rsa changemakers - identifying the key people driving positive change in local areas

8/2/2019 RSA ChangeMakers - Identifying the key people driving positive change in local areas

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RSAChangeMakers

Identifying the key peopledriving positive change inlocal areas

Benedict Dellot

Gaia Marcus

Steve Broome

February 2012


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About the RSA

The RSA has been a source o ideas, innovation andcivic enterprise or over 250 years. In the light onew challenges and opportunities or the humanrace our purpose is to encourage the development oa principled, prosperous society by identiying andreleasing human potential. This is reected in theorganisations recent commitment to the pursuit owhat it calls 21st century enlightenment.

Through lectures, events, pamphlets andcommissions, the RSA provides a ow o richideas and inspiration or what might be realisedin a more enlightened world; essential to progressbut insufcient without action. RSA Projects aimto bridge this gap between thinking and action.We put our ideas to work or the common good.By researching, designing and testing new wayso living, we hope to oster a more inventive,resourceul and ulflled society. Through ourFellowship o 27,000 people the RSA aims to be asource o capacity, commitment and innovation incommunities rom the global to the local. Fellows areactively encouraged to engage and to develop localand issue-based initiatives.

About the Citizen Power project

In 2009, Peterborough City Council and the ArtsCouncil England approached the RSA to develop aprogramme o interventions that would strengthencivic pride in Peterborough by looking at howparticipation, attachment and innovation in thecitys public services and among its citizens mightbe enhanced. ChangeMakers one o the CitizenPower projects seeks to tap into, connect togetherand urther nurture the capacity o individuals whoare already driving positive change in the city. Thispaper details the fndings rom our pilot researchin Peterborough and introduces the concept o a

ChangeMakers Network, something that we willbe developing as part o the second phase o theproject.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank PeterboroughCity Council and the Arts Council England or thesupport they have provided to the Citizen Powerprogramme, without which the ChangeMakersproject would not have been possible. Thanksmust also go to Matthew Taylor, Adam Lent, SamMcLean, Sam Taylor, Emma Norris, GeorginaChatfeld and Janet Hawken or their assistanceand input at various stages o the project. We areparticularly grateul to Matthew Mitchell-Campwho was invaluable in turning our data into visualdiagrams and inographics. And fnally, we wouldlike to thank the ChangeMakers themselves, manyo whom have spent a large amount time and eortparticipating in this project.


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RSA ChangeMakers

ContentsExecutive summary 4

A new dawn for local areas 7

A wealth of potential 10

Mapping ChangeMakers in Peterborough 13

Exploring the network 15

Harnessing the power of ChangeMakers 22

Next steps 26


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Executive

summaryA combination o nancial imperatives,

continuing demands or improvementsin public services and emerging idealso a more active citizenry have led tocalls or local areas to be more sociallyproductive, where greater numbers opeople are involved in dening, identiy-ing and overcoming local problems usingall available means. Despite notableeorts under the current Governmentto instigate this transormation andencourage more people to participatein improving their local areas the BigSociety and Localism agendas being the

two oremost examples it is clear thatthe number o people currently doing sois unlikely to be sucient to ll the gaplet by a retrenched state.

As another recent RSA report hasargued, nurturing the kind o muscu-lar citizenry we aspire towards will bea long-term project which requires aradical change in the nations mindsetand the gradual development o new

competencies. This report argues that

the short to medium term, i we wish tcreate more vibrant and successul locaareas we should pay more attention tosupporting and better channelling theenergy and assets o those key indi-viduals who are already making positivchange happen.

What ollows in this report is adetailed account o how a local net-work o ChangeMakers was iden-tied and mapped in Peterboroughusing an experimental new approach.ChangeMakers are those key individu-

als who are spearheading positive chanin their own elds o interest or work,and who are highly eective in tacklingthe social, economic and environmentachallenges acing society. This could be

Job Centre Plus sta member who is instrumental in supporting the long-termunemployed back into work, a seniorGP who is instigating improvements inlocal health provision, or a prominent

The results o our surveying

indicate that such individualsare adept at driving positivechange in their local areas.They appear rooted intheir communities, havean impressive repertoire ocapabilities, and are instilledwith an appetite to applytheir skills and experience toaddress local issues.


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RSA ChangeMakers

businessman who is helping to coor-dinate a successul enterprise strategyor the benet o the local economy. Aswell-connected and knowledgeable indi-viduals, ChangeMakers are a potentiallyhighly valuable asset that local authori-ties and public services could draw uponto realise their ambitions, or exampleby using them as sources o expertise on

local issues or as conduits or spreadinginormation and behaviours.Through piloting our innovative so-

cial network analysis research method,we have been able to map a diverselocal network o ChangeMakers inPeterborough. Among those we identi-ed were members o the clergy, art-ists, head teachers, social entrepreneurs,housing ocers, charity workers, policeocers, members o the local chambero commerce, representatives rom thelocal primary care trust, businessmenand everyday council ocers. The re-sults o our surveying indicate that suchindividuals are adept at driving positivechange in their local areas. They appearrooted in their communities, have animpressive repertoire o capabilities, andare instilled with an appetite to applytheir skills and experience to address lo-cal issues.

While our ndings indicatethat Peterboroughs network oChangeMakers harbours a wealth oexpertise, ideas and connections thatcan be drawn upon or the benet o the

local area, we also ound that in manycases this potential is not being used tobest eect. In particular, our researchpoints to our problems that are damp-ening the networks impact:

Missed opportunities with thirdand private sector ChangeMakers ChangeMakers rom the third andprivate sectors appear to have lessinfuence in the city and have morechallenging relationships with keyinstitutions than their public sector

counterparts. For instance, in 1rom the third sector disagree thatthe Local Strategic Partnership (LSP)oers them adequate opportuni-ties to engage in improving the city,compared to 1 in 2 rom the publicsector.

ChangeMakers expertise in manylocal issues let untapped In some

cases, there is a large dierence be-tween the numbers o ChangeMakerswho have expertise in local challengesand the number who eel they actu-ally have an infuence in them. Forinstance, when we consider the LSPsstrategic goal o promoting active citi-zenship, only hal o ChangeMakerswith a high level o expertise in this

area have a high level o infuence.

Fragility o ChangeMakers work-ing on the rontline ChangeMakerswho work on the rontline o theirorganisation appear more ragilethan their counterparts occupyingdierent roles. Only 1 per cent orontline ChangeMakers eel they canstrongly infuence decisions in the citycompared to nearly hal o all seniormanagers. It is also concerning thatnearly 2 per cent say they will playless o a role as a ChangeMaker in theuture, compared to only per cent oChangeMakers across the board.

An absent generation Despite ourresearch showing that ChangeMakersare predominantly older, experiencedindividuals (hal are aged -), inour network we ound very ew overs and retirees. This suggests thatthe cohort o ChangeMakers thatwe identied suer rom poor con-nections to the older generation oexperts in the city. This is a loss both

or ChangeMakers and or the localauthority and public services thatcould benet rom their knowledgeand experience.

Revitalising how change ismade in local areasWhile these specic ndings relate to thenetwork o ChangeMakers currently op-erating in Peterborough, it is not dicultto imagine that ChangeMakers presentin other local areas are acing similar

obstacles. The task or government andpublic services in the years ahead willbe to nd new ways o overcoming thesediculties and channelling the energyand assets o their ChangeMakers tobest eect.

