'Somewhere to live, something to do, someone to love': Reflecting on Fundamentally Different
Chris Catterall, CEO, Capacity
Chris Catterall, CEO, Capacity
‘Somewhere to live, something to do, someone to love’. That quote from Kant’s Rules for Happiness resurfaced throughout last week’s Fundamentally Different event at Blackburne House . As Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s chief executive, Paul Kissack’s quote and insight are built on a deep understanding of social issues. His reflections, shared with an audience of 40 leaders, thinkers and doers working in public services, health and third sector, were a compelling narrative for change.
Paul Kissack, CEO, Jospeh Rowntree Foundation
It’s difficult to capture the intellectual energy and eloquence of Paul’s speech in a blog, but here are some of the key takeaways.
Change and reform is happening, and there are reasons to be hopeful:
L-R, Chris Catterall, Katherine Fairclough, Jenny Turnross, Paul Kissack.
After his speech, I hosted a panel session with Paul, Katherine Fairclough (chief executive, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority), Jenny Turnross (director, Children and Young People’s Services, Liverpool City Council).
Some of my highlights from the panel conversation:
Workshops
‘My dream is for every child in Liverpool to be economically supported, in employment, education or training’. That was Jenny Turnross’s vivid call to action as she introduced the workshops. Children in care deserve better. How can we use the energy and ideas in the room to make a difference for 1000 care leavers aged 18 – 25?
Paul Boyce from Coral Reef reminded us that Liverpool was the first city to introduce child welfare. His work with the city council had explored how our children and young people are becoming looked after and why.
Breaking out into four groups, Jenny set the room a challenge. How can we use the expertise and resources in the room to collectively shake the system and better meet the needs and complex challenges that care leavers face.
The insights and actions from the workshop sessions are being developed into a plan focussed around these key themes:
Striking a balance between the inspirational and practical is never easy. But that’s exactly what happened at Fundamentally Different last week. It’s a rare moment when so many leaders and doers from Liverpool City Region and Cheshire are in the same room actively tuned into tackling the same problem. This time it was care leavers. But there’s an appetite for more – to unlock new ways of working in public services, when doing what we’ve always done just won’t cut it.
The potential for transformative change in LCR is real. Fundamentally Different is emerging as a platform for collaboration and a catalyst to bring together the region’s leaders, thinkers and doers.
Three things resonated as I walked back to the office after the event.
Plans are already underway for our next Fundamentally Different event later this year. And there’s a series of Fundamentally Different podcasts that’ll be available over the next few weeks. Please check out our socials to stay up to date.
If you want to find out more about Fundamentally Different or Capacity’s work, please get in touch with Emma Lord emma.lord@thisiscapacity.co.uk
Want to stay up to date about the lastest events and news at Capacity? Sign up to our mailing list here.