Making the Connections

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Making the Connections citizens mapping the big picture

Greg Parstonand Ilona Cowe

Public Management Foundation

July 1998

third in the annual series:

The Public Value of Public Services


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Published in the UK in 1998 by

he Public Management Foundation

52B Grays Inn Road

London WC1X 8JT

el: 0171 278 1712

fax: 0171 837 6581

mail: [email protected]

This is the third report in the series, The Public Value of Public Services,

following The Glue that Binds(1996) and Hitting Local Targets(1997)

1998, Public Management Foundation

ISBN: 1 898531 47 1

Photographs: Jim Batty


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Contents

Foreword by the Prime Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The public value of public services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Building new connections


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1

Foreword

Public services make a big contribution to our quality of life. But if people are passed from

pillar to post, are dealt with discourteously or feel their needs are ignored, then not only dothey suffer from a poor service but they also lose confidence in what councils and public

agencies can do. So the voice of those who use services must be heard by those responsible for

planning and delivering services.

By actively listening to and involving local people we improve services, break down

organisational barriers, and do things more efficiently and effectively. Government as a

whole is stronger as a result and people feel more committed to the services the public sector

provides. That is why the Governments Best Value and Better Government initiatives are

focused round the needs and concerns of service users.

I welcome the Public Management Foundations work on strengthening the links between the

public and public services. And I welcome the contribution that this report makes to taking

forward this crucial debate.

by The Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP


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Acknowledgements

Many people contributed to the communitydiscovery event reported here, mostimportantly the 65 members of the Lewisham

citizens panel, who gave two days of their time

sharing their thinking and experience with us toconstruct maps of community outcomes. Barry

Quirk, Chief Executive, and Stella Clarke, Policy

and Equalities Officer, of the London Borough

of Lewisham, provided support, encouragement,

space and every facility needed to host the event.

Design of the community discovery process

was the responsibility of the Office for Public

Management, whose project team, led by Ilona

Cowe, facilitated discussions amongst citizens,

recorded conversations and debates, read through

dozens of personal stories and then wrote the

initial reports on the findings. The members of

the project team were Anne Bennett, Kai Rudat,

Robin Clarke, Merav Dover, Paul Lloyd, Sally Fitch,

David Albury, Jon Harvey, Laurie McMahon andLoraine Martins. Jane Steele, Principal Research

Fellow of the Public Management Foundation,

also participated in the process and drew together

much of the cross-sectoral learning.

The opinions reported here are those of the

authors and do not necessarily represent the views

of Trustees of the Public Management Foundation.

Greg Parston

and Ilona Cowe

July 1998


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The public value of public services

In 1996 the Public Management Foundationinaugurated what was intended to be annnual survey on the publics view of the public

sector a sort of watching brief on what we

alled the public value of public services. Thatirst national study, which was reported in The

Glue that Binds showed that people regarded

public services as an important part of their

lives. And an overwhelming 82 per cent of those

interviewed replied that they wanted a bigger

say in how those services were run.

Last year, inHitting Local Targets, we followed

up and examined in more detail the three services

which people had identified as being most

important to their well-being education, health

services and the police. We asked people across the

country to identify the measures of performance

hat were important to them. How did they know

whether services were good or bad? Did the current

fashion of performance indicators and league

ables provide the information they require?

In what we thought was a more sophisticated

view than many public service professionals

ive the public credit for, respondents identified

utcome as being as important a measure of good

service as the more standard measures of input,such as expenditure per head, or throughput, like

waiting times. For local people, a true measure

of public service success is how well educated,

healthy and safe the local community is as a result

of public service provision.

Acknowledging the importance of the publics

concern with outcomes, this year we chose to

make those outcomes and not just public services the focus of our study.

But this is not a report on another national

survey nor a set of responses to questions crafted

by opinion-takers. Instead, this year we worked

with 65 residents in one urban community, in a

process of plenary discussions and group work.

The purpose was to enable residents to explore

and then map the relationships, as they see them,

between themselves, public services and wider

community resources and to tell us how these

combine to achieve health, learning and safety for

hemselves as individuals and for the community

as a whole. Our aim was to learn more about the

onnections hat people make between their real life

problems and experiences and the public service

organisations and delivery mechanisms that are

meant to be in place to serve them.

On 5 and 6 June 1998, during Democracy Week,

and in association with the London Borough of

Lewisham and the Office for Public Management,

we conducted the first ever community discoveryevent an innovative consultation technique

which engages stakeholders in creating their

own integrated big picture of social outcomes.


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Over thirty hours, local people worked together

to construct and share their collective views

of what health, learning and safety are all

about. By generating data and understanding of

connected problems at the level on which they are

experienced, local people opened up the narrow

definitions of service delivery and began to build

holistic and integrated pictures of public service.

At the level of community consultation, we

learned many things:

Despite the cynicism of some public service

professionals, people are able to think

holistically across service boundaries and build

big pictures of community outcomes. Artificial

service boundaries are rooted largely in the

organisation of service delivery, yet the needs

that they meet are experienced by people in a

seamless, connected and less demarcated way.

The public do not have separate relationships

with discrete service systems; rather, they have

lives that they experience as being comprised of

many connected parts. Through the medium of

mapping individual experiences, they can quite

easily trace the connections between different

aspects of public service and identify the links

to individuals well-being.

Local people can help us build greater under-standing about how service failures in one area

can have consequences in another, and thus

about how to make more effective use of public

resources.

People have good ideas and can offer powerful

new perspectives to enrich policy debates and

the flow of communication between citizen and

state. For these people, policy is not an abstract

debate; its consequences directly translate into

their everyday world and affect things that

really matter throughout their whole lives.

People enjoy authentic engagement around

these issues and the opportunity to connect

with each other, stimulate their thinking and

feel part of an active community. By using a

process which engages peoples real experience,

we can involve members of the public in a form

of active citizenship which stimulates reflexive

knowledge and encourages serious engagement

with important issues.

t the level of specific transactions between

people and services, we learned much more, and

this report documents all of that. The maps of

health, learning and community safety constructed

during the community discovery event demon-

strate a deep understanding of the connections

between problems and of what may need to be the

joined-up solutions.

The pictures in peoples heads, as they placed

and drew them on their maps, are not just about

the quality of individual services. They include

sharp understandings of the effects of one service

on another. They raise important questions about

the intentions and the sometimes unintended

effects of policy. But they also place citizens and

the community in the middle of their maps.

Individual responsibility is important, but so too

is individual self-esteem. Community knowledge is

essential, but not at the sacrifice of equity.

ot all the messages are easy to hear. Some

pose hard challenges to what policy-makers and

managers do. But neither are all of the messages

necessarily correct. They reflect what people know

and understand at a particular time, and some-

times that can be improved through more and

better information and through more prolonged

engagement. And that is the real point.