I they can, it may be possible tospark the beginnings o a new culture ocollaborative working, where individualso all sectors and o all positions work

together to overcome local challengesIndeed, as ChangeMakers connect innon-hierarchical, individual capacity,they should be able to crat a powerunew route to achieving positive changthat can bypass the partisanship thatso oten said to paralyse our convential democratic processes.

In this report, we put orward the

concept o a ormal ChangeMakersNetwork as one means o enablingChangeMakers to work together.Networks would be geared towards sacing, connecting together and urthnurturing the capacity o ChangeMato drive positive change in their lo-cal area, and would benet both theChangeMakers themselves as well as local authority, public services and otlocal agencies who could draw upontheir expertise, ideas and connectionIn practice, the unction o a Networwould be to bring members togetherthrough structured events where theyshare ideas and advice, and to providthem with resources, training and othorms o nancial assistance.

To support the widespread development o these Networks and to ensurthat they are able to achieve their greest impact, we present a number orecommendations or central and locgovernment:

Identiying ChangeMakers and

developing Networks:

Allocate a proportion o Big SocieBank unding to pay or a 1-yearinitiative to establish ChangeMakeNetworks across the country

Align the ChangeMaker identicaprocess with local council electionorder to change the dynamics o lopolitics

Creating new opportunities or

ChangeMakers:

Integrate ChangeMakers into theCommunity Organising Scheme an

the National Citizens Service Establish a national mentoring

scheme linking civil servants inWhitehall with ChangeMakers woing on the ground

Support and actively encourageChangeMakers to sign-up to thePathnders Mutual scheme and bior public service contracts


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Recalibrating the practices o local

government and public services:

Provide ChangeMakers Networkswith a voice in local decision-makingand oer them voting rights on scru-tiny committees

Include the quality o interactionswith ChangeMakers Networks aspart o the perormance reviews o

public sector employees Fashion the strategic objectives o

local areas to go with the grain oChangeMakers strengths

Support ChangeMakers Networksthrough training and grant unding

This report marks the end o the rstphase o the project in which we wereable to trial an innovative approach toidentiying, mapping and exploring anetwork o ChangeMakers in a localarea. The second phase o our work,commencing in the Spring o 212, willbe to build on our pilot by nurturing therst ormal ChangeMakers Networkin Peterborough to a position where itis largely sel-sucient. As part o thesecond phase o the project we will alsobegin to identiy and map a network oChangeMakers more comprehensivelyin another local area, improving ourmethod based on what we have learnedthrough the Peterborough pilot. Oncethe second ChangeMakers Networkhas been created, we plan to establish aconnection between the two and invite

them to orm the start o a wider learn-ing consortium, something that we hopewill grow through urther mappinginitiatives.

1. 22 Public Services Trust. 2020 Welare:Lie, Work, Locality (London: 22 PST, 21).

2. Page, B. [Presentation to the Cabinet Oce]

Building the Big Society (November 21).

3. Rowson, J., Mezey, M. K. and Dellot, B. Be-

yond the Big Society: Psychological ound ations

o active citizenship (London: RSA, 212).


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The era o big government

has run its course David Cameron, 2009 Hugo Young Lecture4

The challenge or local areas

Portraying our current era as the lostdecade can seem overstated and prema-ture. Yet all signs suggest that a senseo stagnation is something many o usare increasingly likely to eel over thecoming years. The scale o the auster-ity measures detailed in last yearsBudget prompted the Institute or FiscalStudies to report that the ve yearsrom April 211 will be the tightest orpublic spending since the Second WorldWar, with the severity o cuts only be-ing matched among leading industrial

nations by Ireland and Iceland.5 Sincethen, a combination o high infation,a crisis taking hold in the eurozone andlower than expected growth rates meanthat this austerity package will in actbe a great deal tougher than previouslythought.6

Among those most aected by thisscal retraction will be local authoritiesand the public services dependent on

their support, the majority o whom

having to shoulder cuts in the region 1 per cent over the next years. In asign that the easy-pickings o eciensavings may have already run dry, Pwrecently reported that local authoritihave yet to earmark more than percent o their cuts. This comes at a tiwhen many local areas are acing thebiggest challenges to date. A quarter adults in the UK are obese; one in teno the working-age population have nqualications; hal o all people agedand over live alone; and some one in

households report crime to be a serioproblem in their area.

What makes these challenges moredaunting is that they have persisted aeven grown during a time o signicagovernment expansion in public spening, stretching back to the late 197s.recent report rom the Institute or FiStudies argues that we have underestimated the extent to which the state h

A new dawn or

local areas


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gradually expanded to accommodategreater spending in public services,particularly in the areas o health, long-term care and social security.0 Whereasin 1978-79 these orms o welare ac-counted or a third o all spending, atthe expense o the housing and deencesectors they now account or hal. Giventhat the overall share o GDP spent on

the public sector has grown rom 38 to8 per cent since 1997, this indicates avast expansion in welare costs.

The inability to use this extra nanceto address entrenched social problemscan be traced back to declining levelso public sector productivity, with ratesalling by approximately .3 per cent ayear between 1997 and 28. Despitebeing equipped with an ever increasingarmoury o technological innovations,such low levels o eciency will meanthat meeting the costs o our ageing so-ciety and abolishing child poverty wouldalone require an extra to per cent o

GDP to be spent on public services overthe next two decades; a gure that orgovernment is nancially out o reachand politically out o bounds. For localareas to be able to achieve their aspira-tions over the coming years will thereorerequire radical changes in their ways oworking.

Localism and the Big SocietyThe Coalition Government has beenvocal in what they think this should looklike. In economically straitened times,

they have argued that citizens need to domore in directly improving their com-munities and in designing and deliveringbetter public services. The experienceo the past has shown them that placingthe state as the deault agent o changeis no longer a viable option. This is seenas an economic imperative that wouldenable the paring back o costly state-ledservice provision, but is also borne out

o a moral vision o the good societywhere people are ullling their duty oresponsibility to the wider community.4

This vision is embodied most clearlyin the Big Society and Localism agendas,which are geared towards both promot-ing and providing greater opportuni-ties or people to get more involved inshaping their local areas and public

services.5 Included among the rat oinitiatives tied to theses agendas are theCommunity Right to Challenge, a newright or community groups to take overthe running o a local authority service;and Community Right to Build, reduc-ing bureaucratic procedures or commu-nity and voluntary groups who wish totake orward development plans or theirlocal area. This supply o opportunitiesis complemented by attendant plans todrive the demand to participate, amongthem a new community organisingtraining scheme and a National CitizenService or young people.6

But it is not just residents who arebeing enticed into place-shaping andpublic service delivery. The Coalitionsrecent Open Public Services White Paperputs orward a number o key principlesor modernising public services, mostnotably opening them up to a range onew providers. The purpose o thesereorms is to galvanise a wide spectrumo citizens, public sector employees,charities and businesses to get moreinvolved in shaping, i not entirely run-

ning, public services. Through reormssuch as Right to Provide, payment by re-sults and the new open commissioningpolicy, a diverse range o actors romthe public, private and third sectors willnow be encouraged to tender or publicsector contracts. This shit is ounded onthe belie that a wider choice o provid-ers will lead to public services that aremore innovative, more cost-eective andbetter tailored to the needs o serviceusers. Echoing these sentiments, DavidCameron earlier this year called or ser-

vices that are:

more local, more accountable and

more personal, where people are the

drivers, not passengers, and which call

on every part o society rom churches

to charities, businesses to community

organisations to come in and make a

dierence. It really is a complete change

in the way our public services are run.

