25th November 2007 - When Does Your Life Become History?

This year it feels like much of the background story of my life has become history rather than current affairs.

Maybe it is all the changes this year. Tony Blair has become the last Prime Minister, not the current one. Hilliary Clinton is running for Presidential nomination in the US when it seems only yesterday that Bill Clinton was in office. Boris Yeltsin died this year but I clearly remember the day he stood up to the Duma on a tank, and the fall of communism. Maybe it is something to do with becoming a father also.

Much of my overseas work occurred as a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of opportunities to work in Central and Eastern Europe. My work in Bosnia was a result of the ending of the war there in 1995. Both several years ago now - during a different century. With the development of cheap budget airline flights it is hard to imagine that going to Budapest, Sarajevo or Sofia was actually very difficult before 1989.

But there must be a point for all of us when we look back on the way the world has changed and suddenly realise that many of those things that seem so recent infact happened many years ago.

Sometimes when we use services it can feel like that too. To a doctor or a professional they are taking a life history. To the person it is very real and current. And very precious. It is so important that as professionals we value what we are told by people about their life and their story.

6th September 2007 - After the Summer

Summer feels like it has gone. August is often one of the quietest months for me in terms of work. It is a good time to rest and reflect. But now that September is here I am entering the busiest months of my work schedule. The challenge is to keep a sense of balance and reflection through the busy times.

I have been thinking about the balance between strategic work and grassroots work. How do you keep a focus on what is really important to people whilst also contributing to systemic change? How can you balance the time you spend in meetings and with reports, with the time you spend in the community and on the street?

It is important for me that I continually reconnect with service users and community organisations. I want to have influence but I also want to be grounded in the real world. Sometimes opportunities arise that are tempting. But I have to ask myself if they will take me closer or farther away from people.

So I have been out on the streets of Bexley and other parts of the UK, talking and listening to people. Asking simple questions such as what is it like for you? How does it feel? I don't always get the answers I expect - from people ignoring you to telling you in direct ways to leave them alone. But others are interested to talk and share stories and experiences. One key message has been how do organisations build trust with local people? Trust in the process. Trust in the fairness and capabilities of those in powerful positions. Trust in the eventual outcomes.

Autumn is a traditional time of harvest and making commitments. My renewed focus is connecting with people and learning their thoughts on making a difference and being part of change.

29th July 2007 - Scrutiny and the Place of the Grassroots

The grassroots does many things very well. It advocates, it campaigns, it creates alternatives, it involves, informs and inspires. Another important thing it can do is scrutinise. Using local experience based in the real world, grassroots organisations are able to look in detail at what is really happening for people.

Scrutiny can be difficult to define. One way I think about it is in terms of exploring decision making and the impact this has on local people including those who experience inequalities and disadvantage. There are at least four areas to look at:

        i. What are organisations and people are saying?
        ii. What are organisations and people are actually doing?
        iii. What is it like to be on the receiving end of this? How can we capturing the                 impact and outcomes for local people?
        iv. How do organisations learn and use this knowledge?

A key reflective question for me is, where are the gaps and the connections between these four areas? For often there is a gap between what organisations think they are doing and what they are actually doing. The gap may well be unintentional, but unless organisations really know their communities well and listen to their service users it is likely to be there in some form.

In my view good scrutiny changes peoples’ lives and builds sustainable local services. The challenge is to support grassroots organisations to have a platform to contribute to scrutiny. It is essential that we recognise the unique insights that service users and experts by experience can bring to this process.

But participating in scrutiny can be challenging. It can involve look in depth at reports, information and statistics. Support is needed to enable the grassroots to build their confidence and capacities.

Sometimes though the most effective scrutiny is through the most direct and seemingly simple questions: Why are you doing that? What effect does that cause? What if you looked at the problem in a different way? Who could you involve to understand the real world better?

Grassroots organisation are often good at asking the direct but unusual questions. As Albert Einstein once said, you cannot solve a problem using the same thinking that caused it.

This leads me to a wider reflection I have been having lately. Much of my international work brings me in to contact with organisations such as the World Bank and the World Health Organisation. They talk a lot about building 'good governance' in developing countries as a route to long-term development and sustainability. Scrutiny is one integral part of this idea of governance. How can we ensure we practice what we preach to other countries and ensure that we empower local people to contribute to good governance through scrutiny here in the UK?

