Winter 2017
The challenge
With the Camden Plan drawing to a close in 2018, the borough wanted to build a sense of what their strategy would look like beyond this point. The Camden Commission was an effort to do this, speaking to people from across the borough about challenges and opportunities. The council asked us to deliver the stakeholder dimension of this, through a series of round table events and other forms of engagement.
How we approached it
We ran workshops for stakeholders from public, private and third sectors, facilitating and drawing together findings. Two of the groups were on how the local economy could weather the winds of the global economy. One of these was specifically aimed at the role of small businesses. The other two events centred on the themes of public sector reform and cohesion, respectively. We followed these up with further depth interviews of business owners, and pen portrait testimonials of those working on the ground within the local economy.
What happened
In all we spoke to over 100 people at length, developing a dialogue that provided real qualitative depth and texture. The findings of the Camden Commission will now go forward, helping the council to develop a vision for the borough post-2018.