Towards a more sociallyproductive placeThrough a combination o nancial imperatives, the prospect o better qualityservices and emerging ideals o a moreactive citizenry, what is undamentallybeing called or through these reormsis a shit rom social security to socialproductivity. In practice this means

galvanising people rom all sectors toengage in what the 22 Public ServicesTrust at the RSA describes as, identiy-ing, understanding and solving publicproblems dynamically using all appro-priate means.

Here, solving public problems reernot only to improving public servicesper se but also to achieving the wideraspirations o a place by whatever meaappropriate, whether that is reducinglevels o anti-social behaviour through neighbourhood watch scheme, stimu-lating job creation and growth througha new Local Enterprise Partnership, orbuilding more cohesive community relationships via inter-aith groups. What iimportant or a socially productive placis that the notion o public services becomes ar more fuid, the actors involvemore diverse and the role o providerand recipient increasingly blurred andmultidirectional.

There is now a well-established viewthat realising such a socially productivemodel will demand a greater reliance oenlisting the cross-sector social assets

o a place, over the purely economicones. To take ounder o the globalTimeBanking movement Edgar Cahnsmetaphor o the social Prius, achiev-ing positive change will mean runningon two kinds o uel: a thin stream omoney to build our social institutions,and a bigger stream o social interac-tions that can keep them going, whethethat is peoples skills, entrepreneurialknow-how, networks, labour or physicaassets.0 David Halpern, or instance, harticulated the importance o tapping

into what he describes as societys hid-den wealth; those care-based exchangeo time and eort that orm the oundations o our communities. SouthwarkCircle, a membership scheme which isrun on credits o care, is just one promising example o how social assets mighbe identied and traded with relativeease.

Local authorities have yet toearmark more than

40%o their cuts


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RSA ChangeMakers

Recognising the immediacyo the taskResearch suggests that there may be agreat deal o enthusiasm among peopleto get involved and to contribute theirskills and knowledge in making theircommunities better places in whichto live. A joint ippr and PwC reportindicates that as many as per cent o

people are willing to keep an eye on anelderly neighbour and nearly 2 per centto mentor a child struggling through theeducation system. Yet in spite o thesepromising signs, the concern is that ewo these assertions are refected in actualbehaviour. Despite two thirds o peoplesaying that individuals should be takingmore responsibility or their own lives,only per cent are involved in activelyshaping their local services.4 A tellingstatistic rom the same ippr and PwCresearch is that over 9 per cent o peo-ple believe that the state should remainprimarily responsible or delivering mostkey public services.5

It is the RSAs belie that people, giventhe space, the right circumstances andthe necessary skills, would be ar morewilling and able to close their socialaspiration gap; that gap between thekind o society we wish to live in andthe one in which we nd ourselves basedon our current behaviour.6 But we alsobelieve that we should be realistic aboutthe existing numbers o people activelycontributing to better their communities,

and the time it will take to grow thesenumbers and our pool o social assetsto a signicant level. As a recent RSAreport has argued, initiatives like thato the Big Society are in eect 2 yearprojects, not 2 year ones, and demandgreater competencies than the vast ma-jority o the population currently hold.In order to realise socially productiveplaces, our attention in the short to

medium term must thereore naturallyturn to suracing, connecting togetherand urther developing the assets othose key individuals already drivingpositive change in local areas.

In the next section we will con-sider these individuals, who we termChangeMakers, in more detail.

. Cameron, D. [Speech] Hugo Young Lec-ture: The Big Society. Available: http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/29/11/David_Cameron_The_Big_Society.aspx

. The Institute or Fiscal Studies. The

IFS Green Budget: February 2011 (London: IFS,

211).

. HM Treasury. Autumn Statement 2011

(London: HM Treasury, 211).

7. See Department or Communities and

Local Government. Local Government Finance

Settlement 2011/12 . Available: http://www.local.

communities.gov.uk/nance/1112/grant.htm

8. PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The (Local) State

Were In (London: PwC, 211).

9. Cabinet Oce. State o the Nation: poverty,

worklessness and welare dependency in the UK

(London: Cabinet Oce, 21).

1. Craword, R. and Johnson, P. The chang-

ing composition o public spending (London: IFS,

211).

11. Cabinet Oce. Open Public Services

White Paper(London: Cabinet Oce, 211).

12. 22 Public Services Trust at the RSA.

From social security to social productivity: a vi-

sion or 2020 public services (London: 22PST,

21).

13. Ibid.

1. See or instance, Blond, P.Red Tory: How

the let and right broke Britain and how we can x

it (London: Faber and Faber, 21).

1. For more inormation on the Big Society

see Wei, N. [Slides]. Building the Big Society

(Cabinet Oce, June 21). Available: http://

www.instituteorgovernment.org.uk/pds/Build-

ing_the_ big_society_lord_wei.pd. For more in-

ormation about the Localism agenda see Cabinet

Oce. Decentralisa tion and the Localism Bill: an

essential guide (London, Cabinet Oce, 21).

1. For more inormation on these schemes,

see The Conservative Party. Building a Big Society

(London: The Conservative Party, 21). Avail-

able: http://www.conservatives.com/news/news_

stories/21/3/~/media/Files/Downloadable%2

Files/Building-a-Big-Society.ashx

17. Cabinet Oce. Open Public Services

White Paper(London: Cabinet Oce, 211).

18. Cameron, D. [Speech]. Prime Ministers

Speech on Modern Public Service. Available:

http://www.number1.gov.uk/news/prime-minis-

ters-speech-on-modern-public-service/

19. 22 Public Services Trust. (21) Op cit.

2. See Edgar Cahns talk at the RSA, May

211. Available: http://www.thersa.org/event

video/vision-videos/edgar-cahn

21. Halpern, D. The Hidden Wealth o Na

tions (Polity Press, 29).

22. For more inormation see http://www.

southwarkcircle.org.uk/

23. ippr and PwC. Capable Communities

wards Citizen-Powered Public Services (Lond

ippr and PwC, 21).

2. Page, B. (21) Op cit.2. ippr and PwC. (21) Op cit.

2. See Taylor, M. [Lecture] Pro-Social Be

iour: the Future its up to us. (27).

27. Rowson, J., Mezey, M. K. and Dellot,

(212) Op cit.

over 90%o people believe that the state

should remain primarilyresponsible or deliveringmost key public services


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We recognise that the

sum o knowledge held byindividuals, communities,local authorities, publicsector sta and thevoluntary, charitable andprivate sectors can bethe real driving orce orchange.

- 2011 Open Public Services White Paper

ChangeMakers: leaders or

experts?Mark Twain described an expert as aman rom another town, while DwightEisenhower is reported to have said thatleaders are people who have the abilityto decide what is to be done, and then toget others to want to do it. In contrastto Twains isolated expert or Eisen-howers detached leader, ChangeMakersare those individuals who are directly en-gaged in improving the places in whichthey live. They are not solely leaders orexperts, but are a combination o both,

with each having their own assortmento dierent roles to play. They have morein common with the Jewish notion oa macher than with Saul Alinskyscommunity organiser.0 That is, they arewhat Henry Hemming describes as adoer, a social operator, somebody whoinspires action through collaborativework at a grass-roots level, as opposedto somebody who predominantly calls

on the state to eect change.

In summary, ChangeMakers can bedened as:

Individuals who are, or who could begiven better connections and resources,highly eective in tackling the social,economic and environmental challengeacing society, and who are driving andachieving positive change within theirown elds o interest and work.

