presentation to ncvo annual conference, march 2011
TRANSCRIPT
TAKE PART, TAKE PRIDE
Building the Bigger Society in Sutton
NCVO
March 2011Daniel Ratchford - Strategic Director, Environment & Leisure
The Big Society is not new to us
• Sutton has an active voluntary and community sector, and a wealth of clubs, societies and associations
• “Helping people to help themselves” has been part of Sutton’s philosophy for decades
• “Take Part, Take Pride” has become part of our branding, and is celebrated as a major festival in Sutton every year
• So the emerging themes of the Big Society are not new to us, and are evident in many areas of our work
• For these reasons, Sutton agreed to become a vanguard area for the Big Society
Big Society vanguard projects
• Big Society thinking and approaches are evident in many areas of our work
• And as part of our vanguard status, we have agreed four particular ‘signature projects’ with government:
1. traffic and transport
2. the Sutton Life Centre
3. community champions
4. local health
Big Society vanguard projects
• Big Society thinking and approaches are evident in many areas of our work
• And as part of our vanguard status, we have agreed four particular ‘signature projects’ with government:
1. traffic and transport
2. the Sutton Life Centre
3. community champions
4. local health Giving people greater power over traffic and transport schemes in their
communities – from bus services and trains, to speed humps and yellow lines
Big Society vanguard projects
• Big Society thinking and approaches are evident in many areas of our work
• And as part of our vanguard status, we have agreed four particular ‘signature projects’ with government:
1. traffic and transport
2. the Sutton Life Centre
3. community champions
4. local healthUsing our recently opened state-of-the-art interactive citizenship centre to encourage our younger people to make smarter choices about their
lives, and to take a lead role in their local community
Big Society vanguard projects
• Big Society thinking and approaches are evident in many areas of our work
• And as part of our vanguard status, we have agreed four particular ‘signature projects’ with government:
1. traffic and transport
2. the Sutton Life Centre
3. community champions
4. local health
Working with residents in Hackbridge to develop the first UK eco-suburb – using retrofit, behaviour change, and
neighbourhood planning
Big Society vanguard projects
• Big Society thinking and approaches are evident in many areas of our work
• And as part of our vanguard status, we have agreed four particular ‘signature projects’ with government:
1. traffic and transport
2. the Sutton Life Centre
3. community champions
4. local health
Making health services in Sutton truly local, through the early adoption of
key elements of the NHS White Paper
Looking through a new lens
• None of our work on Big Society is about starting from scratch, or about delivering new sets of services
• Rather, it’s about looking at what we do, and how we do it, through a new lens
• There are six common themes underlying our work on Big Society:
1. behaviour change
2. devolving decision-making
3. closer collaboration with voluntary and private sectors
4. cutting red tape
5. new models of service delivery
6. openness and transparency
Take part, take pride
Take part, take pride
Take part, take pride
Smarter Streets: keeping Sutton tidy
Smarter choices: Sutton’s approach
Take part, take pride
Take part, take pride
Take part, take pride
Take part, take pride
“I was excited to read that Sutton has been chosen by the coalition government to be one of several places where the Big Society project begins. To this end I would like to volunteer my services to improve my community and to save the council money that could be better spent elsewhere.
I am a keen gardener and I have always felt that our environment has a direct bearing on the way we feel and the way we act… I would like to “adopt” the gardens in front of Wallington Library, the grounds around Orchard Hill College and the raised beds on the Shotfield car park site… All I ask in return is that the council workers do not come along and wreck what has been planted out of ignorance.
I would be interested to hear what you think about my proposal. The Big Society idea excites me because now is our chance to make a meaningful contribution to this town and to change it into the place we would wish it to be. I think people long for bold ideas instead of mediocrity and want their local authorities to be braver about delivering them.”
www.twitter.com/danielratchford #behaviourchange
www.sutton.gov.uk