A city wide approach to connecting citizens’ voices to strategic decision making
“The vision is to create governance and partnership arrangements based on trust, participation and radical transparency and successfully mesh these into the existing ‘traditional’ structures. This vision cannot be emphasised strongly enough; if the system cannot ‘see’ and recognise the learning coming out of the process and tests, then all activity will be in vain.” HCT phase two submission FINAL.docx
Participation
The programme is built on an understanding of Human Learning Systems, Human Learning Systems: Public Service for the Real World (Summary) (centreforpublicimpact.org) and the need to have the voices of lived experience from those living and working in Plymouth at the heart of everything we do.
Open engagement is actively encouraged. We did not start out with a closed core team. Instead we allowed for an emergent core, built on interest and self directed learning, recognising the need for fluidity for over committed people to engage in yet another initiative.
Our current team is made up of leaders of Youth Groups; senior and other managers within the NHS, Livewell, Plymouth City Council, voluntary organisations representing neighbourhoods, communities of interest and belonging; researchers and relationship coaches. We have worked with necessary flux as core members have been pulled into other projects and new members have taken time to grasp the complexities and uncertainties of the programme.
There is no such thing as a stupid question and members are encouraged to voice their dilemmas and lack of confidence as well as their inspiration and creative ideas.