Many o these individuals occupyproessional positions within public,

private and third sector organisations,while others take up more inormalroles as active community memberswho are well-known among their peersand neighbours, yet who may lie hid-den under the radar to the local authority and public services. In practice, aChangeMaker could be a particularrontline police ocer instrumental intackling anti-social behaviour, an active

A wealth o

potential


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RSA ChangeMakers

local resident bringing estranged com-munities together, or a leading light inthe business sector driving private invest-ment into a local area.

The table to the right presents thecharacter traits o ChangeMakers basedon our analysis o the capabilities thatcitizens need to eect positive change,and the extensive experience that RSA

Projects has had in working with suchindividuals. Few ChangeMakers arelikely to have every characteristic, butnearly all would refect the majority othese key traits.

A wealth o potential?These qualities suggest that Change-Makers have the capability to act aspowerul agents o change in their localareas. In particular, we have identiedthree means by which the capacity othese individuals might be harnessed orachieving positive change:

First, because o their expert sta-tus, ChangeMakers could be valu-able conduits or transerring localinormation and news o opportuni-ties. The Institute or GovernmentsMINDSPACE report notes how theweight we give to inormation is heav-ily dependent on our view o the mes-senger, particularly whether or not wesee them as an expert.33 One study, orinstance, showed that young peoplewere much more receptive to health

messages delivered by health educa-tors than their teachers.3

Second, ChangeMakers are likely tooccupy central or key positions inthe structures o community net-works and are thereore well placedto transmit positive behaviours andattitudes. As the RSAs ConnectedCommunities report highlights,certain behaviours spread throughsocial networks contagiously, even tothe extent that a persons riend o a

riend o a riend can have an impacton them.3 Sitting at the centre o anetwork and being highly connectedcould enable ChangeMakers to passon behaviours and attitudes throughmultiple avenues.3

Third, ChangeMakers are likely tostore an easily accessible pool oinormation and expertise relating

Box 1: ChangeMaker Character Traits

Characteristic Impact

Highly knowledgeable

(experts and generalists)They have expertise (enough to advise others)on specic issues, and/or they have sucient

knowledge o a variety o relevant elds, and/or are able to bring knowledge and analysisto bear on a particular situation in ways thatadd value to a specic issue. They can con-nect their knowledge to the local area.

Well-connected They have multiple links in their areas o in-terest and work, both in terms o the numberand diversity o contacts they have and thedepth o those relationships.

Generous and open They impart their knowledge and share theirinsights. They have an open approach to col-laboration and work well with others.

Reliable and trustworthy They are honest in their dealings with otherpeople, mean what they say, are consistentin how they value and work with dierentgroups, and can be relied upon. They haveintegrity and are respected.

Impactul They apply their abilities to achieve positive

change and are well-known or their persis-tence in making a tangible impact. They getthings done.

Communicators They are good communicators, are able toinspire and persuade, can explain clearly, andcan connect to dierent people. They can bestrong advocates or issues and/or people.

Visionary and creative They are orward-thinking, view problemsstrategically and through a long-term lens,

and are willing to consider using new tech-niques.

Facilitators They bring and link groups o people togeth-er, particularly rom dierent organisations,areas, issues or viewpoints. They share andpass on inormation and opportunities.


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to their elds o work and their lo-cal area, and have their nger on thepulse regarding what matters mostto local people. Research by IpsosMORI suggests that socio-politicalinfuencers key individuals shar-ing some similar characteristics toChangeMakers were able to predictstrong public concern over immigra-

tion long beore it became obviousto policymakers and the media.37Whether it is a Jobcentre Plus stamember who can pinpoint the truebarriers preventing young people romgaining employment, or a business-man who knows where money shouldbe invested in up-skilling a local areasworkorce, by tapping into the skillsand insights o ChangeMakers, poli-cymakers and public services wouldbe better placed to ashion policiesmore attuned to local needs.

ChangeMakers in the currentcontextWhile all o these capabilities would bebenecial to any place and at any pointin time, the demands o pursuing a newsocially productive model o place-shap-ing mean that marshalling the capabili-ties o ChangeMakers or the benet olocal areas will be essential in the yearsahead.

Emerging rom a combination onancial pressures, shits in govern-ment policy and increasing demands or

higher quality services, we have identi-ed three emergent voids in the capacityo local areas to realise their aspirations.Enlisting the leadership, independentnature and collaborative capacity oChangeMakers and their associatednetworks could be one potential way ohelping to bridge these gaps:

A gap in leadership Many o theexisting structures that once providedstrategic oversight or local areas havenow been removed to open up ertile

space or innovative new services toemerge. While there are clear argu-ments or scrapping the likes o localarea agreements,38 these changes havelet a dearth o strategic leadershipwhich many places are now scram-bling to address. ChangeMakers, withtheir rounded expertise, experienceand vision in the public, private andthird sectors, may be well placed to

assist with any new strategic leader-ship eorts.

A gap in legitimacy TheGovernment has appeared scepticalabout the capacity o the state to cre-ate stronger and more vibrant com-munities. The patchy experience othe virtual and easy council models

o Suolk and Barnet, however,indicate that heavy outsourcing tothe private sector is not necessarily asuitable alternative to state-led provi-sion.39 Indeed, the numbers o peoplewho believe public services should berun by the state rather than by the pri-vate sector rose sharply rom percent in 2 to 79 per cent in 28.Mobilising ChangeMakers couldpresent something o a third way be-tween the state and the market, bring-ing together key individuals rom thethird, private and public sectors or amore inclusive and legitimate cross-sector approach to place-shaping.

A gap in collaboration Central tothe success o any socially produc-tive place will be the ability o peoplewho sit within dierent organisa-tions, sectors and geographical areasto collaborate with one another inthe design, development and deliveryo public services. The evaluation othe Total Place pilot schemes in 13areas suggests that eective collabora-

tion and budget-pooling are depend-ent upon the existence o a commonculture and mind-set, and the abilityo sta to think outside o the box.1Given their prominence in local areas,their generosity in sharing inorma-tion and their ability to see the widerpicture, i used wisely ChangeMakerscould present an ideal starting pointor orging constructive partnershipsbetween the dierent organisationsoperating within a place.

I local areas are to rise to the chal-lenge o the current context and navigatetheir way through a rocky transition to amore socially productive place, they willneed to begin recognising and mobilis-ing the latent capacity o their localChangeMakers. Being able to accuratelypinpoint these ChangeMakers, manyo whom are lying under the radar,2will be critical to this objective. But to

draw upon and be able to ampliy theull power o ChangeMakers also meanrecognising that together they are morethan the sum o their parts. Thereorespecial attention should be paid to bettunderstanding how ChangeMakers areconnected to one another, what fowsthrough these connections and howthese links might be strengthened.

In the next section we will explainhow we have piloted an innovative newapproach to identiying and mappinga local network o ChangeMakers inPeterborough.

28. Forsyth, D. Group Dynamics(Wadsworth Publishing Company, 29).

29. Hemming, H. Together(John Murrary,

211).

3. For more inormation see http://www.

ined.org/thinkers/alinsky.htm

31. Hemming, H. (211) Op cit.

32. See or example McLean, S. and Dellot, BCivic Pulse: Measuring active citizenship in a co

climate (London: RSA, 211).

33. Dolan, P. et al. MINDSPACE: Inuening behaviour through public policy (Instituteor Government, 21).

3. Ibid.

3. Rowson, J., Broome, S. and Jones,A. Connected Communities: How socialnetworks power and sustain the Big Society(London: RSA, 21).

