| “One of the 'unintended consequences' of designing services against demand is that citizens engage more responsibly” |
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Angela Gascoigne writes:
I have been thinking about the powerful impact that carrying out interventions has on the people who do them. I think that the methodology is so powerful because it enables people to analyse for themselves what is going on within the system they are part of and to ask profound questions about it which lead them deeper and deeper into solutions. The methodology helps people to take control and to take responsibility. I have been thinking about how we might get the same sort of engagement with the communities with which we work. As a Housing Association can we, if we choose to be, be more than a service deliverer? Can we be catalysts for profound change within the communities where we work? Can the methodology be translated into a community setting in a way which enables people to envision the sort of community they want, to think about the purpose of 'community', to think about the barriers which are hindering the realisation of a sense of community and to start to re-design their community with others in a way which replicates the sense of taking control and taking responsibility that I and my colleagues have experienced? What if we could?
Richard Davis writes:
One of the 'unintended consequences' of designing services against demand is that citizens engage more responsibly. I guess if your housing benefit or planning application is dealt with amazingly well you develop respect for the service provider (people even bring flowers!). Our experience in housing repairs has been that when the customers are dealing directly with the expert i.e. the guy who is coming to actually do the work, the incidence of "not at homes" declines dramatically, because respect develops between the tenant and tradesman. Tenants are treated as individuals with individual needs. No longer do they experience a service where the tradesman turns up late, turns up with the wrong tools/parts or fails to turn up at all. Because the system behind the skilled worker is supportive, the service improves as does the customer experience; hence greater respect and trust. In Portsmouth, we have seen how residential estates are kept clean and tidy to previously unknown levels; again, people are responding responsibly because their provider is focussed on the things that matter to them. We have seen the same happening when local authorities take a systems approach to adult social care.
I have no doubt that engaging the community in studying their own needs, the ‘what and why’ of their current community and current service provision (conducting 'check') could lead people to re-think the community’s purpose, service provision and their part in it, arguably leading to responsible engagement in community development. It would be, in Vanguard-speak, empirical and normative. But until we experiment, we won't know. So go ahead Angela, and keep us in the loop!
And by the way, this will reveal just how much the current mania for consultation – community questionnaires and endless meetings – is misguided waste and distraction.
Richard Davis is an occupational psychologist who joined Vanguard 20 years ago and has worked in both private and public service organisations. He is also a lecturer at Cardiff University. Recently, he has worked predominantly in the public sector with Local Authorities and particularly the Police. He can be contacted at
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