Simply asking people what they think at onemoment in time is not good enough. The demand

is growing for a new, more active partnership

between people and government at all levels one

that fosters responsibility, opportunity and real

democratic accountability. To build that partner-

ship, we first need to construct new ways of having

a mutually educative dialogue about the social

problems that we are trying to address and about

the social results we are trying to achieve. We

believe that this years study clearly demonstrates

that, given the right means, local people are more

than ready to play their part.


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Methodology

The Public Management Foundation has nowconducted three annual projects aimed ateveloping an understanding of how the public

views, values and interacts with their public

services.Following on from previous work which used

raditional survey methodology to focus on the

publics evaluation of public services, this year we

decided to engage citizens in an innovative process

which mapped out their perceptions, views and,

most important, direct experiences of three major

service areas. In particular, we wanted to look at

how relationships between people, public services

and wider community resources combine to

achieve health, safety and learning for individuals

and communities.

The main focus of this project was the

construction of maps of issues, perceptions and

relationships. We wanted to understand how

citizens constructed relationships around the three

issues of learning, health, and community safety.

There is no shortage of engagement methods,

ranging from small-group deliberative methods

(such as community workshops or citizens juries)

o large group events (such as future search confer-

ences). The field is buzzing with terms suchas visioning, deliberation, action learning

and community appraisals. But there is no

established method for mapping relationships,

and the process used here was designed by the

Office for Public Management to meet this specific

focus. This invention, which we have called

ommunity discovery, borrowed from both small

and large group methodologies. We combinedindividual inputs (through event diaries, drawings

and individual accounts and experiences), small

roup brainstorming, storytelling and discussion

sessions, and work around the three maps that the

community discovery created.

The event was conducted in partnership with

he London Borough of Lewisham. A representative

cross-section of the community was recruited from

Lewishams newly formed Citizens Panel. Sixty

five residents, broadly representative of the social

class, age, sex, ethnic and disability profile of the

borough, participated in the event.

The discovery process lasted a day and a half,

and consisted of the following stages:

the whole group began by identifying the main

issues they wanted to investigate

the participants then formed small groups to

discuss different issues that interested them

they wrote down their ideas from these

discussions on individual post-it notes

the participants mapped their ideas, exper-iences, thoughts, comments and perceptions by

placing their post-it notes onto large sheets of

paper (one for each of the three service areas),


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in the process making clear the relationships

and connections that they felt existed between

them

overarching themes (clusters of ideas) began to

emerge on each map.

to allow participants to add very personal

reflections and experiences, we also set aside

some time for quiet reflection, for people to

record anything (specific events, drawings, etc.)

in their workbooks and for story telling circles.

the final session focused on suggestions for

change. Participants split into four discussion

groups, dealing with change either through

individual action, or through community

action, or through action by local services, or

through government.

These stages of the discovery process provided

participants with a wide range of opportunities for

expression, reflection and interaction. They gave

us rich pictures of how citizens make connections

around key social outcomes.

The resulting maps are an explicit visual repres-

entation of relationships that are often implicit

in peoples experience and understanding. They

uncover a citizens eye view of public service

provision.


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The maps


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Mapping community outcomes

Tof public service provision health, learningand community safety from two different

perspectives.

In each, the first part gives an account of howpeople built the map, identifies the issues they

thought were important, and illustrates the con-

nections people made both within and between

the areas being addressed. It highlights the themes

that emerged throughout the engagement process

and demonstrates a comprehensive citizens view.

The second part of each section provides an

analysis of our findings in relation to existing

policy and policy trends in each service sector.

It illustrates how the connections between the

people, organisations and policy issues which

affect a communitys health, learning and safety

pose real challenges for those managing and

delivering public services. These pieces also offer

some important pointers for managers and policy

makers working in these fields.

The final part draws together thinking across

the different service boundaries and takes a look

at the big picture. It highlights the main themes

that emerged across boundaries, such as the desire

for integrated communities, the importance ofcustomer care and co-production, the preference

for choice and the need to foster community spirit.

This builds a strong sense of what the citizens

discovery process revealed about the direction and

emphasis of peoples thinking.


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The health map

This section begins with an account of thehealth map that the participants developed.The group started by producing a long list of the

issues which they felt were important in relation

o health; the facilitators then helped them tosummarise these to produce the following list of

he overriding areas of concern to people:

Health services GPs, hospitals and

administration

Special health needs ageing and community

care

Looking after yourself personal responsibility,

keeping fit and nutrition

Alternative approaches prevention

The environment

Accountability and funding

The participants then chose which issues they

wanted to explore in small groups, to build up their

health map around these themes.

Looking at the completed health map, we were

able to identify five interconnected themes:

Quality

Accountability and funding

Care in the community

The environment / community infrastructure

Looking after yourself.Considered together, these themes present a

picture that shows that health service users want

more choice and control over their own lives and

over the NHS. The map shows that people want

o be involved in the planning and monitoring of

services, and want more information on the health

system, health treatments, health outcomes and food

labelling. The participants felt strongly that, in ordero feel more in control, they should have the inform-

ation necessary to make choices, and the ability to

influence the planning and delivery of NHS services.

Perhaps more importantly, people were able to give

examples which demonstrated that increased choice

and control over their own health would improve

peoples health at no extra cost.

1. QualityQuality of care was a recurring theme and

dominates the health map. Most issues, as they were

analysed and discussed and placed on the map, were

linked closely with issues of quality, which people

felt encompassed:

variations in care

holistic medicine

continuity of care

information,education and training

systems and management monitoring.


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Variations in careThe participants felt strongly that the quality of

care that the NHS offers is variable. They thought it

important that the quality of care should be stand-

ardised, to the highest level. They felt that whilst

some GPs, pharmacists and dentists were excellent,

others even in the same catchment area were

considerably worse. Similarly, the participants were

struck by the wide variation in the quality of facil-

ities within general practice, both in the buildings

themselves and in the staff working in those

buildings. Great variation between hospitals was

noted, and people had views on which hospitals they

would choose to be seen at for differing ailments.

The perception was that people currently have

very little choice and are often not receiving the

best available care; several people suggested that

they would travel further to be treated at what they

considered to be a better hospital.

Participants also firmly believed that care at the

poorer end of the spectrum should be improved

but, as long as variations in care still exist, what is

important is good information and advice on the

basis of which they can make their choices.

Holistic medicineThere was clear strength of feeling about the

importance of holistic medicine. Many people relatedaccounts of GPs taking a sticking plaster approach

or criticised GPs for treating symptoms rather than

causes and dishing out too many pills. Hospital

consultants were criticised for the narrowness of

their focus and their inability to see beyond their

speciality. What came across strongly was the need

for clinicians to assess a person as a whole being and

for this assessment to take into account the persons

environment, for instance the influence of housing

or family circumstances.

Several people expressed a preference for altern-

ative therapies, including osteopathy, aromatherapy

and homeopathy, In part, what people liked was the

ability of these alternative therapies to look beyond

the presenting symptom. The group wanted inform-

ation to be made available on alternative therapies;

they also wanted to have the choice to use these

therapies by having them more widely available on

the NHS.