3. See also Brook Lyndhurst study. Thediusion o environmental behaviours: the roo inuential individuals in social networks

(Brook Lyndhurst, 28).37. Duy, B. and Pierce, A. Socio-Politica

Inuencers: Who are they and why do theymatter? (London: Ipsos MORI, 27).

38. Cabinet Oce. (211). Op cit.

39. See or example Butler, P. Is it all overor local government reorm? (The Guardian1th May 211).

. Ipsos MORI. Cutting spending onpublic services or making them more efcient Trends . Available: http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=27&view=wide

1. Communities and Local GovernmentTotal Place: a whole area approach to publicservices (London: CLG, 21).

2. See or example the Third SectorResearch Centres work on identiying com-munity activity lying under the radar. In just11 streets o England they identied 8 com-munity groups, none o whom were registeredorganisations. For more inormation see SoterProctor, A. Little Big Societies: micro-mappino organisations operating Below the Radar

(London: TSRC, 211).


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Ever since [I moved to

Peterborough] I have lovedthis city. It has a greatatmosphere about it andIm passionate to see thingschange in the city or thebetter.

- ChangeMaker

In analysing the data collected through

our research, we sought to paint amore detailed picture o the networko ChangeMakers operating in a localarea; who they are, what kind o rela-tionships they have with one anotherand whether they eel as though theyhave the same level o ChangeMakingcapabilities that others perceive themto have. What ollows is an explana-tion o the indings that have emergedrom this analysis. It is important tonote that as a piece o pilot research,this is not intended to be a comprehen-

sive account o all the ChangeMakersoperating in Peterborough, but rathera useul snapshot o one part o whatis expected to be a much more exten-sive network.

A network at its optimum?In analysing the results, we begin byconsidering the network as a whole.The rst diagram in Figure 1 illustrates

the web o connections between the

ChangeMakers who completed ournal survey, with each red dot repre-senting one o more than 8 uniquerespondents.5

Interpreting this network map showtwo principal ndings. The rst, andmost clearly visible, is that it is particularly dense, by which we mean there aa high number o inter-connections btween the various people in the netwoThis stands in contrast to the examplediagram shown on the right in Figure which shows a network broken up into

small clusters o tight-knit but isolategroups. This appears to conrm our hpothesis that ChangeMakers are highlconnected individuals with a capacitynetworking.

The second nding that can be elited rom the map is that the networbuilt upon a core-periphery structuIn their infuential work on networkweaving, Valdis Krebs and June Ho

Exploring

the network


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suggest that this is the most eectivenetwork shape or generating produc-tivity and innovation.5 It is said to beoptimum in that the tightly knit corein the centre and the loosely tied pe-riphery on the outskirts complementeach other; the periphery oten madeup o individuals new to the commu-nity come into contact with ideas and

inormation beyond the network, whilethe core is able to translate those ideasinto something practical. As Krebs andHolley note, The periphery monitorsthe environment, while the core imple-ments what is discovered and deemeduseul.54

With a relatively dense core-peripherystructure, this network could be said tobe close to an optimum shape or theeective dissemination and implemen-tation o inormation, ideas and newopportunities among ChangeMakers.

That said, Krebs and Holley hasten toadd that there is a danger o the corebecoming overloaded with pressure anddemands should this inner networkbecome too dense. Indeed, this mayalready be the case in Peterborough. Asone ChangeMaker put it, There is notenough o a team approach to solv-ing problems. People eel the weight oaccountability on their shoulders, and

responsibility is not shared as widely asit might be.

What does a ChangeMakerlook like?Examining the shape and structure othe network can only tell us so muchabout ChangeMakers and the way inwhich they operate. Also important to

consider is the nature o the Change-Makers themselves, who they are, whatthey know and how they relate to thecity and interact with its core institu-tions. We know rom our research thatthe network is a diverse one with indi-viduals rom a range o backgrounds.This includes head teachers, housingocers, social entrepreneurs, charityworkers, police ocers, members o thelocal chambers o commerce, infuentialbusinessmen, members o the clergy,artists, representatives rom the local

primary care trust and everyday coun-cil ocers (see Box 2 or a handul oChangeMaker proles).

While we can be sure that each o theseindividuals is idiosyncratic in their abilities,interests and opinions, we can nonethe-less begin to piece together a better overallpicture o ChangeMakers and considerthe extent to which they dier rom othersin the city (see Figure 3 or a demographic

overview o ChangeMakers). In certainareas, the network o ChangeMakersclosely mirrors the Peterborough popula-tion, while in others the dierences areclearly visible. Looking at gender and ethnbackground, or instance, we ound thatthe prole o ChangeMakers is similar tothat o the wider Peterborough popula-tion. However, when we look at the age an

employment status o ChangeMakers, thivaries much more considerably. Hal o allChangeMakers are o middle age (-),compared to just 1 per cent o the widerpopulation, and only per cent are underthe age o 2.

Another interesting nding is that othe importance o senior managers to thnetwork. While there is a good representation o ChangeMakers rom all posi-tions and sectors, it is clear that seniormanagers are particularly central to thedissemination o inormation through

the network (see Figure 2). These andother distortions can be partly explainedby the pilot method, which seeded theChangeMaker identication processamong senior managers (see Box atthe end o the report or urther refec-tions on the research method). Whatis certainly promising to see is that theChangeMakers cohort so closely mirrorthe ethnic make-up o Peterborough, an

52


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Box 2: ChangeMakers in Peterborough

Rod Allerton, Charities and Community Relations Manager, Thomas Cook

Rod has spent over eight years working in a number o business management roles and a year ago took on the position oCharities and Community Relations Manager at Thomas Cook. He is now working to bring businesses in Peterborough to-gether to discuss how they can best align their individual CSR programmes with the needs o the wider community. As parto this role, Rod is coordinating a collaborative programme which will see the establishment o a CSR Forum in Peterbor-ough, enabling businesses to support one anothers CSR eorts and to work together on collective projects.

Brian Pearce, volunteer and community activist

Brian has been a volunteer and community activist in Peterborough or over years and is currently supporting habitatcreation at the Peterborough Environmental Project. They are in the process o creating a community managed environ-mental acility with meeting rooms, hot desks and co-working spaces or local charities. He is part o a team that has wonseven UK awards and secured monetary grants approaching a quarter o a million pounds.

Alice Kershaw, Heritage Regeneration Ocer

As Heritage Regeneration Ocer, Alice works to ensure that Peterboroughs heritage is ully recognised and that it playsa signicant part in the citys regeneration. Since starting this role, Alice has had a major impact in raising the prole oheritage in Peterborough, attracted signicant unds or key projects, and delivered groundbreaking training and capacity-building programmes or local heritage groups.

Lorena Hodgson, Social Entrepreneur

Lorena runs workshops in internet skills and organises crat meets and markets around Peterborough and Wisbech to helpArtists and Cratspeople share their skills and showcase their work. In addition to this, Lorena is helping to organise the local Wisbech Arts Festival and alongside another amily produces a quarterly magazine or home-educating households.

Je Pusey, Deputy Youth MP

As Deputy Youth MP, Je works closely with the Council and its committees to ensure that their decisions refect the viewso young people in Peterborough. He also plays a lead role in organising key events or the benet o young people, the mosprominent o which is a major citywide employability and skills conerence where businesses will showcase their work andtalk to young people about the skills and qualications necessary or employment.


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that both males and emales are repre-sented near equally.

