Can collective imagination spark a public services revolution?💥

“We must be willing to confront scale of the crisis. Only then will you see why imagination is so critical at this point.”

The climate crisis. Global pandemics. Racial and economic inequalities. The list goes on. Governments have a crucial role in addressing these challenges, but given the continually evolving needs of societies, it’s no wonder that traditional approaches to public services are falling short. The need for innovation, imagination, and fresh perspectives has never been greater.

Could collective imagination play a role in helping us reimagine public services and tap into the strengths of our communities? That’s exactly what the event, “Can collective imagination spark a public services revolution?”, co-convened by the Centre for Public Impact and Demos, set out to explore.

The event brought together an exciting group of panellists to discuss the potential of collective imagination in paving the way for better public services, ultimately benefitting society as a whole.

Below, we share some key insights from the speakers.

🌿 Re-wilding our imagination

Sophia Parker, Director of Emerging Futures at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), said we need to:

📖 Get better at telling the story of the moment we’re in, one of acute crisis but enormous opportunity.

🤝 Enable, fund, and support those already building alternative futures.

💭 Re-wild our imagination, by nurturing spaces where new ideas can develop and take hold.

💪🏾 Shifting power to communities

Donna Hall, Former Chief Executive of Wigan Council, discussed the need to stop talking about what needs to be done and just start doing it. 🏘️ Championing a neighbourhood approach, she believes we “need to shift power to communities”. 👪🧑‍🤝‍🧑

🏗️ Democratising infrastructure

Imandeep Kaur, Co-Founder and Director of CIVIC SQUARE, argued that we should “democratise infrastructure, knowledge, skills, agency and tools to the neighbourhood scale.”

📺 Want to hear more about what the panellists had to say? Watch the full video of the event to dive into these ideas further.