Continuity of careContinuity of care was felt to be an importantingredient of quality within both general practice

and hospitals. Some participants expressed their

concern at the frequent use of locums in general

practice and at the effect of seeing different levels of

doctors within a hospital setting. Some participants

spoke of how they saw inefficient systems, such as

the movement of patient notes, contributing to the

lack of continuity of care.

Information, education and trainingcommon theme on the map is education and

training for both service users and providers.

While they were adding issues to the map, people

often remarked that clinicians needed more training

such as training in the role of alternative therapies,

in treating people with respect and on newly

available treatments. The group was not confident

that all clinicians kept up to date clinically or that

they had sufficient information on the availability

and quality of other services. The training of nurses

and of non clinical staff such as receptionists and

home-helps was also important to them. Some

people were concerned that staff either went

outside their prescribed role or had not been trained

sufficiently for an extended role.

common plea was for education for service

users, in the form of information on services and

their availability, on how to work the system,

and on service quality. Although the map does not

detail how this information should be conveyed, itwas clearly important to people that they can make

choices, and information was seen to be the key.

Systems and managementnumber of comments were made on the burden

of paperwork and the effect this was having on the

quality of care. The perception people had was that

paperwork was reducing the time available for face-

to-face clinical consultations and that it was either

unnecessary or should be taken away from clinical

staff.

common source of frustration was the area

of patient records: people felt that the system was

inflexible and therefore worked against their interests

as patients. Some expressed their dissatisfaction that

notes could not be shared with the private sector,

including alternative therapists; others had com-

plaints about the transfer of records between GPs or

between GPs and hospital staff.

ppointment systems in hospitals and in

general practice also annoyed many participants.They felt they had to wait too long for an appoint-

ment, by which time their symptoms were likely to

have become acute.


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MonitoringAn apparent dilemma emerged when issues of

service monitoring were discussed. On the one hand,

it was felt that monitoring added to paperwork and

ook time away from clinical work. On the other

hand, some people wanted more monitoring in order

o end variations in quality. In keeping with the

desire for more choice and control, there was the

suggestion that users should be involved in service

monitoring.

2. Accountability andfunding

Accountability and the funding of the NHS were

wo issues on the map that people connected very

closely with quality. Many people believed that the

NHS is underfunded but there was no consensus

on how to raise more money, although prescription

charges and dental charges were felt not to be the

right way. A number of people observed that because

hey were unable to afford prescriptions their health

had deteriorated at a greater final cost to the

NHS. Participants also felt that, where charges were

imposed, the earnings of low income families ought

o be taken into account.

People recognised that advances in medicinewere pushing up costs in the NHS and that this

manifested itself in longer waiting lists and shorter

appointments.

What also comes through in this part of the

map is the perception that the NHS lacks openness.

Participants complained that there was too little

information and openness about how money is spent

and, in this sense, wanted the NHS to be more demo-

cratic. Accepting that priorities had to be set, they

wanted to be involved in setting them.

3. Care in the community

This part of the map reveals that people were

concerned about whether the care in the community

services they received were appropriate and met their

needs. They felt that, in some cases, the people who

provided services failed to understand the needs they

were meant to be meeting.

People thought that carers should receive moreback-up and support and emphasised that the

supervision of care in special needs accommod-

ation needed to be improved. Some people felt that

services were deteriorating, but the main theme was

hat resources should be accurately and appropriately

argeted. Noting that the proper targeting of

resources was related to increased user consultation,

especially in service design, participants felt that user

consultation should include the design of buildings

for people with special needs.

4. The environment;community infrastructure

What emerges most clearly in this section of the

map is the connection people saw between their

health and the environment in which they live.

Underpinning many of the themes was the idea

of community spirit, whether this meant sharing

information on how the system works or about the

best GPs, or caring for people at home who would

otherwise need to be in hospital.

People felt that housing and health could not

be divorced. The need for secure tenure in safe and

physically accessible housing, and freedom from

damp and cold, were strong messages that they put

on the map.

Transport appears on the map in various ways.

Participants felt that environmental pollution was

contributing to ill health and that more controls onprivate transport and more accessible and affordable

public transport would not only reduce ill health

from pollution but would also reduce stress from

social isolation.

5. Looking after yourself

The importance of looking after yourself is

very prominent on the map. There was certainly

a feeling that insufficient resources were being

iven to the prevention of ill-health. There was no

shortage of knowledge of how to prevent ill-health:

exercising, eating well, not smoking and reducing

stress, for example. But what came across strongly

was the recognition that prevention requires

resources time and money both of which are at

a premium for many people. Strong connections

were drawn with the theme of the environment

and community infrastructure, and people made

links to housing, childcare and poverty.


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The challenge to health service management

G nerally, the NHS is held in high regardnd with some affection: the participantsrelated many personal accounts of good

treatment and after-care. The stories that people

told about things going wrong all seemed tocentre on administrative cock ups. At times

of major organisational change, managers

are rightly concerned about leadership and

strategy at the top of the office, but it is all too

easy for them to lose sight of the need to get

the bureaucratic detail right. Our community

discovery event showed that getting this wrong

may have the most immediate and damaging

effect on the publics satisfaction with health

services.

People often mentioned their lack of confidence

in GPs, but this usually had less to do with GPs

technical competence as clinicians than with their

lack of knowledge of what is available for patients

and their families. One woman had made three

struggles by bus to a central London hospital

before a friend told her that she could get help

with transport. She then asked her GP and he told

her how to obtain this help. But why did she even

have to ask, when the GP already knew of her

circumstances? Likewise, people valued being ableto choose a hospital and would look to their GP for

advice on this. Again, the information was often

not available.

Ministers want to see an increase in public

confidence in the NHS: this event showed us that

the GP is the vital first building block to raise this

confidence. It also suggested that the public is

ready for more information such as benchmarkingand clinical effectiveness data to help them make

choices, and that any attempt to keep this for

professional and managerial eyes only should be

resisted. People wantto know and they expect their

GPs to be able to tell them.

earby on the health map is the issue of

training. The most important facet of this

concerned the quality and breadth of GP training

and the issue of helpers doing nurses work: it was

reported, for instance, that assistants were giving

injections in the home. The feeling was that there

was too much untrained monitoring of home care

and not enough actual trained care. Re-engineering

and altering the skill-mix are of tremendous

importance to service providers as they pursue

greater efficiency, but the public perception that

services are deviating from the gold standard of

doctors and nurses might have to be managed

more carefully.

