Moving from Innovation to Everyday practice in public policy: Lessons of the Local Action Plans

Moving from Innovation to Everyday practice in public policy: Lessons of

the Local Action Plans. Jon Bloomfield

23rd November 2012

The TOGETHER project defined

Last two decades have seen lots of experiments with devolution and de-centralisation.

Concept of co-responsibility starts with the citizen.

It is an open-ended approach based on the use of focus groups. Avoids danger of a problem-driven approach, which knows issues before you start

TOGETHER focuses on new ways of linking public authorities and people

Better to engage and involve citizens in developments rather than just tell them once decisions have been made.

The economic and social crisis within Europe is a tough background in which to introduce new thinking.

Title of presentation I Tuesday 11 April 2023 I Page 2

Consultation and Pilot Actions

Each city set up a Local Steering Group reflecting range of interests to co-ordinate and oversee the project

They organised focus groups in each municipality

Open questions on well-being and ill-being

147 groups across 8 cities; 14,000 responses

Coded into computer system; then analysed

Council of Europe have piloted this method widely


Consultation and Pilot Actions

It has thrown up 8 broad themes/dimensions and over 40 topics where indicators can be developed

Highlighted variety of citizens’ concerns: economic, health and education but also ‘hidden’ issues e.g. respect, discrimination, isolation, community.

Joint meeting and LSG analysed policy gaps

Number of pilot actions suggested in each city, all based on an active relationship between municipality, civic associations and citizens.

Putting co-responsibility into practice


Measuring the Extent of Citizen Engagement: The Seven Point Scale

Project developed 7 point scale. A way for citizens, non-governmental organisations and councils to measure the extent of citizen engagement in a project, programme or strategic city initiative.

1. Minimal engagement

2. Formal partnership

3. An engaged partnership

4. Co-governance

5. Co-management.

6. Co-production.

7. Co-responsibility, where the elements outlined in points 4-6 are combined across a whole sector.

A way to measure the pilot actions and the LAPs.


Measuring the Pilot Actions

Botkyrka – night patrols. Co-management

Braine l’Alleud. Children’s Parliament. Co-production.

Covihla – coloured Bag. Engaged partnership

Debica – social integration club. Engaged partnership

Kavala – social pharmacy. Co-management

Mulhouse – multi-partite contracts. Co-production

Pergine. –collective vegetable garden. Co-management

Salaspils. NGO centre. Engaged partnership


Local Action Plans (LAPs)

Each LAP has two tasks:

-an account of the project and how they have tried to apply co-responsibility thinking in their city

-an indication as to how they will use this co-responsibility method in the future.

Measured LAP against the scale. All had made progress from where they started from but much harder to develop across a whole department or neighbourhood.

Nowhere has been able to reach Point 7; a consistent approach to co-management, co-production and co-governance remains elusive. This suggests that the adoption of a co-responsibility method will be a long haul within all municipalities and that no quick fixes should be expected.


Obstacles

Real limitations with a time-limited, small-scale pilot.

Project focused on social issues rather than everything.

Need to change professional outlook among staff and recognise this method takes time.

Need for political leadership. Co-responsibility means sharing of power. Complicated and difficult.

Mainstreaming. The biggest obstacle:

- how to bridge gap from pilot to mainstream:

- how to generalise;

- how to scale up.


Conclusions

Significant and creditable progress across all its eight partner municipalities in extending citizen participation and promoting a co-responsibility approach.

A range of imaginative pilot actions have been generated.

The Local Action Plans show that in each city there are plans to embed this approach within parts of the municipality’s work once the project has been completed.


Conclusions for URBACT

There are three tools which the project has developed which can help the process of generalisation and dissemination.

The consultative computer tool for citizen engagement. Developed by the Council of Europe the project has road-tested this tool. In a simplified version, this could be used widely by public authorities across Europe.

The 7 point scale.

URBACT to encourage the wider take-up of this scale.

A tool-kit on co-responsibility.

The project lead partner Mulhouse has produced In a shortened version this will be a valuable tool-kit for public authorities across Europe


Conclusions

Citizen engagement and co-responsibility is a growing area of public interest.

There is a widespread recognition of the increasing importance of active public participation in civic affairs.

This project suggests that many areas remain to be explored.

That would be a rich field for potential further investigation within the URBACT programme.

But most importantly, the project shows that there is real interest in testing out methods of civic engagement and improving citizen participation.

“we are giving people the fishing rod and not just the fish.”


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Moving from Innovation to Everyday practice in public policy: Lessons of the Local Action Plans