Making Strategic Space, Not Just Meetings

One insight from our June 2023 Ops Update has stuck with us: we don’t have a strategic space.

Karen said it simply: “We recognise we have reflective meetings (sprint review) and operational meetings…but we don’t have a specific strategic meeting for thinking about the next few months.”

That opened a bigger conversation. Were we spending too much time on delivery and troubleshooting—and not enough on dreaming, planning, and zooming out?

We’ve begun carving out time just for strategy. Not to tick boxes, but to ask real questions: Where are we going? What’s emerging? What does the city need from us next?

These spaces aren’t about setting fixed goals. They’re about keeping our eyes on the horizon, together.

Because a project like Belong in Plymouth needs more than great delivery. It needs direction. And that comes from pausing long enough to notice where we are—and where we might be heading.