WIREDGOV

As the main political parties lick their wounds after last months elections, attention is now turning to how our leaders might respond to an electorate that has signalled its distaste with the status quo.  There are big and difficult issues at play.  And at the heart of these issues is the notion of public goods - who gets, who contributes, and what should be the role and purpose of public services.  

Our work on the Collaborative Citizen addresses these questions.  Based on new UK-wide face-to-face survey work with Ipsos MORI, our report tells a nuanced story about the needs, wants and expectations of society.  Under 25% of people feel that public service providers regularly understand their needs or preferences.  Only 15% of people experience a personalised service.  Yet against the big issues in society - such as housing, work and living standards - around three quarters of us feel that government has a responsibility to do more.  Working across government, business and society will be vital.  

You can find our report online here.  Contributions from Julia Unwin, Greg Parston and Daniel Cameron make a powerful case for change in response, and Victor Adebowale and I call for a new model of public services that flips New Public Management on its head. 

The front line of public services is itself changing, not least in the nascent 'spin-out' sector led by a number of social enterprises in the health, care, leisure and environmental sectors. We were delighted to host a very high quality event earlier in May with our partners the Transition Institute and Northampton University, during which new research from Dr Richard Hazenberg was unveiled.  Prof Julian Le Grand, Matthew Taylor, Andrew Burnell and Allison Ogden-Newton were among those expert speakers wondering aloud how impressive early progress could be translated into sustainable quality and social value.  The room was optimistic! 

Please get in touch as ever.  We would love to hear from you as we explore the future of collaboration in these exciting areas. 

Dr Henry Kippin, Director

@h_kippin

Defining New Models of Leadership - What does it take?

If you missed Henry’s panel contribution to the Guardian Public Leaders Network Livechat on the 9 May, catch up here.  The panel of experts including Deborah McKenzie,Director of Organisational Development at Public Health England, Eddy Adams, Social Innovation Advisor at URBACT,  and Nicholas Bradbury, Head of System Leadership at the NHS Leadership Academy, debated barriers to "systems leadership", and asked some of the key questions about the skills leaders need to work better together across sector boundaries.  In a crowded field, interested readers could do worse than starting with our 'Leading Across the Sectors' report with the Clore Social Leadership Programme. 

Are you an 'Unusual Suspect'?  We Want You!

Are you running creative projects that aim to tackle social challenges?  Are you potentially part of the solution but don’t feel part of the conversation?  If so, we would like to hear from you for our upcoming Social Innovation Festival, ‘The Unusual Suspects: How Unlikely Connections Can Create Real Social Change’ from 3 – 5 September 2014.  This 3 day international Festival will explore the dynamic between collaboration and social innovation in addressing key public and social policy issues in the UK and beyond.  Come and lend your voice to important discussions about the future ahead and collaborate with a range of organisations including the Design Council, FutureGov, Participle, Social Life, The British Council, Locality, and many more!

For more information and to get involved contact Henry Kippin at henry@collaboratei.com or Louise Pulford at louise.pulford@socialinnovationexchange.org