21st June 2007 – Being Unemployable: What Might This Mean?

At the end of the television series The Apprentice there was a discussion about true entrepreneurs being ‘unemployable’. What this meant was that entrepreneurs are so creative, self-motivated and driven that they cannot fit into anyone else’s organisation as an employee.

This notion of ‘unemployability’ made me think. Many of the people I work with aspire to have jobs but find that employment opportunities are scarce and unsupportive. The term 'unemployable' is often used as a label and barrier. But these people also have huge talents and life experience that can provide valuable expertise for many types of organisations. Since The Apprentice candidates were prepared to turn the concept of not being employable into a positive or a badge of honour, maybe this is something we need to do in the social sector.

By reframing a problem it is sometimes possible to think of new and creative solutions. If people are unemployable perhaps that is because they are too talented, special and unique to fit into mundane and every-day organisations that simply want to employ human robots on a thoughtless production line!

By supporting grassroots organisations and social enterprises, local people can have the opportunity to lead organisations and become entrepreneurs. By highlighting what makes different people special, perhaps we can encourage innovative employers in areas of marketing, advertising and brand-development to look again at people with mental health problems and lived experiences. Perhaps they may begin to see this as a talent pool that is not afraid think the unthinkable and come up with ideas that are new, risky and non-traditional.

And of course, given the journey I have been on for the last few years (and the things I have learned from service users who invariably have been my best teachers) I will have to find some quiet moment to reflect on whether slowly I am becoming unemployable too…..

Reference: The Apprentice is a BBC 1 reality TV programme where several entrepreneurial candidates compete for a job working for Sir Alan Sugar
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice

18th May 2007 - Eleven Million Voices, Six Spotlights, Two Images and One Hope

Since school I have never been a particular fan of numbers. I learned quite early on that my mind is far more comfortable with words, concepts and probably lots of the fuzzy stuff too. So when I was invited this week by Participation Works to attend the launch of 11 Million, the five-year plan from the Children’s Commissioner for England, I was intrigued and slightly numerically challenged.

The event was held at HM Treasury up in Whitehall in London. 11 Million refers to the fact that there are 11 million children and young people in England. The plan wants to give all these individuals a voice.

One thing I really liked in the plan was the use of the word ‘spotlight’. This came from the young people taking part and referred to six fundamental areas of concern. The idea is to shine a light on these areas. Now this visual imagery feels much more comfortable to me. And how much more exciting than the usual jargon of objectives or goals.

Of the six spotlights, two shine very specifically on my ongoing work interests in mental health and in asylum and trafficking. I will watch these closely. There is also a parallel project called ‘Healthy and Happy’, which will capture children and young peoples’ views on health issues. I am hoping that this will have relevance for my work in the NHS.

During the event I was fortunate to be able to get to the front of the crowd and have a quick conversation with Sir Al, the Children’s Commissioner. He is a warm, friendly person who listens well and makes good eye contact – what a nice contrast to some of the other ‘powerful’ people I have tried to meet in the past. I asked Sir Al for his thoughts on involving young people in health generally and their participation in NHS structures in particular. Sir Al was supportive and encouraging and made a commitment that he and his office is available to help with opening up new opportunities. One such will be the 11 Million Takeover day on 23rd November this year to celebrate the 18th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Everyone is encouraged to give young people the opportunity to take over their organisation for the day. It is an interesting idea. I am sure that many organisations will learn as much from the experience as the young people.

Leaving the launch with my prerequisite 11 Million branded bag containing strategy documents, a T-shirt and a pen I reflected on the images and sounds from the event as I rode the train home.  Sir Al himself had been dressed in a black hoodie top during the presentation. What was the meaning of this? Should I have felt the urge to hug him or hide from him? The words of the young people from his team also resonated in my mind. They had given excellent and clear presentations. But their language had surprised me, it was not what I was expecting. The talk was mainly of stakeholder analysis, planning, ‘hard to reach’ communities and indicators.

