Relational public service, systems thinking methods and practice workshop course
Good local government services are those that are focused on a person driven purpose, they utilise strengths inherent in our communities and they exhibit relational working. This is a practice based workshop that will help you in designing services based on a relational 'test and learn' approach underpinned by Human Learning Systems. You will learn how local government can mobilise itself to work with people at a local level, allowing people to decide where and how to begin their journey back into balance. It is less about 'delivering services', and more about understanding and working with people to help them to get back in control of their lives. Applying systems thinking in practice.
relational working
Workshop learning objectives
- Learn how to apply relational working practices.
- Apply 'test & learn' approaches.
- Develop new ways of understanding citizens/ customers, that will capture whole strength based wider needs.
- To recognise complex 'wicked' characteristics and how to incorporate them into your work.
- Expand from traditional digital or process change to evolve them to a new level.
- Incorporate systems thinking, complexity and systemic design concepts and tools.
- Apply new collaborative workplace behaviours and techniques.
- Successfully influence and integrate what you do within an organisation and with decision-makers.
- Co-design to enable innovation, and develop participatory leadership.
- Develop your self-awareness as a change agent, and how that relates to others to maximise your impact.
This is different because it is not about simply adding methods to what you already do. When we develop a systems thinking lens to the methods we currently use, this enables us to do different and better things.
Leaving behind jargon that is prevalent in the literature, we will be focusing on robust practice and case studies that I and others have personally undertaken over 21 years. We will explore design, change, & digital, and we will expand them with powerful and practical concepts and methods.
We will explore how to develop new ways of working, that you can then take forward in your journey of developing yourself.
The will explore at how you can position yourself in an organisation to co-create change with decision-makers and employees.
Ideally, you perhaps are;
- You have an internal change OD role, wishing to learn wider systemic techniques.
- You are operational, and want to learn more about cutting edge ways of working.
- You may be a manager or owner of a service, wishing to delve closer to the re-design of services and better ways to lead your teams.
- You are in central gov, the Treasury, or in policy. This might be helpful to you. Send me an email and we can find out.
Three half days over three consecutive days.
3.5 x 3 = 10.5 hrs total hours.
12 participants max to ensure quality engagement.
Location; Wherever you are! Online - Zoom
If you have any further questions, please email me on john.mortimer@improconsult.co.uk
£410 per person, inc vat.
£ 350 outside UK non-vat
Or email to bill me directly
Learn how to move from concepts, to creating impactful change
- We are pretty good at redesigning services like developing apps, or improving processes. Costs have been slashed, and the user experience has got lots better. But what happens when we delve into services that are not quite so transactional? What happens when we want to do more than simply improve one part?Those services that have elements of complexity,
- Services that are more about people than product,
- How can we overcome resistance to change,
- What about transforming the whole service?
Today we recognise that service design and change in organisations, as a practice, is becoming less about delivering products and project management, and more about impacting the whole end to end service; through test & learn experiments. This workshop is designed to deepen and strengthen our skills to enable us to become more effective, particularly as we begin to tackle complexity in services like adult social care and homelessness. We will be introducing Human Learning Systems, systems thinking methods, and Relational public service design.
Why is this workshop different?
What is different in this workshop, is that we will use several real examples of change from the public sector. We will link new systemic change principles with test and learn experiment approaches; some that you can use immediately, and others that will give you pointers for further and deeper collaboration with change experts outside of your change discipline.
The hard work of sifting through theories, books and blogs has been done for you!
This is an interactive course that adapts to your own challenges that you might bring to the workshop. We will explore together how we might overcome them using our new found knowledge.
Lets hear it from participants...
What John is doing, the mix of systems thinking and service design in a really practical way. No-one does this. This is really interesting.…
How powerful it is when we can bring this and make this visible, and help the decision-makers to make the right decisions.
The reason so many digital projects fail is that were not helping the staff to build the service first…
Relational working, missions, and Human Learning Systems
Further exploration of the concepts and methodology behind this workshop
human learning systems
Course design
Module 2 - Working on what we have learned, to delve into the reality of co-design, and the triple diamond methodology of design in complex environments. We will link into deeper aspects of systems, design thinking & systems convening, where you will participate by bringing your previous experience to the group to discuss ways forward. Day 2
Module 3 - This is where we we will stand back and complete the synthesis between systems, change and complexity. And we will bring the elements we have discussed together, so that you can relate this to your specific work. This module benefits from using the experiences of those in the group to boost our sense-making from the interactions between us. Day 3
It is possible to modify the content to suit particular organisation needs. Please contact me for alternative client designs for this workshop.
Pre-requisites & preparation
You will already have real world design or change experience to gain maximum benefit from the workshop. And you must be expecting to expand your view of change & design that you currently hold, that will challenge some of your currently held assumptions. If you're not prepared to absorb new concepts, internalise them, and move them forward yourself, this workshop is perhaps not for you.
For further reflection, a one to one follow up session is also offered after this course. And this will extend to periodic invitations to alumni meetings.
Your level of English will be good, and you will need to have access to a good screen and audio/ visual.
About John Mortimer
I have participated or led over 45 direct interventions in change and transformation, learned from OD and systemic change consultancies and experts in their field with Vanguard consulting. I became fascinated and enthused by alternative approaches to change, re-inventing work, and managing organisations.
I am now returning back the experience and knowledge gained, both from the mistakes, and the successful outcomes that have been achieved across a myriad of services. Incorporating learning has been borrowed by ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’.