiences and opening up to the new possibilities offered by the Big Society framework.

There are no delusions that "more for less" and a greater reliance on social capital and good will is going to be a signicicant part of the plan; that the demands of community organising will be significantly greater in some places  than others. David Cameron's published desire for it to to be one of the great legacies of the government gives perhaps a reference point for ensuring that lessons from the past are taken on board right from the start and that we can fast track the effective use of any precious resources that are set aside for this agenda.

For communities to get ahead of the game we say get your neighbourhood profiles and community audits done- get those gaps identified and wishes articulated so that when civil servants come to do their civil community service; when national service for young people is piloted and when more local entrepreneurs are looking to develop social and community enteprises, there is an ability to seize the moment.

Is it a boy or a girl?

Either way life as we know it is going to change- lots of new things to get used to.

All that uncertainty and anticipation; speculation and tentative planning.

Whatever the outcome of the political parties negotiations; those of us who live and work at a neighbourhood level will be adjusting to new regimes trying to respond to needs with whatever we have and can get hold of.

What are the imperatives? I think knowing our neighbourhoods and the capacity to talk with each other, decide priorities and what we can do with what we have got - including our own time and inter- reactions - if you like "social capital" is so key-

What are the obstacles to face?

How do we best tackle them?

Fairness, Neighbourhoods and Leadership

As the electorate respond to the last few weeks of campaigning there are a lot of people and organisations getting ready to respond to a "new world order"

Fairness- has been a feature in all manifestos- how it's achieved is going to be interesting. There are a lot of people with ideas, finite resources and a lot of choices to be worked through.

Neighbourhoods are a common reference point-how they're defined and how collective needs are defined will benefit from some joined up thinking.

Leadership is often associated with direction and the prospect of knowing how to work with that-

Over the coming weeks we'll be getting our heads around new policies, language and operational frameworks- working out how our resources can be best used to achieve practical outcomes.

Our hope is that Nehemiah Space will be a resource that will help those of us engaged in transformation and regeneration to do that. Join us in the mission, compare compass readings and share thoughts and ideas. 

All power to your elbow

Stephen