But the enduring thing I take away from the event is hope. There are clearly a lot of good people who have worked very hard on the 11 Million plan and there are lots of important things in it. I hope the plan and the words will turn in to action. I hope Sir Al will be able to, and indeed be allowed to, use his powers wisely and with courage. I hope that children and young people in Bradford and Middlesbrough and Hammersmith and all the other small local communities where I work will be able to say they are healthier and happier in the future. I hope people will get hold of a copy of the plan and use it in their advocacy and participation work. Besides, I am comfortable with hope - it defies numbers and any attempts to be quantified.

(The 11 Million plan can be found at www.11million.org.uk as can details of the Takeover day)

21st April 2007 - Celebrating the Success of the Middlesbrough Mental Health Policy Action Group MenQual

The MenQual group will be celebrating its one-year anniversary in June. For a grassroots policy action group where everyone gives their time for free this is a great achievement. The group meets formally every month and in the intervals members work together to lead local policy initiatives such as lobbying, campaigning and network development.

During June I will be working with them to run some workshops on user involvement in governance and public action. The group is keen to build their capacity to engage with the development of the local Foundation NHS Trust and have an active voice NHS reform. Recently MenQual has been leading a local employment initiative to provide real jobs for people with mental health problems. This work has included users building relationships with local employers to share good practice and provide encouragement and support for new employment opportunities. A local employment charter is due to be launched in May 2007.

One of the lessons that the members of MenQual have taught me is that action is more important to people at the grassroots than words. Words and statements of intent may sound fine but what people really value is the ability to turn these words in to action.

The experience of MenQual demonstrates what is possible when local people decide to work together and have a voice. I am proud to know and work with them.

26th March 2007 – Localism and Local Participation: How far can it go?

With the Public Health and Local Government Bill making its way through parliament and the increasing focus on the issue of community participation, it is a good time to think about where the localism agenda is taking us all in the UK.

For me, participation goes far beyond simple ideas of involvement and consultation. Participation has to mean an active taking part in decision making and in the design, implementation, evaluation and learning from services. Participation also means the active taking part in the policy process and in the genesis and development of new policies. Participation has to recognise diversity and difference to ensure that the groups with the least powerful voices are heard – groups such as young people, people with learning disabilities and people from excluded communities. Participation is at its most effective when it can draw on the local knowledge and expertise of people at the grassroots.

To make participation work is going to take a major shift in how we understand decision-making processes. It is also going to take a culture shift in institutions. But most importantly it is going to demand that powerful individuals and groups start putting themselves last for a change and learning to listen.

What supports are going to be offered to people to enable them to develop their skills and confidence to take part in new local forums and public meetings?

It is an exciting time as there are increasing opportunities for involvement. The onus is now on the community to empower itself and take advantage of the changing environment. Lets all get out there and have a voice. Lets all get out there and share information with our neighbours and support them to have a voice too.

5th March 2007 – What do the roads tells us about the issue of child poverty in the UK?

The recent UNICEF report (UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. 2007, Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries, The United Nations Children’s Fund, Florence.) received a lot of attention and news coverage across the UK. This was important as it highlighted some of the problems and disadvantages faced by children. It was also good to see the Children’s Commissioner making a firm statement about the importance of listening and involving young people in their local communities and in services.

With all the attention on the UNICEF work, another statistic that came out in the same week received less profile. This was the continuing level of road traffic accidents that affect children in the UK. Approximately 5,000 children are killed or seriously injured because of road traffic accidents each year. That equates to over 13 children per day. Imagine this level of death and injury through plane crashes or other single events. Yet these road traffic accidents rarely make the national or even local news.

And there is another, even more powerful statistic that should make us all reflect. Children from low-income families are five times more likely to be killed on the road than children from other economic groups.

Why should this be so? What part does poverty play in children and parents’ ability to live safely in their communities?

I used to work in a small former mining town in North East Derbyshire called Clay Cross. The town prided itself on being the only place in the UK with two pelican crossings within 50 metres of each other. This had been achieved by the combined efforts of local families and their local representatives in highlighting the dangers of the busy A61 road running through the heart of the town.

Statistics for road traffic accidents and children come from a recent AA report titled Facts about Road Accidents and Children. It can be downloaded from www.theaa.com/public_affairs/reports/facts_about_road_accidents_and_children.pdf