Rooted in the city and drivenby a sense o airnessLooking beyond demographics to the otherquestions we put to ChangeMakers, one othe most striking ndings to emerge romthe research is the extent to which Change-

Makers consider themselves to have aprominent role in the city. Our ndings sug-gest that ChangeMakers are empowered,autonomous and responsible individuals,particularly when compared to the wider

population (see Figure ). To take some othe most telling gures, 9 in 10 agree thatthey can infuence decisions in Peterbor-ough and 8 in 10 agree that they belong tothe city, compared to 3 in 1 and in 1 othe wider population respectively.

These results appear to indicate thatChangeMakers have a sense o ownershipover the citys problems and are willing

to be at the oreront o driving positivechange. As one ChangeMaker told us,People must be positive in their thinkingand actions. They must take responsibil-ity and get involved in their locality and

the city. That 4 in 10 ChangeMakersagree that most people in Peterboroughave a air chance at achieving their asrations is perhaps one actor in explaiwhy they choose to contribute to the cas much as they do.

Highly skilled andknowledgeable catalysts o

changeIn addition to being relatively moreempowered and responsible individuChangeMakers also report themselvehaving an extensive repertoire o skil


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20

and knowledge at their disposal. Manyo these are particularly relevant to theircapacity to drive positive change in thecity, enabling them to either design,develop and implement their own work,or to galvanise others into action (seeFigure ). O the abilities that Change-Makers were asked to assess themselvesagainst, there were ew where they did

not score themselves highly.Two o these ndings are especiallyinteresting. First, 7 in 10 ChangeMakersstrongly agree that they can persuadeand convince other people to do some-thing, and second, 8 in 10 stronglyagree that they can come up with newideas to overcome problems. Thesendings indicate that ChangeMakersare especially persuasive and inspir-ing individuals who hold sway in theirown elds. Indeed, the real power oChangeMakers may lie in their capac-ity to pro-actively galvanise others intoaction, in eect acting as catalysts orwider social change. Their capacity tobe creative in overcoming problems mayonly serve to strengthen such a role.As one ChangeMaker put it, I believethat the voluntary and communitysector have the capacity and ability tobring about change, and that I have theskills to enable these groups to becomeestablished.

Our research also indicates thatChangeMakers have a certain willing-ness to wield these abilities in ad-

dressing the citys most prominent

challenges (see Figure ). On average,ChangeMakers have a high level o in-terest and a high level o expertise in o these local issues. Most notable is thedegree to which ChangeMakers have aninterest in promoting active citizenship.O those who completed the survey, 83per cent consider themselves to have ahigh level o interest in this area, and

nearly per cent said it is something inwhich they have a high level o exper-tise. This appears to corroborate theview that ChangeMakers are both will-ing and able to be catalysts or spurringothers into action, something that mayhave implications or Peterboroughstheory o change in addressing localchallenges.

Barriers to progressWe nished our nal survey by askingwhether respondents eel as i they arelikely to play more or less o a role as aChangeMaker in the years ahead. De-spite the all too real prospect o losing

their jobs and the sense that austerity

has created a greater workload with di-minishing resources, more than hal saithey would play more o a role in thenext 2-3 years, and only 1 in 2 said thewould step back and play less o a role.

Taken together, all o these ndingsappear to indicate that the network oChangeMakers in Peterborough is a potetially powerul source o expertise, ideas

and connections that could be drawn upoin any eorts to improve the city. While wbelieve that this is certainly the case, ourresearch has identied a number o potential weak spots in the network, which webelieve would need to be addressed beorthe ull power o the network could be realised. We describe these in detail below.

Missed opportunities with third andprivate sector ChangeMakers Whilein 1 ChangeMakers rom the pub-lic and third sectors strongly agreethat they can infuence decisions inPeterborough, this applies to less than2 in 1 rom the private sector. Thismay be due to their relatively poorrelationships with local institutions.For instance, 2 in 1 private sectorChangeMakers strongly disagree thatthe local authority and public servicesprovide opportunities or them to en-gage and drive positive change in thecity. Much o this may come down toworking cultures which all out o kiltwith one another. As one private sectoChangeMaker put it, the public secto

moves at a rustratingly slow pace.

8 in 10strongly agree that they cancome up with new ideas to

overcome problems


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RSA ChangeMakers

Although ChangeMakers rom thethird sector may eel relatively moresecure about their ability to infu-ence decisions, like private sectorChangeMakers they too have challeng-ing relationships with certain institu-tions. For instance, in 1 disagreethat the Local Strategic Partnershipoers them adequate opportunities to

engage in improving the city, comparedto 1 in 2 rom the public sector. Thissuggests that partnerships between thedierent sectors in the city are not asstrong as they could be.

ChangeMakers expertise in manylocal issues let untapped When weconsider the local strategic partner-ships aim o promoting active citi-zenship, only hal o ChangeMakerswith a high level o expertise in thisarea have a high level o infuence.Similarly, only 7 in 1 ChangeMakerswith a high level o expertise in help-ing vulnerable amilies have a highlevel o infuence in this area. Thisstands in stark contrast to otherlocal issues. For example, 9 in 1ChangeMakers with high levels oexpertise in environmental sustain-ability and reducing anti-social behav-iour have high levels o infuence inthese areas. This indicates that somepublic services and local agencies arear more able to channel the expertiseo ChangeMakers than others (see

Figure ).

Fragility o ChangeMakers work-ing on the rontline ChangeMakersworking on the rontline are criticalor translating ideas into action andor eeding back their experiences toother ChangeMakers in the net-work.55 It is perhaps concerning thenthat our research shows these to bemore ragile than their counterpartsoccupying other roles. While nearlyhal o all senior managers strongly

agree that they can infuence decisionsin the city, this applies to only 1 percent o those on the rontline.56 Mucho this ragility is refected in the actthat nearly a quarter say they willplay less o a role as a ChangeMakerin the uture.

An absent generation Our researchpaints a picture o ChangeMakers

as predominantly older, more expe-rienced individuals (see Figure 3). Itis disappointing then to nd that lessthan 3 per cent o the ChangeMakerswho were named are over the age o and that there are even ewer who arewholly retired. Rather than indicatingthat ew over s are ChangeMakers,it is more likely that those we identi-

ed simply have poor connections tothis older generation o experts. Asa consequence, the vast reserves oknowledge and experience o many othese seasoned practitioners may liebeyond the reach o our central cohorto ChangeMakers.

1. While we undertook a number o surveywaves to increase the diversity o the ChangeMak-

ers identied in our initial crowdsourcing phase,

it is important to bear in mind that this network

diagram does not refect all o the ChangeMakers

in Peterborough. With urther time and resources,we may be able to return to the research and seek

to identiy ur ther individuals driving positive

change in the city.

2. Network diagram courtesy o Krebs,

V. and Holley, J. Building Smart Communities

through Network Weaving. Available: http://

www.orgnet.com/BuildingNetworks.pd

3. Ibid.

. Ibid.

. See or example Department or Com-munities and Local Government. The roleo rontline sta in service innovation andimprovement (London: CLG, 27).

. Research suggests this is not limited toChangeMakers. According to a report under-

taken by Ipsos Mori, certain rontline sta ace

numerous diculties in getting their voices heard

by those higher in the chain o command. Police

ocers, or instance, are said to experience a glass

ceiling or their ideas, which are not always trans-

lated into eective innovation by their superiors.

See Ipsos MORI and the National Audit Oce.

Innovation: the perspective o rontline sta

(London: Ipsos MORI and NAO, 29).