What was also apparent was the depth of

public understanding about the health educationagenda. They were big on self-reliance and on

looking after themselves, keen on the preventive

value of alternative therapies and concerned


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about the quality of food and the uncontrolled

interests of the food industry. As we have already

seen, people are aware of the effect of the wider

environment on their communitys health. What

he participants really wanted was more inform-

ation about how the system works, about who

is responsible for what, about how decisions are

made and about how they might influence those

decisions. Perhaps this signals the need for a new

ype of health education which is less about telling

people what they already seem to know and more

about empowering them to derive the maximum

benefit from services. It would also be foolish to

ignore the apparent strength of feeling about food

and nutrition; this evidence should strengthen

he hand of those who are trying to ensure that

overnment departments act in concert to improve

health and welfare.

The issues that people raised were rather

different to those that are currently driving the

agenda inside the NHS. Their concerns were about

waiting times and cancellations, about the respect

hey received from doctors, about mentally ill

people and community care: about the things

hat directly affect them. But, with the notable

exception of waiting lists, the managerial and

professional agenda within the NHS is about things

like PCGs and HIPs and HAZs and NICE. Noneof this is of much interest to the public its all

underwear to them and (apart from getting rid

of fundholding) people are mainly concerned with

he availability and nature of the services they use

he most.

For health managers, then, the message would

seem to be to get the changes over with as quickly

and as quietly as possible, bearing in mind why

politicians are locked into these basic concerns.

The corresponding message for politicians is

hat they need to provide the cover to allow the

managers to get on and reshape the NHS so that

a more appropriate focus on outcomes and public

satisfaction can be maintained.

While public service managers are struggling

o overcome sectoral, organisational and depart-

mental boundaries to work in partnership, the

public seems to be one step ahead. They under-

stand extremely well the links between housing,

employment, traffic management and the quality

of the built environment, and their combinedimpact on peoples health and welfare. Their ability

o think in what managers like to call whole

system terms was demonstrated again and again.

The difficulty that public service organisations

have in thinking this way to do joined-up

planning, to generate the big pot of resources is

a problem for them, not for the public.


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The learning map

Tabout which the participants developeda rich list of issues. From the outset, it was

clear that a very wide range of definitions and

questions were being raised, some of whichrelated to the formal education of children and

adults within the recognised national system,

and others which placed learning within a

wide agenda of social, economic, community,

individual and national issues. Building up the

learning map involved exploring some broad

themes and finding links and divergence within

and between several sets of issues. The key

clusters of issues which emerged are shown in

the diagram.

1. Education: who andwhat is it for?

The participants took an holistic view of the

purpose of education, discussing the difference

between learning as a natural and essential part

of living and the economic necessity of having a

skilled and educated workforce.

Early in the mapping process, a key proposalwas made, to which many subsequent items

referred back: the need to review and refresh the

whole ethos of education in the nation, that

is, how it is viewed, its core purposes and its

underpinning values. This was also expressed as

a frustration with certain, narrowly defined (and

media highlighted) issues, such as the achievement

of formal academic qualifications, school league

tables and competition/division within the system.

The section of the map referring to politics and

policies reveals a strong urge for a more rounded,

inclusive and integrated approach to learning.People raised subjects like pre-school education,

the family and community role, the desire of

unemployed or older people, and individuals with

Issues emerging in the

1. Education:who and whatis it for?

2. Learningfor life 3. Equal

opportunities

4. Schooand teachincludin

alternatispecial n

5. Parenand fami6.The

government'sagenda


20/40


specific needs and preferences, to gain access and

contribute to learning, and their recognition of the

non-school aspects of education. The essential

values which emerged were those of equality of

opportunity (and the problems of social exclusion),

freedom of choice, and free or affordable, high

quality learning opportunities for all.

People also mapped the desire to gain

qualifications and the risks of lowering standards

o achieve a universal level of attainment

alongside the wish to avoid a multi-tiered, socially

divisive system, which many had experienced.

2. Learning for life

The group understood the phrase lifelong

learning as referring mostly to keeping the work

force up to date with the skills necessary for

employment. However, they also emphasised a

quite different meaning: learning as an essential

part of life, ranging from opportunities at pre-

school level to develop learning skills and a love

of learning, through to the desire of older people

o continue engaging in personal and social

development.

Learning for life can provide people with

education, at whatever academic level, for a myriadof reasons:

social interaction

self development

ones vocational needs

changes in the workplace

academic or intellectual challenges

gaining qualifications.

In the debate about the ethos behind learning

and education it was clear that the group shared

a set of values which included the ideas of

inclusivity and individuality. People believed

hat the opportunities afforded to individuals

hroughout life should embody choice and

be learner-centred and should build social

connections and community capacity (which was

interpreted as being involved, not isolated, and

being able to manage ones own life and contribute

o others).

The map illustrates the various qualities that

people believed learning for life would promote:

initiative, an enthusiasm for learning and personalrowth and a tolerance of diversity; it would also

develop respect, morality and socially responsible

behaviour. Many of these were seen as the province

of pre-school and family-sustained early learning

which was a tool for influencing and shaping

social-interaction skills like listening, talking and

roup participation; all of these were seen as major

contributors to a more cohesive and connected

community. Some participants felt that the

earlier children gain access to such an educational

environment (including formal settings) the better.

It was widely held, however, that such settings

need not introduce the national curriculum before

he age of five.

Another message to emerge from the map

is that people felt that too many options were

closed off at later stages in life. Unemployed

people may secure certain kinds of help, but often

lacked fundamental skills (including the ability

o learn and to value the effort). Some people

perceived that the cost of gaining further and

higher education had risen, while choices have

been reduced. Hobby style, personal development

(or non-vocational) classes were felt to be a key

part of sustaining the lifelong learning ethos and

nurturing self-esteem, sociability and community

spirit.

3. Equal opportunities

The group explored the issues of education as

a right, access and special needs and produced a

series of statements about the importance of choice

without elitism or the traditional mindsets which

valued academic qualifications in isolation from

heir social and individual relevance.

Some participants saw the present formal

education system as one that continues to press

for traditional standards which may disadvantage

some and segregate or exclude others. The ability

of a system to provide equal opportunities

was allied to the state of the community: its

socioeconomic make up and its integration, or

otherwise, of diverse groups. Whilst a rethink

might be appropriate about how learning

can produce a more integrated and tolerant

community, the existence of such a community

was also seen as being the prerequisite for an

effective equal opportunities approach within the

system.


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4. Schools and teachers

The development of the child is at the centre

of this section of the learning map. The group

acknowledged a number of learning objectives

self-development, enjoyment, and self-esteem,

for instance and believed that developing

individuals and communities was more important

than achieving academic standards.

The participants reflected on the tension

between, on the one hand, our expectation that

teachers will provide the skills needed to achieve

successful examinations results and, on the other,

our desire that teachers should transfer social

values and morals.

