Big Society - Why talk about this in a BLOG dedicated to Innovation, Improvement and Change?

Posted on Wednesday 24th November 2010, by Brian.

 Big Society a term I had never heard of a year ago is now making its mark, it’s not just the latest fad. I believe that even without the current government spending cuts, the Big Society movement matches the current needs of the country.We have massive drivers for change:

  • Energy costs increasing as traditional sources of energy decline
  • Global pressure to reduce CO2 emissions
  • The need for speed in the internet to support our growing demand for information services

These drivers affect us all. Even in a world where funding and support is freely available, many communities and businesses will be left behind as the corporate world seeks the easy £. This is especially true in the smaller rural areas that are at the bottom of the list for 21st Century Utilities. Also without a collaborative response to these drivers smaller businesses will be left picking up the scraps.There is a real opportunity now for empowered communities and groups of companies to achieve significant results. e.g.

  • A community group introducing fast broadband or a district heating system into their neighbourhood.
  • An alliance of companies working together to provide a Low Carbon service on a larger scale you want to be successful.

These are major change projects. That’s why am I taking up space in this blog.Whether you are a community group or an alliance of companies you want your efforts to be successful.  Do-little's presentation "It's My Idea and I'll Cry If I Want To" (see www.do-little.com home page) includes an overview of Do-little's framework for successful change and highlights some of the traps that catch out many projects.Do-little’s framework for successful change includes:

  • Reason Why - backed up with a business case
  • Active Leadership - to bring the community together
  • Compelling Vision & Model - to illustrate how it might work
  • Plan & Priorities – to focus the work
  • Right Team - with strong capability and skills
  • Positive Culture in the community

With these in place I can’t guarantee success but you won’t fail like so many earlier projects.If you follow this Do-little’s BLOG, over time we will develop these themes in more detail.