I Have Moved

The Gr8governance blog has moved to http://gr8governance.blogspot.com/ Sorry for the inconvenience

Councillors – The Tools for the Job

The breaking story about I Pads for Councillors got me thinking a bit. I really don’t want to get embroiled in the tit-for-tat that seems to be developing around this issue.  Councillors in Leicester, Grant Shapps, the Tax Payers Alliance et al can get on with that.

I would like to focus on the role of councillor, current and future challenges and how elected representatives (local and national) need to have the tools to do the job to the best of their ability.  The starting point for the discussion should be an understanding of the job in hand – the tools and technologies to facilitate how it is best carried out should flow from this.  An outcome focussed approach instead of a technologically-led solution is surely the natural sequence.

What is clear to me is that the role of elected councillor has developed at a pace over the last 10 years.  The move towards the Executive model of decision making ushered in by the 2000 Act has raised the profile of local politicians.  Research during that period has also revealed that the role of ward councillor has become more complex and demanding.  The ongoing development of information technology, particularly e mail, has meant that case work volume has increased as has residents’ expectations in terms of response times.  The overall analysis is most comprehensively captured, in my view,  in Representing the Future: The Report of the Councillors Commission.

Dame Jane Roberts, Chair of the Councillors Commission

When it was published, the report met with a mixed response. Looking back I think its analysis of the role of councillor, the barriers and the understanding of the role amongst the media and wider public was fairly sound.  I’d recommend it as core reading for any officer who wants to better understand councillors.  Some of the recommendations were not necessarily as sound, although I suspect some were designed to be intentionally provocative to elicit a response and stimulate debate.

I don’t intend to quote the Commission chapter and verse but am struck by the continuing relevance of the analysis that was carried out in the context of the I Pad discussion and the challenges that elected representatives still face.  When the Commission reported there were a number of key areas that struck me.

One was the key role of the local authority in better supporting councillors to carry out their varying roles.  It seems glaringly obvious but the findings revealed that local authorities needed to recognise the importance of direct contact between councillors and the public and assist councillors to be more visible and accessible in their locality.  I cannot genaralise on progress in this area but could point to examples (certainly within the authority that I work) where there has been a step change for the better (although there is more to do – see later).

Another section focussed on the public perceptions of councillors and the need to proactively promote the role as one to be better understood and valued amongst local communities.

There were a number of recommendations put forward under these headings – I would like to draw attention to a couple of them that are of real relevance to the here and now.

Recommendation 6(d). Local authorities need to recognise the importance of direct contact between councillors and the public and assist councillors to be more visible and accessible in their locality by:

Making much more active use of digital and social networking technologies.

Recommendation 7(c). As part of their corporate communications strategy, local authorities and councillors should promote the role of councillors using a range of communication tools, for example by:

Harnessing technological solutions – such as email, web 2.0, blogs and texting – to make councillors’ activities more visible.

I think the context for those recommendations were succinctly put by Professor Coleman as part of his evidence to the Commission when he said:

“The choice is not between governing in an age of the internet or not, but how contemporary governance can utilise and behave in step with the digital opportunities that surround them and the digital expectations of an increasingly on-line generation.”

All of this brings me back to the point of this post.  The evidence suggests that the role of the elected representative has become more complex, demanding and has a higher profile.  Public expectations have rightly increased within this context.  Similarly the expectations placed on the local councillor by central government, past (and it seems) present continue to increase.  The coalition government is openly stating the importance of “localism, localism, localism” and the importance of local councillors in delivering this agenda.

As the demands and expectations increase I think it is timely to reflect on the recommendations of the Commission that I have teased out.  How much progress has been made in the years since the Commission reported in these areas?  Has local government and local politicians recognised and fully embraced the opportunities of digital technology to support the elected role and use it as a basis for more effective engagement with local residents?  I think the end of term report is “could do better”.

It seems we are now approaching a tipping point.  The business case for making a virtue of such technologies and tools has been made by people more knowledgable than me.  The drivers are compelling.  The issue is that the whole I Pad debate misses the point, or the point gets lost along the way.

I could not care less about I Pads for councillors, but we should care about ensuring that our elected representatives are armed with the skills, knowledge AND tools to be the best representatives that they can be.  In the current climate this is a difficult discussion to have, but can we afford not to have it?