Peoples goals and concerns included:

the appropriate development of teachers,

through positive recruitment and

remuneration, continuous professional

development and learning from mistakes

a re-balancing of teachers responsibilities

away from administrative duties (particularly

those linked to early testing and league tables)

towards more social engagement with children

through things like lunch-time activities,

clubs, arts, sports and the wider curriculum,

and other activities which emphasise self-

expression and enjoyable learning addressing the disadvantage (even alienation)

that boys experience through, for example,

the early emphasis on literacy, the lack of male

role models who value education, and the

suppression of other forms of learning

achieving more dialogue and co-operation

between teachers and parents, developing closer

relationships with parents and involving them

in their childrens learning, and recognising

that parental support does not have to be

academic

recognising that the diversity of pupil

populations (ethnicity, gender, health and

disability, poverty, and so on) requires

imaginative teaching and should not be

straitjacketed by performance league tables

reforming current policy priorities which tend

to alienate pupils and parents and add to

emotional and behavioural difficulties, leading

to bullying and other anti-social behaviour

recognising the damage caused by league tablesto schools which are dealing with diverse

populations. Schools can gain undeserved

bad reputations through the attentions of

he media and national government. Does

overnment policy recognise the needs of

communities in same way as it seems to

recognise needs of employers? The participants

drew connections between the governments

emphasis on developing a skilled workforce and

an increase in courses leading to vocational

qualifications like NVQs, and computer skills

courses, which may limit the development of

social skills.

In terms of choice, alternatives and special

needs, the map displays a strongly egalitarian

stance (very much reflecting the diversity within

the group). Peoples preference was for integration,

where possible, including people with learning and

physical disabilities as well as differing emotional

and psychological abilities.

This integration would, however, require

reduced class sizes and more teaching and supportresources; the participants felt that resources could

be redirected from some other services such as

special schools.


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Some people believed that, at present, the

system does not recognise the differing needs

of children. They approved of needs-led and

learner-centred approaches and gave examples

of (privately financed) alternatives such as free

schools and Steiner schools in which a different

ethos could be examined. They felt that these

showed a more versatile and positive approach

han that of the current resource-constrained,

narrow and competitive system.

5. Parents and families

What emerges very clearly from this section

of the map is that parental support for learning

was considered very important, especially in the

development of values and morals. Parents should

be conscious of the need to set examples for their

children; this includes setting boundaries of accept-

able and unacceptable behaviour, showing respect

for others, and conveying to children a sense of

right and wrong.

People felt that this needed to be supported by

closer relationships between schools, teachers and

parents. There was some disagreement, however,

about the value of parenting classes; most people

felt that this was a patronising approach. Neverthe-less it was felt that the provision of early parenting

skills and support could greatly increase confidence

and family readiness to engage in the lifelong

learning and formal education agendas.

Parents in the group felt that relations were

easier to develop and maintain during childrens

primary school years, because there was more

informal contact with schools. Secondary schools

used more formal channels such as parent-teacher

associations and newsletters which did not create

he same understanding or bond. Many parents

would welcome more informal chats with

eachers. It would also be helpful if parents were

iven more guidance on what kind of support they

could give or might be expected of them.

People also saw it as part of the parental role to

watch out for early warning signs (related to sex,

drugs or alcohol use, and delinquency) and to liaise

with the school to ensure that childrens learning

careers were not diverted into antisocial or danger-

ous activities. The group drew many connectionsbetween families and schools as partners in pro-

viding children with a rounded development which

would hold lasting benefits for future generations.

6. The governmentsagenda

From the map it is clear that the participants

felt little sense of an existing shared vision for

learning between communities and government.

They thought that their discussions had developed

he foundation of a possible community

vision, with the emphasis on lifelong learning,

community goals, and the development of social

skills and self-esteem. This stood in sharp contrast

with their perception of government policy, with

its apparent focus on testing and league tables.

People wanted more interaction with

overnment, through consultation and better

information. If the role of government policy is

he articulation of societys goals and values, this

needs to be underpinned by a greater engagement

with local communities.

Local government was seen as the main

agent for this interaction, linking local needs

and interests to education policy and funding.

There were some advocates for strengthening the

power of local management of schools, but the

majority of participants welcomed the role and

contribution of local education departments,

particularly concerning the issues of equality and

he representation of wider community needs.


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Foundation

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The challenge to education management

Transforming education so that it providesthe opportunities for all individuals andorganisations to participate fully, economically

and socially in the learning age will require

managers and politicians to harness the potentialand the resources of local, business, religious and

other communities. But, as was demonstrated

abundantly by the rich discussion and mapping

at this event, learning, especially in the era of

rapid development and use of communications

and information technologies (CIT), means far

more than the traditional forms and institutions

schools, colleges and universities.

The New Labour Government has made

education a priority and a raft of policies and

initiatives including education action zones,

numeracy and literacy schemes, the New Deal,

University for Industry, and National Grid for

Learning have been put in place to raise standards,

promote social inclusion, exploit CIT and develop

learning for life.

From the debate among the participants,

whilst it is clear that much remains to be done to

communicate and embed these, as well as the desire

for more resources there are two major areas which

still need considerable attention. First, althoughstandards, targets and measures of comparative

performance may be helpful in assuring that all

individuals acquire basic and necessary skills,

there is a lack of clarity over the purposes and

desired outcomes of education: what is education

for? Second, politicians, managers, professionals,

communities, parents and children all need to unite

in order to achieve these purposes and outcomes.Though learning takes place in many settings,

schools are still at the heart of the educational

process for most communities. Childrens

expectations of education and their enjoyment

or dislike of learning, are formed through their

experience of school, reinforced or lessened by family

and friends. Yet in two important respects, over the

last couple of decades, the focus of school activities

has narrowed.

One participant noted, There used to be all sorts

of extra-curricular classes at the local school: keep-

fit, foreign languages, music, art, English and even

ante-natal groups. You met people from the area and

it was a focus for the community. Now all this has

gone, crime has increased, the school gets vandalised,

and everyones health has suffered.

Throughout the UK, of course, there are

honourable exceptions, but all too often schools

have become isolated from the communities which

they serve. Schools (and colleges and universities)

which could, with imagination, be the site for thedelivery of many health, social and leisure services,

provide a wide range of educational and training

activities for adults and children and be an engine


24/40


for economic and social regeneration, have, through

he pressure of legislation, the withdrawal of services

and a reduction in resources, become narrowly

focused on the performance of children.

The second narrowing is in the concept of

performance. Many participants expressed their

concern that there is too much emphasis on

qualifications, standards and, for adult learning,

accreditation and too little on the wider role of

learning, such as building self-esteem, whole life

skills, the development of potential and not just

employment needs, and enhancing the capacity to

learn and a love of learning.

What is required is a vision for education, a

picture of learning which embraces the current

agenda and also addresses the wider social needs

of individuals and communities in a learning age,

which values emotional literacy as well as linguistic

and IT literacy, culture as well as economy. What

would a community be like if learning was highly

valued and inclusive, if education was only one part

of learning, and if learning was for life?

