Liberated from Pet Projects

Over the last three months I’ve been involved in a participatory grant making experiment with Greater Manchester (GM) System Changers with aims to distribute more funds to GM communities facing marginalisation and the sharpest end of social and health inequalities.

There’s £400,000 in a pot that’s been filled by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Greater Manchester System Changers, the devolved Lankelly Chase monies. The work has been expertly held by Viv Slack and a facilitation team.

Monday was supposed to be the last day, but it feels like we are only just walking into the possibilities. What a journey in the practice of emergence it has been! Up, down, sideways, backwards, confusion, despair, chaos, circling round, turn back, like, dislike, common, separate, narrow, widen, narrow, widen. And trusting the process – letting it emerge. Being with discomfort and uncertainty.

Another of the goals was to demonstrate that communities can make excellent collective decisions.

And we’ve certainly seen that happen. The process has enabled the group to shift back and forth between individual and community needs and bigger picture, and to arrive in a place where we are looking out for the common good.

That’s no easy feat when system changers in the room are often scrambling about for scraps from the table to survive.

It’s such a breath of fresh air and such an alternative to sitting in spaces where you see cabinet and officer pet projects amplified and everyone hanging on someone’s words, waiting to agree, in the hope that if they are seen to be nodding they might be lucky enough to win the next small funding application.

So this process has felt really liberating.

And when I imagine the possibility of an alternative future… this certainly is a feature.

Pet projects would be no more if those closest to the problems can collaborate to redistribute cash. It really is a power shift. Obviously there’s a need for some form of self organising governance so it doesn’t become the very thing we complain about.

The future is growing right here before our eyes and we’ll be more than ready when those interested and committed to real power and resource shifting see the possibility more clearly. Not only will we be ready, but we’ll be practiced, with skills to share where we live, work and play.

Really hopeful about the next part of the journey and being part of a process that holds difficult conversations and tough decisions. And really hope those involved in thinking and doing around integrated care organisations and devolution are watching and ready to learn.