Twitter Power – A Personal and Short Journey

It has to be said, I bloody love Twitter.  I have gone from dismissive sceptic to rabid obsessive in six months.  My rapid journey has been littered with many great experiences and anecdotes which collectively contribute to my personal transformation.  Personally and professionally it has widened my horizons.  In this instance I would have to disagree with a certain politician who intimated that ‘Too many Tweets make a t**t” – certainly not my experience.

Thanks to Twitter I have a local government conference on my phone whenever I want it.  I have at my fingertips thousands of experts willing to share their skills, knowledge and experience.  I have found a wealth of information that has allowed me to become a better manager and leader of the functions I am responsible for.  I have took the on-line contacts and conversations and progressed them off-line.  I have never yet come across anyone who is unwilling to assist with a request, problem or is indeed unwilling to share their learning, warts and all.

One example I would like to share starts with my early introduction to Twitter and how a chain of events resulted in something really good. It’s February 2010 and I’m off to the C’llr.10 conference in London. Any member of the Twitterati interested in local democracy and the role of councillors (which I very passionately am) will be following the legendary @CllrTim.  On the journey down I was Tweeting away, as one does, and realised Cllr Cheetham was on the way to the conference.  We agreed to meet up for a chat.  From on-line to off-line in less than 140 characters.

At the time I was embarking on a real push to progress social media with the councillors I work with and support.  I had done a lot of good ground work but I wanted to open up the dialogue to all councillors in the organisation.  Cllr Cheetham agreed to come over to Kirklees and front a session for our councillors – for more information about that session see cllrsocmed.  A couple of Tweets, a brief conversation and the result was a great session that moved discussions and thinking forward in my council.

This was soon followed by another Twitter related event.  @keneastwood (another Twitter hero) invited myself and @Steventuck to help plan and deliver a social media session for councillors as part of LGCYH.  We did most of the planning using Twitter.  Two officers, two councillors (Cllr Cheetham and Cllr Simon Cooke) and 140 characters.

One of the most telling observations came from a councillor who attended.  He couldn’t believe that the four of us had never met before the actual session.  This was probably one of the most telling messages that we inadvertently left him with – social media really is powerful stuff.

These then represent a couple of small examples of how Twitter has made a big difference to me.  It opened up opportunities, contacts and professional relationships.  Bloody good eh?

The Sheffield United Trilogy (part 1) – My Dad

One of the many things I love about my wife is her total disregard for my interest in football, particularly my team – Sheffield United. She knowingly smiles at my unbridled passion for the Blades – rightly realising that I need to get these things out of my system but she is comfortable in her mind that it’s all a bit silly really.

On some levels I guess she’s right. It’s expensive. It quite often puts me in a bad mood. It takes me away from home. It raises  my spirits but quickly crushes them. It quite often brings out the worst in us menfolk. So why do I bother?

Well there are lots of reasons, and on reflection most of them have nothing at all to do with football.  This might all get a bit Nick Hornby / Fever PItch but some things need to be said for reasons that will become apparent.

It’s all about memories. I love my job but I have never looked back fondly on that great report I did in 2007 or how well my presentation was received at some conference. I look back on events and moments that define me and some of those are   strongly connected to my team and people who have shared that with me.

There was never any discussion about who my team would be, it was as logical as night following day. It was the United team that my dad had a trial for. A trial that was successful – he was good enough to play for United back in the day. It was the United that my dad never played for.  His contract (if that’s not too grand a term) offer was thrown on the fire by my grandma. “Get yourself a trade son“, and he did.  He became a joiner and cabinet maker, a trade that took him away from home so often when I was a child. When he returned, and when money allowed, he took me to watch United.

Fast forward to the early 1970s. My United played with some degree of flair back then.  My United was about Currie (sold to Leeds) and Woodward, about “a quality goal from a quality player“. My first game was against Revie’s Leeds – we drew thanks to a goal from Steve Cammack.  Our defeat of the mighty Liverpool in the League Cup on a winters night – a Gary Hamson (sold to Leeds) winner in front of the kop – is still clear in my mind.  What’s also clear is the total look of disbelief on the face of LIverpool captain Emlyn Hughes at the final whistle – “How could this lot beat us?”

What is clearer to me is the time I spent with my Dad.  The routine conversation that always started with me questioning why he parked so far away from the ground. “Why do we have to walk so far?” Same answer every time “A walk will do you good son and I don’t want to get stuck in the traffic“.