Throughout public services, and perhaps

particularly in education, two sets of fault lines

hinder the articulation and realisation of a common

vision and unity in purpose: the fault lines between

politicians, managers, professionals and publics, and

hose between national, regional, local, communityand family levels of understanding, responsibility

and action.

Making the Connections offers a glimpse of how

hese fault lines might be overcome. Politicians and

managers across the UK are striving through citizens

panels, citizens juries, deliberative polling and other

activities to develop the capacities and capabilities of

individuals and communities. And good managers

and leaders seek to do the same with professionals

and staff in their organisations.

As many political writers and advisers have

commented, societies in the late 20th and 21st

centuries are increasingly interlinked and share

common risk. If individuals and communities are to

participate fully in such societies and be involved

in social and individual choice, complex decision-

making and prioritisation (rationing), they need

he appropriate skills and the access to relevant

information. Individuals need these capacities and

capabilities not just for employment but to be active

and engaged members of communities, not just torespond but to be able to make public services work

for them.

This responsibility of education managers and

politicians developing capacities and capabilities

is shared with teachers and lecturers, with education

professionals. And is shared with managers and

politicians across public services. National bodies

(DfEE, OFSTED, the Audit Commission, etc) could

redefine their role as being to develop the capacities

and capabilities of regional and local bodies

(including local authorities/LEAs) and local bodies

as being to do the same for schools and community

organisations.

Doing so could be the glue that would bind

stakeholders together, and levels of learning the

hread which could reconnect government, public

services and individuals.

A number of possibilities for learning and action

by public service managers suggest themselves:

education managers heads, principals and

vice-chancellors could consider how to open

up further their institutions to the communities

which they serve

in a knowledge society, educational institutions

schools, colleges and universities could be

the site for the debate over the delivery of public

services

learning the development of capacities and

capabilities is the responsibility of all public

service managers, not just those in education accountability for education (and other public

services) needs to move from the formal,

representative and upward to the consultative,

engaged and outward.

Perhaps the most important lesson, however, is

he need for a vision for education. What is needed

is a picture of learning appropriate to the 21st

century, a story which holds together the various

initiatives, plans and policies, which recognises the

need for safeguards against failure and arbitration

of conflict but which connects the different parts of

he education and learning systems. A vision which

replaces the stretch-and-discard which has often

characterised education in this country with a notion

of social inclusion and inclusiveness. Amongst the

many pilots in education, such as those in Gateshead

Learning World and West Walker Primary School, we

may catch glimpses of this vision. The future often

starts in small places.


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Foundation

Public Management

The community safety map

T Making theConnections event was one for communitysafety. The issues that participants identified

can be clustered around the following themes:

personal and community responsibility the environment and society

safety

the criminal justice system

training and quality.

People said that they feel remote, or even

excluded, from the decision-making arenas where

community safety policies are made. There was a

strong feeling that many of the bodies involved

in community safety, such as the police and the

courts, are failing too often in their duties, with

the consequences being felt by individuals and

communities. People want to have more of a direct

say in the direction of community safety initiatives.

1. Personal andcommunity responsibility

The map clearly indicates a very strong feeling

that the responsibility for community safety does

not lie solely on the shoulders of bodies like thepolice. Participants agreed that both the individual

and the wider community should be striving

towards community safety. However, people also

commented that, in what they perceived as an

increasingly fragmented society, the sense of

community is weak, and the bonds between people

becoming frayed. If individuals and the community

are to take more responsibility for community safetythese bonds will first need to be re-established and

community spirit re-invigorated.

Community is an elusive concept, but one

which nearly everyone recognised as a positive idea.

People identified themselves as members not only

of communities of place, but also of communities of

interest. They felt that these individual communities

are valuable and should be nurtured, but should also

look outwards and seek to enrich the larger society.

Community spirit is not something which

can solely be rekindled from within and people

commented that it requires an outside impetus

and support. They thought that education was

essential, firstly to help rebuild community spirit,

and secondly to raise levels of understanding and

tolerance between the different communities.

However, the map clearly shows that people

believe the individual is as important as the

community and should not be subsumed by it.

Individual space and privacy need to be respected

and nurtured. But some people commented that self-esteem, like community spirit, is often lacking or in

need of re-invigoration. Again, people believed that

education had a role to play here.


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27/40

sections of the community safety map


28/40


2. The environment andsociety

Across the community safety map two themes

appear several times: the environment and

society. The two are closely linked and may

often be inseparable. An individuals immediate

environment and the wider pressures of society

may influence that persons propensity either to

commit crime or be a victim of crime.

Societal pressures, often channelled through

he media, can have an impact upon crime.

Two examples which people placed on the map

illustrated this. The first had to do with the

way that the media often portrays drug use as

lamourous (it should be noted that people did

not just perceive drugs as meaning illicit drugs).

The second was the medias tendency to emphasise

he perceived importance, for young people in

particular, to keep up with the latest trends in

fashion. Both of these were viewed by participants

as placing an undue pressure on young people to

strive to keep up with their peers; not surprisingly,

hey felt, this pressure often manifests itself

hrough crime.

People also pointed to unemployment as

another problem which has an impact upon crime,

if only through the boredom which it can bring.The map shows peoples desire to have the problem

of unemployment addressed through innovative

means, for example, by searching for alternatives

o employment if getting a person into work is not

a practical prospect.

An individuals own immediate environment

the built environment within which a person

lives, but also their home situation also affects

community safety. Marriage break-ups and child-

abuse were just two examples that people gave of

how a persons situation at home can affect how

hey interact with the wider society. People drew

close connections on the map between this area

and that of individual and community responsib-

ility in that having ones marriage collapse or

having been a victim of child abuse is likely to

affect a persons self-esteem, with possible costs for

community safety.

3. Safety

Safety features very prominently on the map

and is closely linked to the issues about the

environment. Safety is an issue with a particular

resonance at the local level and people made

references to it in many different local situations.

A major aspect of safety that the map highlights

concerns transport and road safety. People felt that

speeding cars were a particular danger, but parked

cars causing an obstruction were also perceived

as a safety problem. Participants used the map to

draw a connection between traffic safety and drink

driving which they viewed not only as a safety

issue, but also a crime-related problem.

People extended their concerns about transport

safety to include security on public transport. They

felt that a visible, human presence in the form of

a conductor or guard added greatly to feelings of

safety. And this human security presence was also

valued in other situations, such as having wardens

in sheltered housing or even in public spaces such

as parks.

Safety measures may also take other forms.

People generally see CCTV as a necessary evil

where concerns about individual privacy should be

set aside in pursuit of the greater good. But they

felt that the balance between privacy and safetybecame far more debatable when the question of

ID cards as a possible safety measure was raised.

4. The criminal justicesystem

Across the map, the main elements of the

criminal justice system are noted as failing in many

respects. People particularly criticised the courts:

for instance, they noted their concern about how

long it takes, from the time of their arrest, for a

person to come to trial. Sentences handed out by

courts were often thought to be inappropriate and

lacking in consistency, so that soft crimes often

attracted too harsh a sentence, while more serious

crimes were sometimes punished too leniently.

