Are you passionate about helping people to do things for themselves? Does the notion of co-production and recovery excite or intrigue you? Do you run a social enterprise? Are you a digital guru? An innovator working across Essex? Or perhaps all of the above? If so you might be interested in an immersive workshop on 29th January, in Chelmsford, Essex. A bit of background During 2016, Essex County Council (ECC).

Is outcomes-based commissioning really happening (yet)? Are we equipped to actually do it?

Read – Listening, Learning & Telling Stories – a new publication in which we share what’s been happening so far in our work to support radical new approaches to citizen engagement in Essex.

Today Ruth is taking part in a conversation, led by the Young Foundation and attended by a host of people we like and admire, to explore the ‘purpose and promise of social innovation and its role in tackling inequality at the heart of the new public work’.

This week we’ve been at the Unusual Suspects Festival …a free-flowing smorgasbord of workshops, fostering learning and connections between the network of agents who are passionate about using new methodologies to drive social change and better outcomes for the public.

Yesterday Essex colleagues gathered for Deliberation Day: the mid point in a review of the Early Years system commissioned by Dave Hill, the Executive Director for People Commissioning, and led by Chris Martin, Integrated Commissioning Director. In a wonderful space at Zinc Arts, we curated a space and time for consideration, deliberation, and voting. And stickers.

For us, listening (and really hearing) what people have to say about their lives and the public services they use is at the very heart of what we do. It’s one of the approaches we believe is right and necessary if we are going to change how organisations and professionals see the world, and consequently improve it.

We designed and ran these two workshops. Ruth left Caireen on her own to deliver one whilst she went off to speak at a UN conference, but Caireen nailed it. All was well. Through the workshops we set out to: Build an understanding of and desire for innovation: make clear that ‘more of the same’ is not an option if the ambitious vision for numbers, speed and experience of adoption is.