This article was originally published in the MJ, on the 28th August 2024
Wigan’s new phase of reform will build on what remains radical and relevant from the Deal, while committing to two borough-wide missions, say Alison McKenzie-Folan and Anna Randle
Wigan Council is well known for the Wigan Deal: a ground-breaking re-imagining of the
relationship between the council and local people. For more than ten years, the Deal has
served as shorthand for a deep shift in the way that council works: starting with what is
strong not what is wrong, giving permission for council staff to innovate, investing in
communities and co-locating teams. The Deal was anchored by a simple but unequivocal set
of behaviours: Be Accountable, Be Courageous, Be Positive. In 2019 we introduced our
fourth and probably most significant behaviour of Be Kind.
Wigan Borough’s unique way of working has inspired people in the council and partners to
stay true to the core values of public service while being ambitious and creative. Wigan has
been honoured to be highlighted as a place that is showing a positive way forward for local
government in an era of austerity and we are so proud of what we have achieved.
However, the work of change is never done. New challenges emerge, and like everywhere
else, Wigan Borough has been deeply affected by external forces in recent years – Covid, a
tough national and local economy, financial pressures on our communities and partners.
Although we still believed in the Deal and its underlying philosophy and principles, in recent
years we felt that its transactional framing (“our part” and “your part”) was out of step with the relational ways of working we were building and the rapidly changing and societal context. It was time for a re-set.
We therefore set out on a journey of honest reflection and renewal, with the aim of
recommitting to all that remains radical and effective, while also refreshing our strategic
purpose, relationships and ways of working. If we were to be truly accountable and
courageous, we knew we had to listen deeply to feedback, learn from what had been
achieved, be open about what hadn’t, and build a new phase of reform to meet the
challenges of today.
We sensed that this was not something we could do alone. If the Deal was written in a
council office in a moment of crystallised radical political vision, we knew that the New Era
needed to be co-created with communities, partners and stakeholders right across the
borough.
We therefore commissioned two external partners to help us: Collaborate and IPPR North.
Collaborate’s approach was based on inclusive and wide-reaching stakeholder engagement
and co-creation, building a collaborative movement for change right from the outset.
Together we talked directly to over 200 stakeholders through a range of approaches, from
interviews with councillors, staff, MPs and Greater Manchester partners, to days spent
talking to residents where they live and frontline staff and partners where they work. Over
1000 residents and staff shared their views through surveys. Together, we also set up a
Community Connection Group of voluntary sector leaders, who played a crucial role
reaching into their networks, making sense of what we were learning throughout the
engagement and helping to co-design the ‘New Era’.
As a council, we went into this process believing there are some aspects of the Deal which
are as relevant today as they were in 2013, both in our borough and elsewhere. This has
been confirmed. However, we learned three key things from reaching out.
First, that while the Deal’s principles and behaviours are absolutely right, they should go
further to underpin a borough-wide approach with our partners – a borough way, not just a
council way. We heard that we need to reset our relationships and ways of working with our crucial partners in the community, voluntary and faith sectors, working with humility and in a
spirit of genuine and equal collaboration.
Second, we learned that we need to apply those principles and behaviours (the ‘how’) much
more rigorously to the specific challenges we face as a community and place (the ‘what’). In
the context of rising poverty and inequality, this means we need a relentless and collective
focus on tackling these issues together through all the means at our mutual disposal. To truly
empower our residents, we also need to refocus on doing the basics really well, alongside
innovation.
And thirdly we learned that we need to re-energise some of the reform work, such as our
pioneering integrated locality teams. This includes working together in our towns and
neighbourhoods to support people with the things that matter most, with a focus on
preventative approaches built around our schools and GPs.
Working closely together with all our local partners, communities, residents, businesses and
staff we have co-created a New Era of reform in Wigan borough which we will launch
together in September.
The New Era builds on all that remains radical and relevant, while also bringing together the
council and local partners to commit to two shared, borough-wide missions to create fair
opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses, and make all our towns and
neighbourhoods flourish.
Our work to achieve them will be underpinned by Wigan’s unique culture and working
principles as well as a greater commitment to community wealth and health building, deeper
engagement and co-production and supporting communities to fulfil their potential.
We are ringing in the New Era together under the banner of ‘Progress in Unity’, reconnecting
with the borough’s motto in our 50 th anniversary year, which perfectly captures this whole
system, place-based and collaborative spirit.
We know we won’t get everything right and new factors will arise that will require us to keep
learning. Our journey won’t be straightforward, but together we will adapt and face these
head on. In Wigan, we are stepping boldly into our next phase of reform with a clear,
collective and courageous new ambition for our place and a powerful new movement for
change.