Again the map makes a link to education as

offering part of the solution to this problem.

People felt that judges were an especially weak

aspect of the criminal justice system, out of touchwith societys views, and thought that educational

and training programmes could provide one means

of bringing them up to scratch.


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It was not only the individual agencies which

were believed to be failing but also the links

between them. For example, participants felt

the police were remote from the courts and,

consequently, they thought that the two may often

be pulling in different directions. The various

agencies of the criminal justice, particularly the

police, were also thought to be remote fromthe communities they serve. If the community

is to achieve the levels of responsibility and

involvement which large areas of the map indicate

they want, then links need to be made not only

across bodies but also ownwards owards the

communities they serve. One way in which the

police could do this would be to recruit more

members from their community, and this may

be seen as an additional aspect to community

policing.

5. Training and quality

Issues of training and quality cross-cut many

of the issues highlighted on the map and were

particularly closely connected to the criminal

justice system. Quality underpins many of the

concerns people have with agencies which have

an input into community safety, and people felt

that training would be one vehicle through whichquality might be improved.

The map shows peoples concerns with the

effects on the quality of the police and policing of

an under investment in quality. A lack of quality

can affect different communities in different

ways. While for some people it may mean little

more than a seeming lack of politeness from

police officers, others experience it as a lack of

respect which can have serious and far reaching

consequences. It can lead, for example, to

individuals and communities feeling disaffectedand angry, with a resulting breakdown in relations

with the police.

Even worse, a lack of quality and training may

manifest itself in a perceived lack of accountability

or corruption. People pointed to the Stephen

Lawrence case as an example that had been made

public but feared that corruption or a lack of

accountability might be endemic, though hidden.


30/40


The challenge to police management

The forthcoming Crime & Disorder legislationwill introduce a range of radical reformso policing, bolster partnerships between local

gencies, and introduce fresh approaches to

youth justice. The legislation is commandingwidespread support which is no mean

chievement in the realm of criminal justice

where many past policies often seemed to

produce more dissent than consensus.

The debates at this community discovery event

illustrated that the public has a sophisticated

understanding of the complexities of crime and

disorder. People are quite prepared to support

and work with the public services concerned to

unpack that soundbite tough on crime, tough on

he causes of crime and to help develop robust

strategies that will lead to safer streets, homes

and workplaces. Just as they did with health

and learning, the participants recognised that

individuals, communities, public services and the

overnment all have a part to play in achieving

improvements in the quality of life.

Under the banner of crime and safety, many

linked issues were discussed road safety as well

as crime and the fear of crime and people saw a

role for both the council and the police in takingaction on these matters. Within the Crime and

Disorder legislation the government has, very

deliberately, not prescribed what local community

safety strategies should contain except in so far

hat they must be based upon a local review

of crime patterns (taking due account of the

knowledge and experience of persons in the area

Crime and Disorder Bill, Clause 6). The evidencefrom this event is that members of the public want

and need to be involved in helping decide the

scope of these reviews or audits to ensure that

he resulting strategies have their support. The

ambiguity about what crime and disorder strategies

should contain needs to resolved with the public.

They will need, too, to be involved in helping

decide which issues should become priorities.

The supervision of public places was a theme

hat came up again and again in a variety of guises,

such as the consequences of removing wardens

and concierges and police officers on foot (or

bike) patrol. A number of people made the clear

observation it was a false economy to remove this

visible human presence. The message is clear: if

local agencies are serious about crime prevention

and problem solving then they, like the public,

must make the connections between budgetary

policies and their consequences.

Not surprisingly many of the points people

made focused on the role and capability ofhe police. The pressures on the police were

highlighted (all that form filling said one

person) but so too were their attitudes to the


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Public Management

public (my daughters front door was kicked

in, wrongly, and she never got even an apology,

let alone compensation said another). The

public wants community police officers who are

naturally inclined and able (from hard won local

knowledge) to work with local people. There are

many implications here for the police in terms of

recruitment and career management policies an

issue recently highlighted in Misspent Youth: 98

Many people identified the importance of

community spirit and self esteem in reducing

crime but there was a sense of frustration at the

low level of tangible support given by the services

to nurture such individual and community

development. Perhaps in the efforts to set hard and

specific targets, these ineffable precursors of a safer

society are being overlooked. In the fight against

crime, the people are saying formulate objectives

for community spirit so that crime and disorder

strategies are integrated and therefore effective.

There was a generally poor view of the criminal

justice system: the discussions touched on subjects

like the inefficiency of the Crown Prosecution

Service, the little attention given to victims in the

courts, and so forth. The criminal justice system

has, it would appear, managed to avoid the same

degree of scrutiny and pressure to change that

most (if not all) other public services have beensubjected to. Commonplace concepts such as

client satisfaction and financial accountability

do not seem to figure in the justice system,

particularly the courts and CPS. This looks set

to change: the CPS is about to restructured and

questions have been raised over the sums being

earned by QCs from the public purse. It would

appear from what was discussed that this trend

is none too late. People will give their support

to forthcoming reforms if they result in swifter,

cheaper and more effective processes that pay

greater heed to the needs and wishes of all the

people involved.

Many links were made between drugs

and alcohol and crime, and indeed health.

The importance of preventive education was

emphasised within a wide ranging discussion

about the public health and safety implications of

drugs. These comments only serve to underline the

importance of, and support for, the governments

strategy to drive forward an integrated approach topreventing drug abuse trying to reduce demand

and supply. However this public support is not

unconditional. Several of the comments made

by participants showed a high intolerance for

inconsistency; whatever the government may say,

the public (particularly the young, where there

is much ground to be won) are watching for the

(symbolic) actions to match its words.

Interestingly one group chose to focus their

discussion upon unemployment and victims,

recognising that whilst many criminals are

unemployed so are many of their victims. The

cycles of deprivation and distrust were well

understood by the people in that group. Indeed

many, many connections were made between

community safety and the two other themes of

the event, learning and health. One connection,

however, particularly stands out: if education is

to achieve anything, it must help people make

choices in their lives and it is this which will, in

turn, reduce social exclusion and therefore crime.

The participants at this event would appear

to understand and approve of the governments

approach to tackling social exclusion. They, like

the government, recognise the complexity and

interrelatedness of many of the factors which

conspire to produce people and estates where

crime seems to be the only option. The public are

waiting, in hope, for the results of this joined up

thinking and action.

The discussion and the map produced throughthis process of community discovery validate how

vital and worthwhile it is to engage the public

in the co-creation of and not just consultation

about local crime and disorder strategies and in

the co-implementation of these strategies. There is

so much that is possible and so much to be done.

But it is clear that the public is willing and able to

take action to reduce crime and the fear of crime

and build a better Britain.


