World's first ever empathy=action workshop: introduction

I had a call one morning in 2005, my Father in Law Roy was not well.  I rushed over to the bungalow and he was sat in his chair staring at the sunlight coming in through the window.  We didn’t know it but he had had a stroke.  We got him to hospital and we visited regularly, fully expecting him to recover and return to his old self.  Well that never happened for Roy and I think if I had seen this film before that day, life could have been a lot better for Roy.  None of us knew anything about Stroke, we had no idea how Roy was feeling, no idea of the time and effort it takes to regain speech and mobility.  Really, we had no idea how we could help him – we just did not understand.

And, that is the whole point of these films and the whole point of the Wiltshire Voices project.  We want to raise awareness, spread the knowledge build up a better understanding.  We want to make changes to the way we do things so life can be better for the people who feature in these films and the thousands like them living across Wiltshire.  

Wiltshire Voices gives us the chance to see things from a different perspective and to learn from those who sometimes find it difficult to speak up for themselves.  When you see this film, I am sure you will be greatly moved.  And in a way that is good because sympathy and compassion can get us motivated to do something positive.  Maybe that is enough in itself, but we want to use the films as a starting point for a campaign of action across Wiltshire.  And we can start that process here this afternoon.

Before we show the film, I would like to tell you about the day I attended one of workshop sessions in Warminster Library.  We met up with the Warminster Stroke Club and I sat on a table with a small group.  We started our introductions and it was clear that one of the group - Bill - had real trouble with his speech and seemed frustrated that he could not take part in the discussion.  I kept trying to bring him into the discussion, to make him feel part of the workshop but I could see that he was not comfortable.   Then one of the participants started to talk about how he didn’t like going out because some people assumed he was drunk.  At that point, Bill nodded and pointed passionately at the speaker and we all knew this was something that Bill felt very keenly himself.   From that point on, Bill was able to join in the conversation and we were able to ask Bill if the points made struck a chord with him – and he would nod and point when someone said something that he felt strongly about.  After the workshop had finished I sat and had a cup of tea with Bill, and when we left he shook my hand and pointed at the team and clapped his hands. 

That moment has stuck with me.  For me, it shows that empathy and compassion can change the world just a little bit.  Because for Bill, he was able to influence this film and get his Voice heard – perhaps for the first time.

Thank you all for coming, enjoy the film and the workshop session.

Subsidiarity, localism and the Great Bustard: area arrrangements in Wiltshire

Wiltshire has adopted a comprehensive strategy to devolve decisions and powers to local level based on the principle of subsidiarity.  The Council has adopted an Outcomes Framwork to guide the programme - and you can download the 2012 version here.     

OF_2012-13.doc Download this file

What can we do for the 'rarely reached?'

Last week I took part in a discussion with a group of people who live with dementia. It was the latest of fifty or so similar discussions with people who either do not or cannot participate in traditional civic arenas. We have talked with older people, people with learning difficulties, the blind, stroke survivors, army wives, those living on the lowest incomes and many others. The discussions have been remarkable in all sorts of ways. And, things are emerging - things we can learn from and apply to the way we work.

I work for Wiltshire Council - a progressive forward thinking local authority. I am proud of our commitment to social inclusion and I would not want any other job. But the discussions have shown me that we have a long way to go - a very long way.

It is easy to sound a bit high and mighty about all this but I am not, really not. What we have learned turns our understanding on its head. These people are not hard to reach, no way - these people find it hard to reach us. Sad but true. We are quick to label people according to their needs and to direct them towards functional interventions with structural interfaces. These approaches often dehumanise our responses, compartmentalise and fragment our interventions and more worryingly they often exacerbate the very concerns we are trying to remove.

And the sad thing about all this is that the professionals we have worked with all share a real dedication and commitment to their work - often going the extra mile for their clients. And therein lies the root. The problem is not a lack of commitment or compassion, the problem is fundamentally systematic.

And maybe the answer to this is to design people led, situational services. Services that join up around a person and their personal situations and circumstances. Services that are designed with and by the people who need them.

At the dementia workshop people spoke about the fear of diagnosis and the feeling of terror when those fears were confirmed. This is the point where people are at a low point, depressed, confused, anxious and adrift. And this is when public services first come into sharp focus. These people suddenly need advice, support, help. Help with employment issues, benefits, treatments, transport, care, housing and much more. The advice is out there on the web, from customer services teams, in leaflets, from practitioners. It is all there, funded and waiting for the contact. But what seems thorough, comprehensive and accessible to the public sector often seems impenetrable, inaccessible and fragmented to those who seek our help. Each service does its bit, has its web page and leaflet, has its frontline staff ready and waiting. But it just does not join up - it lacks integration and coordination. The people with dementia talked of returning from the GP with a diagnosis and no clue about what happens next. Surely, that is a predictable service pathway, surely that is the point where services should be integrated - at that critical initial access point.

A comprehensive information pack for those diagnosed with dementia would be a simple step that would make a very big difference. This is just one simple insight - many, many more have emerged from the Wiltshire Voices social inclusion programme. Perhaps it is because we still view people as service clients that such obvious things are overlooked. Perhaps it is time to change our viewpoint and make these discussions part of the service design process from the very start.

So, let's start now.

The community issues system explained

In Wiltshire, we needed an easy way for the people to refer issues to their local area board. These would have to be community-wide issues not personal issues or straightforward service requests, but issues that affect the wider community. So we created a web based tool called the Community Issues System (CIS).

