With 2025 set to be an exciting and challenging year for public services, we are pleased to launch our new series of webinars, articles and podcasts focused on Radical Place Leadership.
What is Radical Place Leadership?
MV’s concept of Radical Place Leadership is about shifting power closer to communities and redesigning services to focus on what people need rather than what organisations needs. This involves developing a compelling story about a place, breaking down the barriers between services, and encouraging better collaboration between local leaders and public service professionals.
Radical Place Leadership challenges the traditional siloed working encouraged by New Public Management. By fostering common sense collaboration between services, risk sharing and innovation, Radical Place Leadership focuses on providing the practical support which will shift the dial in a person’s life rather than focusing on hitting some arbitrary target.
To learn more, read MV Non-Executive Director Professor Donna Hall’s foundational article on Radical Place Leadership or watch MV Chief Executive Andrew Laird’s short video explainer.
Why now?
The urgency for change is palpable. Public service leaders are increasingly aware that the current system is not meeting the needs of the people they serve and is unsustainable. There are huge costs locked into bureaucratic processes like assessments and referrals, which are both inefficient and ineffective.
We firmly believe this new, radical way of working is now the only path to financially sustainable local public services.
Donna and Andrew recently argued that while the boost to local government finances in November’s Budget won’t fix the underlying weaknesses in the system, it provides councils and their partners with a little breathing space to explore new, more sustainable ways of working. There is a small window of opportunity for public service leaders to act.
Some have been waiting for further guidance from Government. However, the English Devolution White Paper was very light on public service reform and essentially left it to individual places to drive their own agenda.
What to expect
Over the next few months, we will be exploring how to make Radical Place Leadership a reality with those who have been there and done it. Our series will include contributions from Professor Donna Hall, the former Chief Executive of Wigan and pioneer of the "Wigan Deal", and Mark Smith, former Director of Public Service Reform at Gateshead Council and author of the “Liberated Method”.
From our experience supporting areas in their Radical Place Leadership journey, we understand that it can sometimes feel like boiling an ocean. But getting started is often half the battle, and we have learned that not letting perfect be the enemy of the good is crucial.
Through this series, we aim to provide actionable insights and practical steps to help public service leaders embark on their journey, one step at a time, to making Radical Place Leadership a reality.
Join us on this journey
Stay tuned for our upcoming content and be part of the conversation on how we can change public services for the better.
Keep up to date with the series and events on our webpage or by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter. And if you are interested in thinking and working differently, feel free to reach out to MV’s Chief Executive Andrew Laird, andrew@mutualventures.co.uk.
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