Place based outcomes, Trains and Kinks

Colloquium bound

So is this blog three of the new site. I write this as I sit on a train from Preston to London Euston. I am on my way to a colloquium being held tomorrow morning which is being hosted by Local Partnerships. Obviously, being of a limited educational standard, I didn’t know what a colloquium was. It sounded like some sort of operation on your arse but I checked the dictionary.com app on the trusty old iPhone and it is in fact this…

“A conference at which scholars or other experts present papers on, analyse and discuss a specific topic.”

So clearly they made some sort of mistake. I called them and apparently there was no error… they DID want me to come because of my involvement with the social enterprise movement. How lovely to be asked.

The event is called “The Local Place, Place Based Outcomes” but when you cut through the industry speak and jargon (ok I mean BS) it is in fact all about the kind of stuff I’ve been going on about for years.

Power to the people

So this is all about enabling local people to take responsibility for and control of their public services. This ain’t easy because for generations now we have become used to a top down, “we know best” approach from central and local government.

Most of the people I know feel powerless to change anything and therefore don’t engage locally or nationally. After four long hard years of trying to engage with Blackpool Council I know what they mean. The council is a many headed hydra. I have met many decent, hard working and good people there who thought they were doing a good job. But they are administrators rather than leaders, ticking boxes rather than building and creating value locally. At worst they were empire building thugs with little good that I could find to say about them. There are signs of a change here but the proof will be in the scoffing of the pudding (or whatever.)

Now is not the time for examples of the times I saw waste and frustrating bureaucracy not deliver ANY outcomes at all. I am positive that there now must be a shift in thinking by all local authorities. If I can play a small local part in enabling this then woohoo!

Anyway more on this over the next few days.

Kinks

I’m listening to The Kinks now… never really listened this much to them before in one go. I know they are good but wow… so good to listen to. Why don’t I do this more often? (Note to self… do this more often.)

Get to the point

I had a good day today presenting the drive time programme on BBC Radio Lancashire and with it being judgement day (from a government spending point of view at least) it was busy and rather adrenaline fuelled. Guests going missing, being handed scripts on a just in time basis etc… I felt like Ron Burgandy…. or Jeremy Paxman but sadly for my radio career the listener probably heard Alan Partridge.

Laptop out, as the Virgin Train bobbles and rocks it’s way through the midlands (I think) I thought I would say a few things about my hopes for this horrible thing I have done. You know getting my own website made with my name on it. I’ve had the domain for years but just used it for email. But after 4 years of running a social enterprise in Blackpool I have finally realised that it is a good thing just doing the work locally but the only way of really making the kind of progress I want to make for the things I believe in is to sometimes shout about them. A blog is a good way of doing this.

To BBC or not to BBC that is the question

I will promote new music here too and post stuff about the other things I do including my other passion radio. I present the BBC Introducing programme on BBC Radio Lancashire which must be the best job I have ever had in my life. Yes I know young people can be a total pain in the arse but the talent and energy I see every week from the artists and the young people that help me get the programme on air is utterly inspiring.

Also sitting in here and there on news programmes where on a good day we get beneath the stories and through journalism shine a light on things that are going wrong and right in our society in Lancashire.

Not many of the bands I feature will go on to make a living as a musician but their involvement in music will give them experiences, skills and motivations that will help them throughout their lives.

Anyway, that was Milton Keynes so I am going to close this post and hopefully get online at the hotel and post it there.

Think now Sean

Just got an email from the BIG boss today about blogs and social media… I will do my bestest not to transgress anything the nice lady said. The BBC is one big old public sector beast worth cherishing (as it changes) and I am all for that.

Share|

Tags: Blackpool, Blog, CIC, new music, Sean McGinty, Social Enterprise
Posted in New music, Radio, Social Enterprise | No Comments »