Notes on: People Places Power: How localism and strategic planning can work together
Original 'People Places Power' document can be found here <-- written by Jonathan Carr-West (@joncarrwest), Head of Centre for Local Democracy at the Local Government Information Unit
we need a fundamental shift in the way we think about local service delivery and the relationship between people, places and power.
The Localism and Decentralisation Bill begins to give substance to the rhetoric of the Big Society --> communities can take over local public services, buy community assets and influence planning decisions.
There is a political necessity to engage the public in tough spending decisions. Public satifaction is relative to the amount of involvement felt in decision making - people do not like having things done to them.
Citizens are aso inevitably going to have to step into the gaps caused by the spending cuts. Here the Big Society actually becomes a practical solution rather than an ideological one.
Long-term global challenges are also reasons why something akin to the Big Society is essential.
Finding solutions to such complex dilemmas will require us to draw on the talents and insights of as many members of society as possible.
As James Surowiecki puts in - 'in part because individual judgement is not accurate enough or consistent enough, cognitive diversity is essential to good decision making.'
Relationship with local government is likely to be the key factor in the success or failure of the Big Society.
Councillors must see themselves more as community facilitators.
What is at play in all of this is the old tension between representative and participative democracy.
Lessons from Total Place - an approach based on the idea of local authorities leading a collaborative effort across the public sector in which local agencies co-ordinate activities - focusing on outcomes for communities.
New technologies are essential for all of this - especially resource mapping, data sharing and effective multi-agency co-operation.
Place based budgeting will be part of the future approach to public finance and public services.
TP is 'centralism at a local level' vs the Big Society which is essentially fragmentary. It is voluntary, episodic and driven by particular interests and passions.
we must accept high levels of ambiguity and more risk.
What is a council for???
Not to serve as the local arm of government but as the governmental arm of local communities.