The system allows people to submit any local issue to the area board using a simple online form. The form comes into a community area manager who does a basic triage - weeding out issues that can be fed into the Council's usual customer channels. Those that get through this first level sift are logged. Logging places the issue online and notifies the originator that the area board is 'on the case.'

The next step is to notify the local ward councillor and the local parish council. Often this leads to a local resolution - parish councils and ward councillors can usually identify required actions and follow the matter through without further intervention. However, in many cases local ward councillors may need support from council officers or partner agencies. The community area manager will chase responses from the relevant officers and report them back by updating the online issue. Each time information is added to the issue the originator, local ward member and parish council are all notified. This means progress can be tracked online and everyone is kept up to date.

In some cases a simple solution is not available, or there are differences of opinion about the right course of action. In such cases, 'round tables' are convened bringing together the issue originator, local councillor, parish council, other stakeholders and any professionals involved. The object of this meeting is to identify practical compromises, common ground and areas of consensus. Usually, a way forward will emerge but sometimes not. If not, the Area Board can either close the issue and explain the reason why action is simply not possible; set up a local inquiry or task group or refer the matter for decision by area board. Actually, these latter options are relatively rare.

Over 2000 issues have been referred to the area boards using the system over the last 2 years and around 78 % have been resolved.

It is fair to say that not all ward councillors have welcomed the system. Some feel that it is the members' role to deal with all issues personally - and that is fine, the system can 'hand over' issues to the local councillor. Other councillors have chosen to use the system to help manage their own case work - ensuring that a response is obtained from the right officer. The system is flexible and can be used in a way that best suits each councillor.

The system was developed in-house to meet our own requirements and it works pretty well. It is evolving and being used increasingly as a mainstream reporting system for community requests - for local highway projects, speed watch schemes, road safety measures and payback projects. It will develop further and it may be necessary to redesign it at some stage - maybe a mobile app, maybe further social media integration.

The community issue system is a tool that can work for local councillors - check out some of the current issues online and see for yourself.

Boundary spanners - the role of Wiltshire's community organisers

Wiltshire's community area managers are responsible for the delivery of the County's Community Governance arrangements as set out in the Council’s Constitution and the Area Boards Handbook.   This includes support for the Area Boards, Councillors, Parish and Town Councils, Community Area Partnerships and a wide variety of statutory partners, community groups and local organisations.  The Team is responsible for community engagement and community participation – enabling people to take part in the work of the Council and its public sector partners.  The Team is responsible for delivering social inclusion programmes to ensure that the Council’s services and decision making processes are accessible to all.  The team also works with communities and local organisation to co-design and co-produce solutions to local problems – speedwatch, first responders, and community cooperatives are examples.  The Team is also responsible for the redesign and devolution of public services to community level – working across organisation and agency boundaries to enable local people to have more influence over services they receive.   This involves the design of systems and processes that are effective, transparent and inclusive.

Community Budgets and rocket science.

It will be interesting to see how the community budget pilots go.  For some reason Wiltshire was not selected.  This is a shame because the work we have been doing over the last four years has put us in a very strong position to deliver community budgets.  So, using our new powers of general competence we are going to get on and give it a go anyway.

As a concept, community budgeting is very simple.  The idea is to give local people more say over how their taxes are spent.  So, in developing our thinking we want to keep things as simple as we can. 

Our approach has six essential ingredients:

1.       Community areas:
It is important that geographies have validity and are based on a sense of belonging.  There must be a shared commitment across the public services to work conterminously.   In Wiltshire, community areas were identified by reference to geography, history, demographics and social patterns – see Dr John Chandler’s 1998 study A Sense of Belonging.  These geographies have endured for almost 15 years and are now the basis of unified service delivery within the County.   

2.       Community-led plans:
It is important that the views and aspirations of local people are at the heart of service design.  The community-led planning process in Wiltshire ensures that consultation, inclusion and public participation is the foundation stone upon which the community budget is built.  In Wiltshire, this process is developed and led by volunteers through independent community area partnerships. 

3.       Open data:
Provision of open data enables communities to identify priorities.  In Wiltshire, we have disaggregated JSA data to community area level and augmented this with public data from the other major service providers to create a local community profile.  This facilitates comparison across the County and highlights issues that might not be readily identified through consultative processes.

4.       Area based service plans:
We now requiring public services to produce area based costed operational plans that are agreed locally following consultation and negotiation.  This enables local communities to shape services around local priorities.  Wiltshire’s local highway plans show how this is emerging.

5.       Social Inclusion:
It is important that local budgets are not only influenced by the most articulate, organised and vociferous voices.  Empowering communities to control local services depends upon the engagement of all sections of the community.  Local authorities have a key role to play in ensuring that the process is truly inclusive.  In Wiltshire, this has involved the development of a new innovative narrative approach to social inclusion - Wiltshire Voices.  
  

6.       Democratic governance:
Locally elected councillors have a key role - through the effective operation of their community leadership role they facilitate and broker negotiations at local level.  This can only happen if effective local governance arrangements are in place.  In Wiltshire, we have 18 community area boards – coterminous with our community areas.    Area Boards have multi agency membership, they are inclusive, informal and participative – a long way from traditional local government committees.  These local governance arrangements increase democratic participation and public accountability.

 

I will let you know how this goes!

Wiltshire Voices: secrets revealed

A short case study describing the Wiltshire Voices methodology.  Using empathy to motivate actions at local level.

Wiltshire_Voices_-_PRINT.pdf Download this file