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RSA ChangeMakers

ChangeMakers to drive positive change.In practice, this means identiyingChangeMakers through a social networkanalysis method, regularly bringing themtogether through structured events, andproviding them with resources, trainingand other orms o nancial assistancewhich ensure that the group is more thanthe sum o its parts.

ChangeMakers Networks would bedesigned to have a variety o benets,both or the ChangeMakers themselvesas well as or the public services andlocal authorities in the areas wherethey are present (see Figure 7). For in-stance, local policymakers could drawupon their Network in order to ac-cess ChangeMakers expertise, consultwith them on ideas or new initiatives,

work with them on joint ventures anduse their connections to spread inor-mation about new opportunities. Forthe ChangeMakers themselves, theirNetwork would oer an opportunity tomake or strengthen connections withother ChangeMakers in their localarea. Judging rom our research nd-ings, this could be critical to nurturing

better links between local institutionsand ChangeMakers rom the third andprivate sectors, and or orging a com-mon culture necessary or cross-sectorpartnership working. On a practicallevel, regular Network events would en-able ChangeMakers to share ideas, askor advice rom likeminded individuals,and potentially begin to work togetheron joint initiatives.

As is the case with most other as-sociations, we envisage that theseNetworks would ultimately be sel-sustaining bodies with one or two o most prominent ChangeMakers tak-ing a lead, or instance in coordinatinthe Network or convening meetings.5Decisions concerning the recruitmennew ChangeMakers and whether eve

should be open to non-ChangeMakeshould be let to the members themseand taken on the basis o their own ccumstances. Given the cost-eective nture o the method, it is easible or lareas to undertake urther research amap ChangeMakers on a regular bas

Our plan over the coming monthsis to put into practice the idea o aChangeMakers Network and to unp

Figure 7: Opportunities or a ChangeMakers Network

The diagram below spells out the possibile functions of a ChangeMakers Network. The circles shaded with the lighter colour outline different ways in

which local agencies and public ser vices can work with a Network, while the circles shaded in the darker colour explain how ChangeMakers can use th

Network for their own purposes.

ChangeMakersNetwork

A soundingboard or testing

new ideas andstrategy

A partner orjoint ventures

A conduit orspreadinginormation

through a localarea

A space toorge strongercross-sectorrelationships

A orum or thedevelopment

o newChangeMakers

projects

A space to shareideas and to

receive advice

A source o

expertise


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24

in more detail how it would unction.Building on our pilot research, the rstChangeMakers Network will be es-tablished within Peterborough as parto the second phase o the project (ormore detail see the Next steps section atthe end o the report).

Recommendations

Identiying ChangeMakers and

developing Networks

As the predominant orce setting theparameters o change across the country,we oer a number o recommendationsthat central government could imple-ment to support the development oChangeMakers Networks:

Allocate a proportion o Big SocietyBank unding to pay or a 10-yearinitiative to establish ChangeMakersNetworks across the countryLike Peterborough, other local areascould benet strongly rom havingtheir own ChangeMakers Network.To nance the cost o such a large-scale mapping initiative, we recom-mend that the Government use BigSociety Bank unds to nance a newmedium to long term initiative oridentiying, mapping and ormingChangeMakers Networks acrossthe country. Given the cost-eectiveand rapid nature o the identica-tion process, we envisage that this

could be achieved within 1 years andwould require a raction o the -1m available to the Bank. As theNetworks become established, a na-tional learning consortium could becreated which brings together groupsrom dierent areas to share learningand best practice.5

Align the ChangeMakers identi-cation process with local councilelectionsHolding the ChangeMakers identi-

cation process immediately prior tocouncil elections could help changethe dynamics o local politics. Webelieve that doing so would add acritically important backdrop tolocal elections and prompt votersto consider whether the candidatesseeking election are spearhead-ing positive change themselves. Itmay even provide recently identied

ChangeMakers with the necessarycondence and backing to run or o-ce themselves.

Creating new opportunities

In a bid to make best use o the Net-works that emerge through this identi-cation process, we suggest that centralgovernment create new opportunities

via existing or new initiatives thatenable ChangeMakers to apply theirtalents and expertise:

Integrate ChangeMakers into theCommunity Organising programmeand the National Citizen ServiceMany o the Big Society initiativesoutlined by the Government rely ona select number o individuals withthe capacity and existing connec-tions to wield change in their com-munities. Although not all o theChangeMakers we identiy would besuitable or such roles, we believe thatthe Networks would oer an existingpool o committed individuals thatcould be drawn upon to support thelikes o the Community Organisingprogramme and the National CitizenService. For the ormer, they couldbe readily selected as a communityorganiser with little additional train-ing required, while or the latter, theycould be recruited as an inspirationalmentor to the young people involved inthe Service.

Establish a national mentoringscheme linking civil servants inWhitehall with ChangeMakers work-ing on the groundThe Government should consid-er establishing a scheme linkingcivil servants with ChangeMakersNetworks, enabling learning to passrom a central to a local level, andvice versa. This could be similar tothe Outreach programme launchedby the Department or Business,

Innovation and Skills, where staspend a number o days helpingdierent businesses around thecountry.The Government shouldalso consider supporting the dissemi-nation o learning and best practicebetween ChangeMakers by orminga national mentoring scheme whereindividuals with similar interestscould work together.

Support and actively encourageChangeMakers to sign-up to thePathnders Mutual scheme and bidor public service contractsThe Government and its intermediarpartner organisations should ocustheir attention on encouraging well-established ChangeMakers Networkto access the 1m Pathnder sup-

port programme, which providesbusiness support to those wishing torun their own public services. Thiswould be invaluable to the numer-ous ChangeMakers who are likelyto hold aspirations to take over andrun services themselves. Likewise, wwould encourage the Governmentand relevant bodies to supportChangeMakers to apply or publicservice contracts, or instance througthe Work Programme scheme.

Recalibrating the practices o local

governmentChangeMakers Networks would bea valuable source o assets or localauthorities and public services, the vastmajority o which are grappling with thdicult task o improving both the quaity and cost-eectiveness o their operations in the years ahead. But in drawingupon the Networks, these local bodieswould have an obligation and a stake inensuring that they are as eective as thecould be. To equip them in this eort,we suggest they implement the ollowin

recommendations:

Provide ChangeMakers Networkswith a voice in local decision-makinand oer them a seat and votingrights on scrutiny committeesLocal authorities and public servicesshould wherever possible attemptto bring ChangeMakers into thedecision-making process and setaside time or their input on pro-posals. This might involve askingChangeMakers to act as a sounding

board or ideas emerging rom thelocal strategic partnership, activelyinvolving them in the coordination oneighbourhood councils, or providinthe Network with a seat and votingrights on council scrutiny committeeWhich ChangeMakers will be in-volved in these activities will be partdependent upon who has expertise inthe area in question. Particular eor


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RSA ChangeMakers

should be made to include private andthird sector ChangeMakers, giventheir lower levels o stated infuencein key local institutions.

Include the quality o interactionswith ChangeMakers Networks aspart o the perormance reviews opublic sector employeesOur research suggests that publicbodies could oer more opportuni-

ties to engage with private and thirdsector ChangeMakers. This is some-thing that cannot be achieved by thesenior sta o local agencies alone.Instead, they will need to nd wayso incentivising their wider base osta to engage more closely with thelocal ChangeMakers Network. Onesolution is to include this as a targetwithin their perormance reviews. It isenvisaged that this would be a useulmeans o engraining a stronger habito cross-sector collaboration.

