21st century enlightenment

Citizen Power Peterborough Everyday Citizenship

Sam McLean Director of Public Participation Head of Citizen Power

21st century enlightenment

Getting started

21st century enlightenment

Getting started

3 month scoping study of local needs:

Extensive literature review Local strategies and public opinion data

Academic and public policy research on place-shaping Creative public participation approaches

Deliberative research 5 x workshops

Local people, community groups and third sector organisations

In-depth interviews 35 x discussions

Senior decision-makers across public and third sectors

21st century enlightenment

Peterborough What we found

21st century enlightenment

Place of potential…

cultural diversity

fast growing city

dynamic leadership

committed to change

reputation for environmental sustainability

21st century enlightenment

… but with challenges

attachment to where people live

trust + networks between people

participation in community life

public service innovation

21st century enlightenment

The Citizen Power Peterborough Our approach

21st century enlightenment

What are we doing?

Cultivating the conditions for citizen activism and community power to flourish in order to:

Build on the potential of the city and its people

Overcome some of the challenges they face

Main funders: Peterborough City Council and Arts Council England

21st century enlightenment

The practice Our approach

21st century enlightenment

Citizen Power in action

Sustainable Citizenship Local people developing their own solutions to environmental behaviour change and innovation

Building Recovery Capital Establishing a recovery community that will help to initiate, support and sustain recovery from substance misuse

Peterborough Curriculum Peterborough designing their own curriculum, connecting what young people learn in school with where they live and making education a community issue

Civic Commons New forum bringing together citizens, leading local figures and high profile speakers to inspire local civic action

21st century enlightenment

Citizen Power in action

Arts and Social Change Exploring how creativity and arts can be used to build attachment, participation and innovation at the community level

Making Social Media Social Transparent, open-source policy-making, and building new social networks

Civic Health Audit A fresh approach and tool helping communities and places assess and improve civic health in their area

21st century enlightenment

Success factors / Project challenges

Long-term funding/ Commitment

Strong local leadership

Mass collaboration Maximising local assets +

progress made

People focus Drivers not passengers

Shifting culture Making sure innovation is

locally embedded

Local buy-in Citizens, community groups

and front-line workers

Cross-organisational Partnerships

Aligning priorities