Roundtable on working in a place

Creating the conditions for a fairer system to emerge

Introduction – Laura Seebohm

Laura Seebohm, the Better Way Convenor for the North, gave a quick summary of A Better Way, explaining that the Better Way Network is a collection of leaders who are committed to changing the way things work for people across society for the better.  We are not about leadership in the hierarchical sense.  We come together within and across sectors, learn from each other, share common experiences and identify better ways to do things. 

Laura noted that over the past 18 months we’ve seen certain ideas shine through, themes which seem to emerge and re-emerge in every conversation:

• Four fundamental behaviours - putting relationships first, sharing and building power, joining forces and listening to each other, particularly those least heard.

• And three cross-cutting questions, included one particularly pertinent to this event - how can we remove the road blocks?

These were all explored at our National Gathering on 24th November, she said.  The note of that meeting is here.

Laura explained this roundtable had come about from conversations with people whose purpose ‘in the day job’ is to work in a place, who had said they would welcome a group where they could explore the challenges more deeply with others working in places, exploring how to help create the conditions to bring about change, recognising that it can be hard to unpick where barriers lie and wanting to share honest reflections about the complexities.  

We had decided to make this an ‘invitation only’ meeting and to restrict the numbers, unlike most Better Way roundtables, she explained, in order to make it easier for open reflection, and to see if the group might want to work together, build up mutual trust and support each other after the first meeting.

We started with some opening contributions, moving to breakout groups and back to plenary.

Reflections from Kelly Cunningham, Changing Lives, working in York

·       She wanted to talk about feelings and emotions, not processes, because she thought it was important to acknowledge these in system change work.

·       We don’t acknowledge power dynamics enough.

·       There is no blueprint for this kind of work, and you need to be very self-motivated because the work goes really slowly.

·       There is always a pressure to see impact, but in fact there is no ‘big boom’ and sometimes it is hard to see the ripples of change.

·       Importance of building legitimacy and allies is important, but this takes time.

·       You need to change the conversation but in a way that you are not always seen as an ‘agitator’ – it can be a fine line between being radical and being irritating.

·       Need to let go of some of your own views, ‘not do the do’ and step back.  This is very hard – we need to model behaviours ourselves.

Reflections from Harriet Ballance, Lloyds Bank Foundation

·       Set up phase takes time and it’s important to hold your nerve.  This can be hard when there is pressure from colleagues within your organisation and within communities to show progress.

·       Covid-19 forced us to slow down and to get to know each other, which has been helpful in establishing strong relationships for this work

·       Capacity building is important– LBF try to identify people to work with them who have amazing networks locally.

·       Sometimes it works well to have LBF neutrality, not being from a place and able to ask different questions – about things that may seem obvious to people in a place – and this can create a different conversation. 

·       Getting a shift in ‘the way we do things here’ is often difficult.

·       Need to sit with discomfort and be very aware of how this work feels for people.

·       How do we make this something that people actually want to do? – we are thinking about how to develop spaces that feel different and that people value

·       Some of the tools adopted by LBF have been very useful in unblocking blockages, and providing a guide or framework in uncertainty eg training in restorative practice has provided a helpful framework.  Service design led thinking has also been a tried and tested tool.

Reflections from Andy Crosbie, Collective Impact Agency, Gateshead

·       Lots talked about ‘place-based’, ‘co-location’ – but what do we actually mean?

·       The real test for place-based work is whether it engages communities, those people living in a place, non-specialist and non-institutional roles.

·       Working a fine line between the old system – need to engage within it and find allies – and new ways of challenging orthodoxy and assumptions.  This is difficult while you are trying to build relationships.

·       Need to carve out a space free from assumptions and bureaucracy – a new space to grow

·       This work can be lonely and exhausting, messy and slow.  The old system loves clarity and efficiency, neither of which we can provide!

Some of the points made in discussion included:

·       The issues raised by the opening speakers really resonated.

·       It can be difficult to support systems change in a place when you are an outsider but it easy to slip into false assumptions. 

·       ‘Wisdom sits in a place’ and you really need to understand it, and take time to do so.

·       People locally are often extremely pressed for time, and it’s important to use that time well, and make sure that it is funded.  One key function to fund is a ‘systems facilitator’ who can bring different parties together and provide a convening space. Core, not project-based funding, is critical, otherwise local people are lurching from one funding crisis to another. Putting programme money into a community can be important but it can also be a curse because it distorts behaviour.

·       Achieving change in a place takes time, you have to be patient and give yourself and others permission not to know the answers. It’s important to think hard about the starting point, as this determines what follows. 

·       Given the slow pace of change, some indicators of success would be helpful.

·       Culture change may be the most important result that can be achieved, in order to free up the system.  A theory of change is valuable.

Summing up, Bonnie Hewson from Power to Change said that it is ‘not what you do but how you do it’ that matters, and understanding your own power, and why you are using it. Being a funder can be uncomfortable, and there are huge challenges to working in a place and to create co-operation, and it’s important to share your power, which can be humbling.  It’s critical to be led by the place and to ensure the process is fun, and very easy to constantly underestimate the wisdom of places whose main problem is often ‘not having capacity to build their own capacity.’

Caroline Slocock, a national co-convenor for a Better Way, ended with a reflection that perhaps the Better Way behaviours – putting relationships first, sharing and building power, listening to each other, particularly those least heard, and joining forces   – might provide one guide for how to work in a place and deliver systems and culture change.  Looking for evidence of these behaviours might be a way to measure progress, she added.  She hoped the group might meet again, if that would be useful.