Big Society, Bold State - making a reality of people power

‘People power’ has been in the air for some time. Big Society is the latest - and most ambitious - initiative seeking to harness people power to drive UK public services. This has revolutionary implications. It means citizens, communities and businesses ‘owning’ their services and other laws and regulations, such that they are prepared to contribute more of their own effort and motivation to public outcomes.

The challenge for the Big Society is how to make this sort of good practice part of the fabric of the citizen’s day-to-day relationship with the state. Most fundamentally, the purpose of a democratic state - where public objectives and services are largely paid for from general taxation - is the common good. Handing over control to users or communities invites unexpected and differential results that will, on occasion, worry professionals and which politicians will find difficult to justify to their electorates.

The test for the Big Society will be whether it can succeed in reconciling the need to enable citizen engagement, yet, maintain sufficient governance to ensure positive and equitable outcomes.  

The key to resolving this apparent contradiction is to think very differently about the role of the state and how it exerts influence and authority. The Big Society requires a bold shift in focus - working through, and with, the ‘demand side’ of public policy. We have called this way of working the ‘Bold State’ because it will require real courage to let go of direct service delivery and develop the new relationships and organisational architecture needed to underpin this demand side partnership with the citizen. In the Bold State, different groups of citizens could devise different solutions to the same problems so long as the democratically defined outcomes are achieved in each case.

We see three key areas of change to the architecture of the state required to make this view of the Big Society work:

• A better ability to engage with the electorate and taxpayer, understanding the outcomes and measures that they want and using this to advise politicians and decision-makers on ways to achieve these
  

• A dedicated capacity to work with, and advocate for, citizens, communities and businesses who are eligible for public support, supporting and encouraging them in finding the right solutions or provision for their needs

• The separation of publicly managed service delivery from the demand-side role of the state and the stimulation of an increasingly diverse and mixed economy of self-managing service-providers. These may be public, private, third sector or self-help groups, who will deliver the services and support needed to resolve the identified needs.

The Big Society promises one of the biggest revolutions for a generation in the way we think about the state and public services. If it succeeds, the Big Society could even have implications for the way politics and democracy itself works. One thing is certain, the Big Society promises a bumpy but exciting time for the public sector.  

To speak to a consultant about how we can help your organisation deliver public services, please contact us now.