It started off with me whingeing but before long we were into the pre-match analysis. As I ran to keep up with my dads metronome stride I quizzed him.  ”Are we going straight to the ground (sometimes we went to the pub for a treat)?” Who are we playing? Are they any good? Will we win?”

My Dad, unlike me, was a very quiet and reflective man. For him I think action spoke louder than words. His answers were always fairly short. His views quite often remained his own. When he did speak at any lenghth it was worth listening to and had a lasting effect on me (see part 2)

We always went on the John Street side of the ground – my Dad wouldn’t stand behind the goals, “If we’re paying we’re having a proper view“. This was during the days when standing at games was the norm so in reality kids like me rarely got a “proper view“. A lot of our conversations at games involved my Dad describing goals that I had missed as the crowd surged and he gripped onto me whilst keeping a critical eye on events on the field of play.  A special treat (which usually coincided with my Dad doing some overtime) involved getting a seat in the John Street stand.  They were special games where my Dad always took a bag with sandwiches and a drink in, regimentally opened at half time. Our own picnic in the stands where half time analysis took place.

My Dad liked to watch creative, flair players but at the same time he

A two footed player

loved a trier, players with some “Sheffield steel”. He talked about players from his day, a game never went by without a reference to Jimmy Hagan – “He could play with both feet“

Looking back I wonder if Dad was displaying nothing more than nostalgic memory sharing or expressing regret through the achievements of others. Did he watch and wonder what it would have been like to have been out there.?  Did he reflect on football being his “trade” ( in a strange way I hope so).  Now there’s a question I regret not asking.

1978 was a memorable year. The World Cup was held in Argentina and the hosts caught the eye of anyone who admired skilful footballwith a real swagger. The names of the stars still stick with me – Luque, Ardilles, Pasarella, Kempes.

In contrast 1978 was not great for the Blades. We had been relegated to the old Division 2, were losing our players and were falling on hard times financially. We had built a new stand that we couldn’t fill. Prophetic as ever my Dad had said “Mark my words son that stand will go up and we’ll go down“. I’ll give him that one but he didn’t predict a bit of Atgentinian magic coming to Bramall Lane.

Harry Haslam, our manager, allegedly wanted to sign a 16 year old called Maradona but the asking price was just too high – file under

Diego the Blade?

decisions that haunt you.   Instead a young Argentinian by the name of Alex Sabella (you guessed it – later sold to Leeds) was presented as the saviour to the Blades faithful. I remember fans carrying him aloft on the day he signed before he had ever kicked a ball.

Me and my Dad were there for his first game, and many others after that. Sabella was a gifted player in an average team. When he got the ball you expected great things and often he delivered. I could tell my Dad was sceptical from the start. He probably knew Sabella was a board room gimmick to paper over the cracks, but he let me dream that he wasour saviour. I remember his only attempt to let me down gently. “He might be able to play when the sun’s shining and the pitches are good, an English winter’s a different matter. He won’t be ready for that“.

Well this time Dad was wrong. I think he enjoyed being wrong. I periodically saw him nodding with approval as Sabella slaved, often single-handedly, to deliver my Dad’s perfect football recipe – flair and steel.  Sabella didn’t hide, not from the elements or the physical demands of DIvision 2. He was targeted week after week, but rarely reacted and kept trying.  We agreed on at least two things that season – we liked Sabella and we knew we wouldn’t keep him.

There were other games we saw together and saw some good players along the way – Keith Edwards (sold to Leeds), Colin Morris, Brian Deane (sold to Leeds), but by this time I was losing interest in United. I’d discovered punk rock and it was proving much more exciting than the Blades.

My relationship with Dad was never going to be sustained by a mutual

The Sex Pistols - not exactly Frank Sinatra

interest in the Sex Pistols.  Our interest in United became passive and sporadic. By some perverse twist our gradual disinterest coincided with the steady decline of the Blades – all the way to Division 4 on the last day of the season.

As the years passed United came back into my life, thanks to my eldest son Jake.  He plays a cameo role in this post but is the star of Part 2.  I started to go to games again and got to thinking about taking my Dad. I convinced myself that this was the natural completion of the circle – I would recreate what me and Dad had experienced before but do much more.  There would be three generations of Whistlecraft males watching our beloved Blades.

Dad agreed to come and watch the Blades play Crewe. I parked where he used to park. We did the long walk. We went for a pint. We watched the game. All the ingredients were there, but something was missing. It didn’t feel how I expected and more importantly how I wanted it to.

