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In recognition of her exemplary contributions to both local and central government, Carolyn Downs was honoured with the title of Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2011 New Year's Honours list. Boasting a rich four-decade-long career in Local Government, Carolyn currently serves on various boards, focusing on advancing health and social care integration.

Carolyn Downs shares her incredible journey from Bolton librarian to navigating political landscapes as a Chief Executive. Discover her CEO network's pivotal role, the impact of an all-female top team at Shropshire Council, and insights gained at the Ministry of Justice amidst Whitehall's culture.

Join us as Carolyn opens up about challenges faced at the LGA, where transparency and unwavering values were key. Explore her strategic leadership ensuring political will delivery and protection for councils and members.

Carolyn also shares her essential CEO skills, from political management to navigating values, and her authentic leadership principles – managing risks, building confidence, embracing bravery, and fostering trust. Tune in for a podcast packed with leadership insights.

Solace website:
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Dedicated podcast site:
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Socials: 
@Solace_UK #LocalGovernmentStories

Carolyn Downs & Nazeya Hussain - Local Government Stories Podcast

The next two episodes of the #RadicalReformers podcast will be a bit different (and hopefully a treat for the public service reform nerds out there!). They will focus on “Relational practice” and “Place working”.

A couple of weeks ago, Andrew spent time with the leading relational practice experts from the UK and further afield at the PERU “Towards Relational Public services” conference in Manchester and recorded snippets with some of the keynote speakers and attendees. 

Relational practice is fast becoming the foundational element of all sensible public service reform thinking and in this episode you will hear from the best in the field including Rob Wilson, Kathy Evans, Emma Lord, Ron Charlton, Toby Lowe and Wendy Lansdown. 

The second public service reform special will focus on “Place working” and will unpack the findings of an LGA report the Mutual Ventures team and Re:State were commissioned to produce. Andrew will be joined by Dr Simon Kaye Prof Donna Hall and the LGA's Eve Roodhouse. Keep an eye out for this in a couple of weeks. 

The team Mutual Ventures believe relational practice and place working are two sides of the same coin and essential if we are to shift towards prevention, reduce demand/cost across the system and re-establish trust between public services and communities. 

The good news is real progress is being made on the policy front. Throughout both episodes, we reference the “test, learn and grow” principles produced by the Cabinet Office, the Spending Review policy announcement on “Community Help Partnerships” and the recent Public Service Reform Strategy from the Scottish Government.

Relational practice and place working feature heavily in the Radical Place Leadership work the MV team have been doing in areas such as South Ayrshire, North East Lincolnshire and Brent and also forms a big part of the reform support we are providing as part of the local government reform process. 

Enjoy it!


Public Service Reform Part 1 - Relational Practice

Hackney faced a perfect storm: 

At the centre of it all was Dawn Carter-McDonald—Chief Executive of Hackney Council, lawyer, and lifelong public servant—who led with calm, clarity, and conviction.  

🎧 Dawn shares: 

What it’s like to lead through unprecedented disruption. 
How her legal background shaped her leadership. 
Why governance, transparency, and community trust matter more than ever. 
Her vision for Hackney’s future—and the legacy she hopes to leave. 
 
🎧 This is essential listening for anyone in local government, leadership, or public service. 

View our dedicated Podcast Site: 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠solace.org.uk/local-government-stories-podcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Share on our Socials:
X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Solace_UK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
LinkedIn: Use the hashtag #LocalGovernmentStories
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Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠uk_solace

Dawn Carter-McDonald & Nazeya Hussain

This is Episode #100 of the #RadicalReformers podcast!
 
We wanted to take the opportunity to thank all the guests who have taken the time to contribute their time and knowledge and the listeners who have given up their own time and continued to support the podcast since the first episode back in 2020. We have had guests from central government, local government, the third sector, Mayoral Combined Authorities and the NHS, all brimming with energy and ideas for improving public services. It’s been a great journey and we hope you have enjoyed it and learned as much as we have.
 
