It’s been a long break from Centre for School Design activity – but with a lot of British Council for School Environments work in December including a study tour to New York and New Jersey, a new board of trustees and chairperson (Rachel Jones), a new office move to Islington, a second screening of the film Waiting for Superman with the thinktank Policy Exchange – and some big planning for 2011… we have used last few weeks to recover regroup!So, we are now back for a new year and geared up for a lot of important developments to come in the next few months: the implementation of the government’s White Paper, the report of the much anticipated Capital Review (we believe the full report, including an audit of the 0-19 capital estate due before Christmas, will now appear in February/March). Plus for the BCSE: the launch of our 2011 Awards and new projects, collaborations, events and activities will be unveiled shortly.

But before we set off headfirst into 2011 – there’s a small window to reflect and a chance to set out some thoughts about fresh thinking in a time of rapid change. With a decade of significant financial investment by government (and emotional investment from teachers and parents) there’s a pressing need to ensure all of that energy and ambition is not driven out of the system by the major changes that have taken place in the past 6 months. Of course there is a need for greater certainity and money is a huge issue, but thinking about education in this current climate is arguably more valuable. What is needed to unlock more work and indeed the education system is a mixture of creativity, participation and a focus on what works. The spontaneity of parents, teachers and communities can be mined in new ways to ensure we are getting the best out of limited resources.

Also – for too long – public policymaking has been a top-down process that has been monopolised and codified too tightly. Not all of the great ideas we hear about are expensive in cash terms – but the potential value of many of them is huge. Its vital that we continue to keep talking, to connect with each other across organisation boundaries. How do we do this? Some of the fresh thinking comes from outside of the sector. Take Ivo Gormley’s idea on making short documentaries about the impacts of social policy. This has an obvious application at the grassroots level to education and school design. Similarly, Lauren Currie’s ideas around how you can involve everybody – not just the self-selecting active citizens – to participate in decisions around the future direction of schooling are useful.

Tim Davies’ idea on building a consensus among public sector management that interactivity is a good thing, really needs to be promoted among the staff in local government who deal with education policy. Plus a clear message needs to be sent to government and the Capital Review team to say that frankness will be rewarded and not seen as a criticism. Dominic Campbell’s idea on making procurement a great deal more interactive – a process that could and should involve teachers, parents and local communities – can ensure that a more energy goes straight to the front line where it is needed and ensuring that procurement isn’t a wasteful dialogue between detached professionals or a budget-maximising private sector. All of these ideas are taken forward on an excellent site called Political Innovation – which argues that politics should be done differently – its surely time education was done differently too.

To paraphrase the leader of the opposition, ‘last year is a different country’. There will certainly be a range of new opportunities coming out of the Capital Review and upcoming developments in our sector.  It can be an exciting year… we are eternally optimistic.

Related posts:

1. Free Schools Thinking launched
2. Free Schools Thinking – what is our new report saying?
3. School capital investment – getting our house in order

Economic turbulence and political uncertainty, pressures on local government finance and new accountabilities for schools are upon us. Sustainable, deliverable, long term collaborations are the only way to achieve the necessary improvements and efficencies across all of our communities

Not my words but those of one the sanest commentaries on a more cost effective procurement process that I have read. Not only is this document a quiet critique of present process but points to a more thoughtful future around public assets and procurement more generally.

The IESE (Improvement and Efficiency South East) Regional Construction Framework emphasises collaboration, partnership and playing to the real strengths of local Government. Was Partnerships for Schools (PfS) born of a Government that couldn’t decide whether local government was a vehicle for change or had to be commanded and controlled ? Was a feudal centralising approach, with all the real and obvious dangers of patronage, a result?The senior team at PfS deserve credit for re-setting wildly overblown and over optimistic original targets for the credibility of David Goldstone’s early vision. But they do not recognise the need for independent views about procurement.

In today’s climate of precious few checks-and-balances, the power to conform within the current system we work in is powerful and has overwhelmed many. As one senior construction leader said to me, “We can’t be seen to bite the hand that feeds us – and we’re really hungry “. People’s reputations should not be besmirched because they have different ideas about procurement.

Two years ago, an opportunity for an open and honest debate about procurement was lost by a not-so independent review. I fear a forthcoming Freedom of Information application will reveal that more than RIBA were made fools of. Kicking tough issues into the long grass stores up trouble for a future, now upon us, when we need to celebrate this wonderful investment. The costs have always been a separate issue.

In addition in November 2009, I also defended PfS from serious allegations of bullying contained in a Policy Exchange think tank report. I explained to ‘The Guardian’ newspaper journalist that this quango may be the biggest kid in the playground, but it didn’t necessarily make them a bully.

Looking forward, proud cities like Manchester lead the way to a better capital assets procurement strategy. They challenge diktat with collective political leadership, a powerful track record but more importantly simple ideas to save the public purse big money. Hampshire County Council and Reading Borough Council ‘blaze a joint trail’ because simple ideas save us all money and time.

I also get a sense that Hampshire’s Chief Executive, Andrew Smith, knows that projects properly done can really change lives whether you’ve got trees in your street or not. It helps that he’s become Chair of the National Improvement and Efficiency Partnership. Getting more for less is not just a slogan.

The ground is shifting. Against the odds new thinking around building communities and their assets is bubbling through. Commercially, those that want to thrive and create real long term value will form relationships based on collaboration, ideas and trust. Individual and corporate integity really does matter. The Brussels bureaucracy may be many things; but it’s not responsible for our own waste, duplication and top down approach.

The answer lies in our own hands and is already being shaped. That is the best of Britain.

Related posts:

1. Great Schools Commission – a shake up for the system
2. Gove 1 Balls 0 – A Battle of Ideas
3. School capital investment – getting our house in order

Ty giving speech at BSEC 2010

We arrived back from the 2 day BSEC conference at London Excel late last night – so a day later, we’re reflecting on the event as a whole. Ty’s presentation (see below) seemed to go down well although the atmosphere in the conference seemed a bit flat. Other people from the event also commented on how the exhibition element worked pretty well but the conference has lost its edge (see the twitter posts via #BSEC ) and as for the after dinner magician… lets not go there!

I think personally Manchester was a much better location and the footfall was way down as a result… and counting/scanning people every time you come in and out of the exhibition shouldn’t count in your figures! (think ‘unique users’ guys). There was also no wifi and limited mobile connection which was amazing for a modern venue. And for the final time – can we reiterate – BSEC is NOT our event, we get no financial benefit from it at all.

On the plus side the launch of our marketplace went down very well, the quality of some of the stands was superb and we met some excellent people including some exciting new leaders in the school design world (more to follow on this). We have also posted some photos on flickr of some great new organisations we came across. Our overall report – B+ trade fair, C- conference (could do better).

Related posts:

1. Centre for School Design at BSEC
2. BCSE Members Only seminar: Refresh, Refurb, Reuse & change of use?