lbys

Paul Miller now up, from the School of Everything.

• SoE is all about getting more people to learn – the things they want to learn about
• Since Sept 2008
• Private enterprise backed by investment
• SoE can help reduce costs, do more with less, reinvent the organisation of lifelong learning
• Listings on SoE is free, and can find out what people are searching for in a particular geographic area
• Can target provision to better meet demand
• Find hidden resources to support lifelong learning – involve independent teachers and groups – and a database of venues
• SoE is a database, not just about the web but also TV, print media, mobile etc
• Working on citizen generated education. A tool is being developed to help organise local peer learning groups

Patient Opinion is a great site for people to leave feedback about their experiences with health services.

• Really micro level issues can be discussed and action taken
• Based on the telling of stories by service users
• Great example of dodgy toilet seats!
• Ratings for responses from institutions
• Patient Opinion makes it possible to access thoughtful, passionate people who aren’t motivated to complain
• Higher threshold for willingness to share with public services – eg easier to share a cat video than a story about your weird disease
• Lessons: transparency and conversations drive change, adaptable to council work, scalable, cost effective, business model and values
• Government cannot do this kind of work well – and nor the purely private sector. This work belongs in social enterprises

Katie from Do the Green Thing is next.

• Trying to tackle climate change creatively
• People are inclined to help with the environment, but how do you make them become a bit more active? Obligation probably not the best route
• Make it something that people actually want to do
• People looking for inspiration not a guilt trip
• The focus is on easy actions anyone can take
• A nice video! I will embed it when I get a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuI9ZOu18Gc

• Keeping things fun and informal – there is a lot that local gov could learn from this
• Lots of interest across the world in Do the Green Thing. It’s really cool!

Next up is Hugo Manassei from Participle.

• Participle take on a new issue a year, so far: ageing, families and youth
• People are skipping the “third age” – period when you have retired but are physically healthy and active. This is bad for individuals but also for the state
• Invert Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• Southwark Circle – membership org for anyone over age of 50 (tho younger people aren’t prevented from joining) in Southwark. Helpers (some volunteers, some professional) and members. Over 400 members from all parts of society.
• People join because they have a practical task that needs to be completed, also for learning purpose.
• Tech is a hyperlocal network managed by 3 people. Entirely virtual, no office or community centre.
• Members in different periods of their life find value in Southwark Circle. People join wanting to receive help but end up becoming helpers themselves.
• Cost is £10 a year to be a member. Token system to pay for help.
• Works with various existing services and charities.
• Cost savings in 5 years – £2.18m.
• Suffolk Circle about to launch, then Hammersmith and Fulham
• All about strengthening communities

John Hayes from IDeA takes to the platform.

• IDeA is 11 years old, just like Google
• 353 authorities, providing 700 services each (in a Unitary authority), 2.1 million people working in local government
• All these people, services and authorities have things in common – hence the communities of practice
• Sustainable self-improvement, efficiency and vfm, connecting people to people
• The CoPs – 60k members, 75k monthly visits, 22k monthly contributions, 1.3k communities
• New experiences of networking in personal lives – ie consumer social media and social networking – need to replicate within work context
• Supporting new ways of working through Local by Social book and the councillors guide to digital engagement
• Recognising the change in behavior and relationships between people, practitioners and communities
• The cuts! The cuts!
• Knowledge hub – new CoPs, more open, more integrated. Mashups and benchmarking also feature and use of linked data
• Less of looking to the centre for ideas, more sharing good practice amongst practitioners
• Built with the sector, for the sector