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The big picture

People have very many different experiencesof using public services. Individuals makeonnections between these experiences in ways

which it is difficult for public servants, working

with their own fields or functions, to emulate.By exploring these connections, we can identify

ways in which public services can help the

public to achieve their aims: greater self-help

nd a more productive partnership between

people and services.

People accept responsibility for their own well-

being. They are willing and able to do more to

improve their own health, safety and learning and

hat of others. In this community discovery event,

here was a preference for self help and a desire for

he sort of support which would make this more

possible. And there was a widespread recognition

of the sorts of individual actions and qualities

such as tolerance, respect, mutual support and

neighbourliness which help to create the sorts of

communities in which people want to live.

Participants in this event approached public

services much more as citizens than as customers,

while defining public services as action that could

and should be taken for the public good, rather

han as specific public sector organisations. Therewas a striking emphasis on the role of public

services in helping people to live together in a

healthy and safe environment. The provision of

one-to-one services was seen as only one part

of a much bigger picture which was made up of

a network of connections between individuals,

roups and services.

Integrated communitiesNot only did people want education services

o do more to help children learn about the

differences within a diverse community but they

wanted public services in general to bring together

roups of people from different backgrounds so

hat they might understand one another better.

For example, the inclusion of children with special

needs in mainstream schools was seen of enormous

benefit to both groups of children, and their

parents, providing this was properly resourced and

he professionals were committed to it.

Customer care and co-productionPeoples experiences of even routine and

relatively unimportant transactions with public

services influence their future behaviour and

attitudes. Peoples attempts to be active and

responsible citizens by, for example, reporting a

crime, are stifled when their action is ignored or

met with rudely.Where the contact is of greater significance, to

he user at least, it can result in a serious loss of

confidence. Teenage boys going to the police after


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being attacked were left feeling alienated by the

hostility of the police and their long and fruitless

wait for medical attention. If public services are

to build a stronger partnership with citizens, the

basic principles of the Citizens Charter can help to

create the necessary trust and help to enrol citizens

as co-producers of the desired outcomes of public

services.

Support and self helpPeople recognised that limited support from

public services can often enable independence

the almost universal preference. However, they

were concerned that uncoordinated decisions

by public services often blocked self-help and

resulted in a poorer quality of life and greater

demands on the public purse. All too often, one

part of the public sector failed to provide the

infrastructure which would enable another part to

meet its objectives of helping citizens to look after

themselves.

Illustrations were numerous: mothers having to

give up work because they could not find suitable,

affordable child care; withdrawal of youth services

contributing to higher crime rates; the closure

of social clubs adding to the isolation and ill

health of elderly people; and the wait for a GPs

appointment lengthening the absence from schooland work.

Choice and accountabilityPeople want choice. They are also willing to

take the responsibility of being more proactive in

meeting their needs, in partnership with public

service providers. People felt a sense of ownership

of public services, although this was not reflected

in opportunities to engage in policy making

and systems for service delivery. This sense of

ownership was combined with a desire for more

openness and accountability in the design and

delivery of services. At a basic level this consisted

of the ability of service providers to answer what

members of the public saw as simple questions.

They were concerned to be able to avoid the poor

quality schools, doctors, hospitals and other public

services. A more uniform standard of provision

would make this less of an issue. However, in

a wider sense, choice was connected to self

empowerment, taking responsibility and placingthe citizen at the centre of public service provision.

As it is, their attempts to choose are defeated

by a lack of information and the lack of options.

Further, they are sceptical about the role of

performance information in actually enabling

choice or raising standards. In the case of school

league tables, the indicators did not reflect the real

priorities of children and parents. Nevertheless,

some parents felt compelled to act on the basis of

this information, creating more pressure on the

good schools and depriving the bad schools of

the sort of mixed community which people said

they preferred.

Fostering a community spiritThe need and desire to foster more of a

community spirit was a major theme running

through all the discussions. There were many

facets to this, including respect and understanding

for others and a sense of responsibility for assisting

other people. With a more active community

spirit, people felt, much could be done to

prevent and tackle crime, to provide a healthier

environment, and to increase individuals learning

and self esteem.

People want public services to help them

develop more active communities. Events like

the one which led to this report can help, but

only if public services take a genuine interest in

what people have to say, and commit themselves

to acting on what they hear. Public services canfacilitate community development by supporting

groups, disseminating information, and providing

events and facilities, perhaps helping schools

to move away from an all-consuming focus on

exam results and to become more of a base for

community activity.

Communicationplea for better communication was heard

in every context. The need for more information

and greater dialogue is pressing. The lack of

communication between different parts of public

services and between services and their users

frustrates and in some cases enrages people. It

restricts access to services and prevents people

from contributing fully to their own well-being

and that of the community.

People were moved to comment on the

differences between the views expressed by

participants in this event, and the presentation of

public opinion in the media. They urged publicservices at local and national level to develop

much more direct communication with the public.


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Central government and top management

need to promote a visionary agenda of social

results and a more inspiring ethos for publicservice.

Government at all levels needs to widen the

genda of community engagement beyond

uality issues to include consideration

f policy, accountability, outcome and

responsibility.

As the agenda of improved social results

becomes clearer, government at all levels

needs to explore and experiment with new

ways of organising resources and effort

o deliver outcomes rather than simply to

eliver services.

Managers responsible for local public service

provision must articulate clearly and

requently the social outcomes they are

rying to produce for their communities.

Managers, local politicians and authority

members must engage the public regularly

and continuously in order to view the

changing state of social outcomes throughtheir communities eyes.

Local politicians and authority members,

managers and service professionals have to

develop knowledge, skills and more open

attitudes in order to engage in new ways of

listening to the public, new ways of learning

about community needs and new ways of

sharing ideas, challenges and solutions.

Local government should create communities

of social outcome, bringing together

perhaps two or three times a year all of

the agencies and people in one locale with

specific interests in an outcome and with

some of the wherewithal to help achieve it.

Public service organisations need practical

strategies to engage citizens and to build

active citizenship.

The way forward


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Building new connections

Citizens are demanding connections.They have complicated lives that presentinterconnected problems. But those problems

are not well-enough addressed by our too often

unconnected public services. Citizens do wantthe joined-up solutions that Government wishes

to promote. Joined-up services are required to

produce them.

Citizens also want to be connected themselves

to those services. They want to have more say and

a greater influence in the ways public services are

delivered. They are concerned about the quality

of public services and about the impacts those

services can have on their well-being. But citizens

are aware of their own responsibilities and their

own roles as well, not just in making services

better but also in building the strengths of local

communities.

These horizontal connections between services

and people are not enough, however. Citizens want

vertical connections too, between policy intent,

service implementation and results on the ground.

And they want to be able to see and understand

those vertical connections. They want transparency

and they want accountability.

Much needs to be done to build newconnections, at all levels of government and in

all parts of the community. To contribute to that

process, we ha

Making the Connections

Documents

Transcript of Making the Connections