It wasn’t until we were walking back to the car that I began to understand.  Dad had to stop. He asked if I would go and get the car and he would wait with Jake.  As I drove towards them both I got it – he wasn’t interested anymore, the time had passed. As he stood holding Jake’s hand I realised whilst I had been away living my life he had been getting on with his.

Time and illness had caught up on him, he hadn’t just been sat waiting for me to rekindle our interest in Sheffield United.  The father / son relationship with United would have to be carried on by a couple of different players.  The baton had now been passed to me and Jake. Fortunately my Dad had provided a great example for me to follow – I did my best to follow in his footsteps.

My Dad died in 2003. It was a great season for United. Semi final of the League Cup, semi final of the FA Cup and Play Off final. We lost them all.  Repeat disappointment reminded me of one of my Dads prophetic statements from our time on the John Street “They”ll always let you down son“.  He was right of course, but I realised that neither of us were there for the glory.  We were playing for much higher stakes – memories.

NOTE: For maximum effect this blog post is best read whilst listening to Cast No Shadow by Oasis.  Jake was spot on – a song that best describes my Dad

Councillors, Hanibal Lechter and the Soc Med Conundrum

I guess I’m a bit of a “comer inner” into this social medial / local government discussion (only been tweeting 6 months – what a lightweight).  Special thanks to @jasmine_ali and @timdavies for lighting the fire than now burns.

I’ve entered the debate from a relatively narrow perspective i.e. how can social media better support democratic engagement?  How can organisations like local government better support their elected councillors to be the best that they can be? Does social media have a role in what is often perceived as a traditional and often arcane model of democracy and decision making? Well, so far, I’ve seen nothing but incredible opportunities and potential.

Along the way I’ve come across some brilliant, like minded people who are equally convinced, share the same values and have that stubborn self belief that they are right.  I’ve attended some top events – the recent Local By Social Event was inspiring and LGCYH was a blast – where I’ve had the benefit of hearing real innovation and pockets of good practice.  That said, I’ve not come across many of the leaders, the movers and shakers in local government extolling the virtues and opportunities of social media to assist in delivering strategic priorities.

Soc med bloggers who are far more experienced and worldly wise than I in this field have, it seems, begun to get frustrated at the lack of pace and progress at a more strategic level.  There are many examples of pockets of excellence in the more forward thinking parts of local government but less examples of significant and wholesale change to service delivery and design.  Perhaps its too early or I’m just ignorant to it (sorry)

On the one hand, perhaps this is inevitable (and doesn’t matter) given that social media is by its nature organic and somewhat “bottom up”. This probably explains why there are some great examples of teams and services using social media to great effect to add value to what they do.  Nowt wrong with that, but…the times they are a changin.

The debate seems to be taking on another dimension – social media is “cheap”, it can be a panacea to the austere times that the public sector now faces.  Will there be a dash to embrace the tools and concepts as a means to help us through the difficult times ahead.  I hope there is a shift change in attitude, but equally hope it is not driven purely by an obsession with saving money.

If this is the main driver I fear that  lot of great opportunities will be missed. If the principle factor governing organisational thinking is saving brass then there is a risk that we are looking down the telescope from the wrong end.  I’m sorry to say that SOME are seeing the business opportunities of social media and its application as a chance to make a killing, which is inevitable I guess.  The question we should be asking is – what are the benefits? not how much will we save?  Surely if we get the first part right, there is a real likelihood that the latter will follow, and if it doesn’t let’s not forget that we are first and foremost about outcomes for local people.

Ok, rant over, and the point is?  Well from my limited experience the way through this might be by engaging with councillors on their terms. Let’s face it, in any council they are easily identifiable, set the political priorities and make the decisions.

Hannibal Lecter once said, “What is that we covet? We covet what we see every day”.  Well councillors want to engage with their residents, they want to do this in a timely and efficient way.  They want to understand the issues within the communities that they represent. They want to have access to the best information and intelligence to ensure they can make the best decisions – I could go on.  This is what councillors, for the most part, covet.  The case for social media facilitating all of these objectives has been made by better people than me.

So perhaps the golden key to the social media / strategic change conundrum is to start with councillors.  If councillors are supported by their organisations to employ social media tools as part of their roles on the council then there is a greater likelihood that they will lead the change within their organisation.  Simplistic, idealistic or too risky? There’s definitely more blog material here for the future – that will do for now.