Will the gaps in our coalition be a source of strength
not weakness: as spaces for innovation & experiments?
It seems to me (at the moment) that having a coalition government
opens up many more possibilities for how public services can be delivered. This
is partly because this situation is pushing many politicians well outside their
comfort zone and they are having to entertain uncertainty, negotiation and
consensus building to a degree that many of them have not had to do so before. Or
at least they are now having to do this under public gaze. In my experience many
politicians like to give the appearance that there are 'right' and 'wrong'
answers to the pressing challenges of the day.
Perhaps this coalition will mean that politicians,
locally and nationally, will be more prepared to wrestle with complexity and engage
with public service leaders, professionals, third sector and citizens in a
collaborative inquiry into radical innovation. In these increasingly stringent
times, we will need to challenge our core beliefs & assumptions if we are to
achieve that goal of delivering more (or at least no less) with a great deal
less. (See my blog post for a 'legs eleven' set of ideas on this)
A slightly wobbly coalition could be providing a very
supportive context for imagination, bold thinking and a big blooming panoply of
small creative ideas!
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