News
Current affairs: Nesta announces Upstream Collaborative initiative
Those busy bees at Nesta are at it again, with the recent launch of a new project… or is it an initiative? Call it what you want — Upstream Collaborative is “a new collaborative network to support Local Government innovators to share, accelerate and assess new models that work upstream of social problems to help create the conditions that enable citizens’ needs to be met in empowering and inclusive ways.”
Not another public-sector-professional social network, I hear you wonder? Well, no, it’s a bit more particular than that — and if you’re in local government, Nesta want you to get involved. Here’s the pitch:
The Collaborative will do this by building relationships between members and providing a safe space to experiment with the role they play in identifying, enabling, growing and disseminating innovative solutions to complex social issues.
The Nesta programme team will facilitate the Collaborative by hosting events, gathering and publishing insight and creating tools that advance and promote the Collaborative’s shared goals. We will also offer resources, including a small experimentation fund, to help Collaborative members make progress against their goals.
By the end of the one year pilot phase the members will have connected and learned from each other about the common needs, challenges and opportunities facing Local Government in adopting new operating models – and how to address them. This will form an evidence base from which to make informed decisions about the future direction for the Collaborative and how the most impactful new operating models might be supported and financed to develop and sustain.
Nesta are looking for involvement from local authority teams who are experimenting in:
- Redefining the purpose and role of a local authority
- Economic democracy
- Radical restructuring
- Devolution of power to communities
- … and more
However, time is running short — you need to express your interest via this contact form by Monday 15th July, so get your skates on! More details can be found on the project page on the Nesta website, so best give that a thorough read-through before you get started.