WIREDGOV

Local government needs to be at the forefront of collaborative, place-based change, says Henry Kippin.

Abraham Lincoln famously said that ‘the best way to predict the future is to create it’. Bittersweet wisdom from an era in which an American president thought for more than 20 seconds before opinionating. And a prescient reminder that uncertain times call for being both humble and pro-active. We can’t predict the future; but nor are we passive bystanders as it plays out.

Fast forward to today. In a month’s time, the UK will conduct a general election. And despite some pretty banal campaigning so far, the consequences are likely to be far reaching, both for the political parties themselves, and for the people and places whose votes they are seeking. The future agenda for public services is up for grabs. But you wouldn’t know this, because Brexit dominates the agenda, gums up the process and squeezes out other possibilities.

This means that the only way of delivering on Lincoln’s maxim today is at a local level. Place-based change driven by collaboration. A body of research and practice developed at Collaborate suggests that not only are local authorities are well placed to lead this collaboration; but they will be increasingly unsustainable unless they do.

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