So back to this episode! This is part 2 of a public service reform double bill. The first one was on “relational practice” and if you missed it you can catch up in the usual places. 

This one revolves around a report that the Mutual Ventures team developed in partnership with Re:State think tank on behalf of the LGA entitled “Trusting Place”. As the name suggests, this is all about place working, public service collaboration at a local level, and connection between public services and citizens. As part of this work, we ran a series of workshops and spoke to a lot of public service leaders and thinkers and produced a set of recommendations for the LGA to consider in terms of what their future views might be around place-working.
 
This report has now been published (Link below) and we are fortunate to have the chance to discuss it on this episode with Eve Roodhouse from the LGA and two of the report’s authors Simon Kay from Re:State and MV Non-Exec Director Professor Donna Hall.

https://www.mutualventures.co.uk/post/our-report-to-the-lga-trusting-place-improving-the-lives-of-local-people-through-place-based-appr


Public Service Reform - Trusting Place

🎧 "It’s lonely at the top—but what if you had someone to lean on?  

👥 We’re closing series two with a first: a Leader and Chief Exec in open conversation. 

🗣️ Councillor Peray Ahmet, Leader of Haringey Council, and Andy Donald, Chief Executive share how they’ve built a values-led partnership to lead through political transition, community challenge, and organisational change. 

💬 From rebuilding trust to rethinking devolution in London —this episode is a must- listen for anyone in public service. 

Cllr Peray Ahmet, Andy Donald & Nazeya Hussain

In the latest episode of Radical Reformers, I am joined by renowned public service innovator and author, Hilary Cottam.

Hilary has just published her hotly anticipated follow up to Radical Help, entitled “The Work We Need”. It is an inspiring read and I get the opportunity to delve into the main themes with Hilary.

Hilary highlights the increasing challenge of economic inactivity and unfulfilling jobs and discusses the importance of “place” and the social fabric created by local institutions great and small, formal and informal. We discuss the critical role central government, Mayoral Combined Authorities and councils have in “tilting the playing field” to create the conditions for good work. 

Lifelong learning is a key theme of the book and Hilary explains what this means. It’s not about getting a piece of paper with a qualification. It’s about fulfilment, challenge and self-development. We also spend time talking about the potential of the “modern mutual” and the renewed interest from government in this form of organisation, which has proven very successful in many industries including public services. 

Radical Help is a firm favourite in the Mutual Ventures office and our copies of The Work We Need are already in hot demand. We hope you enjoy the episode!

You can get your copy of Hilary’s new book here: https://geni.us/TheWorkWeNeed





The Work We Need with Hilary Cottam

Radical Reformers is back! Listen in to Andrew Laird’s insightful conversation with relational working legend Gary Wallace, a public health specialist from Plymouth City Council.

In this episode, Gary comprehensively debunks New Public Management, highlighting its weaknesses and championing relational working. He shares his expertise on systems thinking, human learning systems, and the importance of creating a healthy system where all the bits of the system work together to support people.

Gary's approach to relational working is a masterclass in itself, offering valuable insights for public-facing practitioners, commissioners, and leaders.

Gary talks about making impactful change and continuous learning throughout this episode. Trying to make big changes can be daunting and seemingly impossible - so we thought it was really powerful when Gary said “Even if you can't change the way your service works, you can change the way you work as an individual.” And that’s where all great change starts really, isn’t it?


Relational Working Masterclass with Gary Wallace

This week’s Radical Reformers guest is relational working pioneer, Helen Sanderson, known to us as a leading thinker, researcher and doer on person-centred working.

Helen talks about her work setting up Wellbeing Teams in places like Wigan and Thurrock and  discusses her ongoing work with the Changing Futures Northumbria team, playing a pivotal role spreading the learning from the great work being done there.

