On the first of April 2009 a new Duty to Involve came into force for all best value organisations across England, including all Local Authorities. The new duty requires local councils to ‘embed a culture of engagement and empowerment'. In the video below which was shot on the day the duty came into force, Richard Wilson, the former Director of Involve cautiously welcomed the Duty. However, he highlights three dangers associated with trying to promote a culture of engagement through imposing a duty on government.

Since the election in May 2010, the situation has changed. The coalition government is far more sceptical about using duties, and is rather talking far more concertedly about what citizens can do for themselves as part of the Big Society as opposed to what governments need to do to listen to citizens. This represents a significant shift and will require councils to interact with communities and citizens in a very different way.

At the same time however, the significant cuts that have already hit local government are reducing the money for formal engagement processes. Local government needs to find new ways to operate, engage with communities and hold conversations about priorities.

Despite this, the Duty to Involve still remains in force and all best value authorities will need to be aware of this and its implications as they think about the way they relate to the communities they serve. Involve continues to run events, training workshops and targeted support packages to help local authorities and other affected bodies consider how they engage and interact with the communities they serve, whether this be through stepping back to allow citizens the space to solve problems themselves, or in running formal consultation because that is the best way of meeting the needs of the community.

To find out more about how Involve can help please contact edward@involve.org.uk

For a one page outline on the Duty please click here

For a comprehensive outline of Involve's support please click here