Fashion strategic objectives to go withthe grain o ChangeMakers strengthsWe would encourage local authori-ties and local strategic partnershipsto shape an element o their strategicplans to go with the grain o theirChangeMakers interests and exper-tise. For instance, i a ChangeMakersNetwork happens to have a high level o

expertise in the manuacturing industryor in culture and heritage, it would beadvisable to integrate these issues intothe strategic plan or the area.

Support ChangeMakers Networksthrough training and grant undingWhere unding is available, localagencies should consider using this tosupport ChangeMakers, particularlyin light o their potential catalytic e-

ect in galvanising others into action.ChangeMakers could, or instance,be provided with training in how toset up their own social enterprise, oroered grant or seed unding to gettheir ideas o the ground. The LocalGovernment Inormation Unit sug-gests that such a und could be key toprompting much-needed innovationamong rontline sta.

. Barker, R. Big Societies, Little Platoons

and the Problems with Pluralism in The Politi-cal Quarterly, Vol. 82, No. 1. 2011.

7. It is envisaged that the day-to-day support

that ChangeMakers Networks would need rom

the local authority would be nominal, or example

they may require a council room where they could

hold events or they may benet rom a small

amount o unding to nance the development o

a website.

8. Research undertaken by the Joseph Rown-

tree Foundation suggests that shared learning

between community groups across the countr

can be an eective means o spreading innova

approaches to dierent areas. See Lynn, J. Co

munity leadership approaches to tackling str

crime (London: JRF, 28).

9. For more details see http://www.bis.go

uk/outreach

. Cited in Savage, V. et al. Public Servand Civil Society Working Together(LondYoung Foundation, 29). For inormationhttp://www.getinvolved.gov/

1. Norris, E. The Civic Commons: A

model or social action (London: RSA, 212. For more inormation see http://ww

whitehouse.gov/blog/211/1//expertnettwo-more-weeks-weigh

3. For more inormation on the RSA Cat

und see http://www.thersa.org/ellowship/ca

lyst

. Gaskarth, G. Small is Beautiul: Inno-

vation rom the rontline o local governmen

(London: LGIU and NESTA, 21).

Box 4: How others are attempting to harness the energy o instrumental individuals

Senior Corps61

Senior Corps is an organisation based in Caliornia that connects experienced over s with non-prot initiatives that couldbenet rom their talents and expertise. Senior Corps helps these older volunteers to become mentors, coaches and com-panions, and directs them to the opportunities that best suit their skill sets, rom building houses to helping to immunisechildren. They have so ar linked more than , Americans to various projects taking place across the country.

Civic Commons62

Another strand o the Citizen Power programme, Civic Commons was ormed in 21 to provide a meeting space or com-munity leaders to discuss topical issues and ideas, rom housing to health to anti-social behaviour. The core aims o thelocal network are to help build members knowledge and condence in a range o issues and to inspire local civic innova-tion by bringing leading thinkers to the city to discuss their work. To date, members have participated in various capacity-building events, including an advocacy training workshop and a visit to the House o Commons, and are currently workingto develop initiatives to combat anti-social behaviour in their own neighbourhoods.

ExpertNET63

In 21, the US ederal government announced its plan to create ExpertNET, an online platorm that would enable expertrom across the country to share their knowledge with government ocials. Federal agencies will post public notices aboutopportunities on a variety o subjects and knowledgeable individuals will then be able to comment, present their ideas andsuggest where initiatives could be improved. The platorm is to include a peer review process where experts can voice theirsupport or otherwise or the solutions that have been posted.


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Peterborough has massivepotential, all the ingredientsare there or it to be trulygreat, but it needs courage totake the necessary steps andaccept that mistakes may bemade in the process.

- ChangeMaker

Within this paper we have detailed our

eorts to pilot an innovative new ap-proach to identiying and mapping a lo-cal network o ChangeMakers. Throughour research in Peterborough we haveestablished that these individuals areadept at driving positive change in theirlocal areas. They are rooted in theircommunities, have an impressive rep-ertoire o capabilities, and are imbuedwith an appetite to apply these abilitiesto address local issues. But we also sensethat the capacity o ChangeMakers iscurrently being underemployed, particu-

larly among ChangeMakers working onthe rontline and those in the private andthird sectors. These ndings specicallyrelate to Peterborough, but it is not di-cult to imagine similar obstacles beingpresent in other local areas.

In a bid to identiy and better har-ness the assets o ChangeMakers,we have introduced the concept o aChangeMakers Network a loose

assortment o ChangeMakers in local

areas that will channel the energy o thgroup so that it can achieve more thanthe sum o its parts and have outlineda number o ways in which local government, public services and central government can support the emergence o theNetworks across the country.

Towards Phase 2Building on the work o our pilot initiative in Peterborough, we intend to putinto practice our recommendations andestablish a sel-sucient ChangeMak-

ers Network in the city, made up oall those individuals identied throughour research. Our task going orwardwill be to ensure that this Network hasthe right oundations and a stimulat-ing, supportive environment in which tofourish. Central to this will be unpacking in more detail how the Network wiunction, and in particular how it willinteract with key institutions.

Next steps


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RSA ChangeMakers

In this vein, we began by eedingback the research ndings and co-cre-ating ideas or how the Network mightoperate at an initial ChangeMakersworkshop in Peterborough, which tookplace in November 211. A variety o

ideas emerged during the workshop,including using the group to hold regu-lar blue-sky thinking sessions aroundlocal challenges, and positioning it as aplatorm or ChangeMakers to presentand receive constructive eedback ontheir own initiatives. RSA Fellowshipwill be supporting the Network to holdurther events in the uture, ensuringthat it continues to build momentum

and secure its place as an eective agento change in the city.

The second task o phase 2 will in-volve taking what we have learned romthe Peterborough pilot and honing ouridentication and mapping approach(see Box ). Following this we will seekto undertake a more comprehensivemapping initiative and develop a second

ChangeMakers Network in anotherlocal area. Linking the two Networkstogether will mark the beginning o alearning consortium (see recommenda-tions), which we hope will grow as morelocal areas undertake their own mappinginitiatives.

I you are interested in hearing moreabout this project or orming aNetwork in your own local area,please contact Benedict Dellot [email protected]

Box 5: Refections on thepilot research method

The method that we employed dur-ing this pilot initiative allowed us toidentiy and map ChangeMakers ina highly cost-eective, independentand rapid manner, and we would

urge local authorities to considerthe level o return that such a smallinvestment could have in terms ogenerating positive change in theircommunities.

There are, however, a number oareas where we would make adjust-ments when mapping networks oChangeMakers in the uture. Forinstance, as we started our identi-cation process by rst asking thosein the local strategic partnership ortheir suggestions o ChangeMakers,our nal cohort inevitably refects abias towards individuals rom seniormanagement and the public sector,particularly the Council. In order toovercome this problem, in uture wewill seed the identication processin dierent areas, or instance byadvertising the survey in a localnewspaper, on the radio or throughthe newsletter o the local Commu-nity and Voluntary Service. A morecomprehensive mapping initiativewould also include urther waves in

the rst survey, allowing us to reachdeeper into the community and toidentiy more individuals who areunder the radar and unbeknownstto the local authority.


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Authors

Benedict Dellot is a Researcher on the CitizenPower and Enterprise programmes.

Gaia Marcus is a Researcher or theConnected Communities project and is thesocial network analyst or RSA Projects.

Steve Broome is Director o Researchat the RSA and oversees the ConnectedCommunities programme.


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rsa changemakers - identifying the key people driving positive change in local areas

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