This episode includes some very practical examples of what it takes to make person-centred support real. Spoiler alert – it takes a lot of commitment, a lot of effort and the bravery to “work out loud and share what you’re learning as you do it”.

As with all great minds, Helen flips the script and considers how we change the “what is the matter with you” conversation to “what matters to you”, to deliver services that make a real difference to people’s lives.

The episode is peppered with the names of some fellow radical reform rebels, so we’d be remiss not to mention them: Hilary Cottam, Mark Smith, Donna Hall and last week’s guest, Gary Wallace. 


Making person centred support real with Helen Sanderson

In the latest episode of #RadicalReformers, Andrew Laird talks to Helen Bailey, Chief Executive of Sutton Council. Helen brings the rare experience of senior roles in both central government and local government and her perspective on the ‘bridge’ between central policy and local delivery is invaluable.

It’s an extremely timely discussion with the renewed interest in the concept of ‘Total Place’, as Helen was in the Treasury when Total Place was first explored. She encourages local leaders to see themselves as conveners of place, not just statutory service providers and urges us all to challenge current solutions and the material difference they’re making.

Helen also reminds us that mistakes are inevitable in public service delivery and that leaders must remain curious and brave enough to try and learn from new things.
We love Helen’s optimism and hope you’re as inspired as we are to “Look for the gaps, look for the cracks, look for the opportunities. Ask questions about the solutions that you’re presented with that don’t seem to work”.

From Whitehall to Local Authority with Helen Bailey

This week on Radical Reformers, Andrew talked to Adrian Brown, Chief Executive of the Windfall Trust, to explore how artificial intelligence will continue to reshape public services.

Adrian provides us with a grounding in AI and how it will inevitably touch every aspect of our lives. Most of the discussion is focused on the awesome opportunities and worrying risks that AI poses for public services. While AI might help us navigate complexity, understand data and speed up services, we must not lose sight of what it means to be human and the importance of building genuine relationships. 

The pace of change is rapid, and public services must adapt quickly to keep up. Those working in public services are currently faced with the huge challenge of weighing up risk versus reward in an environment where AI is evolving at breakneck speed (even in the time it has taken you to read this!). 
Can we risk having essential public services reliant on a technology we don't fully understand... can we afford not to? 

If there was ever an episode to spark debate among your peers, then this is it!


AI and public services with Adrian Brown

Across the UK, adult social care is in crisis.

This episode of the #RadicalReformers podcast brings you a rare social care success story.
Rachel Law and Gemma Murphy are two of the all-female leadership team at PossAbilities CIC, an adult social care social enterprise based in the Northwest of England.

With a team of 800 operating across multiple council areas, PossAbilities is bucking the trend. Rachel, Gemma and the team not only deliver outstanding services but consistently achieve financial sustainability which enables further investment to support the community they care for.

In this episode, Andrew Laird explores the source of this success, including a small, innovative and courageous executive team, a very thin middle management layer, not constantly assessing people and diversification into areas like building their own residential care accommodation. It really is #RadicalPlaceLeadership #RelationalWorking in action.

The PossAbilities team recently had a visit from Baroness Casey’s commission team - and we learn about what they are exploring in that important work.

This is an inspiring conversation and there are lessons to be learned for all public services. Could it be that the resources public services need are there – they’re just not focused on the right things..?


A Social Care Success Story with Rachel Law and Gemma Murphy

Join Nazeya Hussain, Solace Board member and EDI lead, as she uncovers the stories, drive, and passion that have shaped some of the most esteemed Chief Executives in Local Government. Delve into in-depth interviews that explore their experiences, best practices, and inspirational tales, perfect for those intrigued by the challenges of the CEO role and the profound impact of councils on communities. With Nazeya's two decades of experience across all tiers of local government and her unwavering passion for making a difference, tune in for firsthand perspectives on local governance's challenges and triumphs. Proudly presented by Solace.

Enjoy listening!

Carolyn Downs & Nazeya Hussain - Local Government Stories Podcast

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