In her book The Dao of Complexity, Prof Jean Boulton sets out in an appealing hypothesis, examining the limitations and weaknesses of Newtonian physics and fluid dynamics theories as the foundations for Western 20th century private and public sector management models and practice.
Along with others, notably Toby Lowe et al, Boulton asserts that they have created a prevalent orthodoxy that uses mechanistic and linear metaphors, often so embedded in day-to-day use that we are not conscious of them.
Even at an intuitive level, they feel for a large part of what we do, increasingly insufficient and misaligned.
Manchester Metropolitan University's paper Policy Priorities to Support Relational Public Services posits an ‘age of the polycrisis' for UK public services, which face huge challenges and ‘unsustainable levels of failure demand' including high and rising number of children in care, not in education, employment or training (NEET) and absent from school, and persistent health inequalities.
But progress on relational approaches remains piecemeal and fragmented. Many of the projects, programmes and activity that have resulted in measurable difference and improvements in peoples' lives, have been undertaken by individual councils, as particular individuals – politicians and/or officers – with a passion for relational services have led the work. This reliance on individuals leaves such projects vulnerable to changes in personnel, leadership, funding and policy.
Many of the issues and challenges of the changed world are demonstrably not best addressed by the prevailing methods, approaches, models, services and critically, mindsets. This was succinctly set out and put into an historical context in New Local's Community Paradigm paper of February 2019 (updated March 2021).
This is becoming more widely acknowledged through diagnoses and/or experiences of the problems – at varying spatial levels. As a result, additional, if not completely alternative, mindsets, approaches, models and methods are emerging piecemeal in the intellectual/academic, policy think-tank and grass roots arenas. These recognise that a better appreciation and application of complexity and relational approaches, as distinct from transactional public services, have the potential to provide solutions.
In communities, there are diverse practical examples that provide qualitative and quantitative evidence that reshaping the nature of the relationships between local people, public service workers, politicians and institutions result in reductions in failure demand, improved outcomes and higher staff morale.
Most have achieved this by rethinking and radically changing how engagement with local people and service users is perceived and then organised, with trust, capacity building, collaboration, participation, agency, self-determination, integrity, continuity, flexibility, reflection and learning being prioritised. (See Radical Help by Hilary Cottam).
But progress on relational approaches remains piecemeal and fragmented. Many of the projects, programmes and activity that have resulted in measurable difference and improvements in peoples' lives, have been undertaken by individual councils, as particular individuals – politicians and/or officers – with a passion for relational services have led the work. This reliance on individuals leaves such projects vulnerable to changes in personnel, leadership, funding and policy.
So, despite the many successful examples there isn't, yet, widespread agreement on how to broaden, accelerate and mainstream the work to ensure the approach is systemic and sustainable.
Demos, in their research with senior leaders in local and national government set out five major cultural obstacles that often hamper reform efforts. These are short-termism, siloed working, risk aversion, data/evidence and defensiveness and a disconnect from the reality of frontline practice.
In addition to these, for councils, the following factors are likely to inhibit the adoption of relational approaches, including non-relational regulatory regimes for key services, the desire for ‘quick wins' (political capital), the impact of decades of austerity, and consequential cuts in budgets, and growing demand for crisis services – in adults, children's and highways (such as potholes).
It is abundantly clear that local and regional government has a critical role in developing, implementing and scaling relational approaches to public services. Increasing numbers of councils and combined/strategic authorities are pushing the boundaries of how such approaches can be applied. It will be hugely important that the opportunities presented by devolved powers, reorganisation, newly formed councils and mayoral strategic authorities and place-based funding are recognised and taken. The recent New Local conference on Total Place 2.0 centred relational approaches in many of the sessions and table discussions.
Councils that, in addition, nurture their organisational cultures by applying relational approaches, will be well-placed to amplify and broaden this work and its achievements into community-wide and sector wide systemic change to the benefit of local people and communities. One might see a continuum of ‘relationality' from projects, to services, and ultimately to approaches to organisational culture.
Given all this, the following are suggested for action:
• Councils continue to apply and promote relational approaches as a means of securing better outcomes for individuals and communities
• The rich intellectual/policy/academic work on complexity and relational approaches be distilled into relatable content for application ‘in the field', replicable at scale across all public services
• The conditions for success for relational approaches in councils, especially those coming into being in the next few years – with so many other considerations and pressures to contend with – are created
• Political leaders are supported and the workforce developed to have the mindset, confidence, competencies, skills and freedom to work relationally
• An exercise is undertaken to aggregate and consolidate research on practical relational work and its outcomes, to create an evidence-base for the impact that it has.
Michael Coughlin is a non-executive director, chair and strategic advisor, with local government, charity and private sector experience
