Davy Jones Consultancy

Let's make 2009 the year that citizen involvement in local services finally becomes the norm not the exception.

Pie in the sky? Maybe.

Will the current economic crisis help? Maybe not - at least for the short-sighted. There is no doubt that the first instinct for many in local services is to batten down the hatches: "no money for that fluffy empowerment stuff - back to the day job."

But it is the day job that has to change

Informing, consulting and involving citizens must become a regular part of that day job - something that is routine for those delivering local services. This will require a huge shift in the culture of local services.

But such culture shifts have happened before.

In the 1980s/early 1990s, there was a lot of resistance to the idea of performance management. I recall the first meeting of the London Performance Indicators Co-ordinators Group (after the Tories introduced the Citizens Charter PIs for local government and police forces). The first discussion was whether or not to boycott the PIs as "an attack on local government". Such notions would be unthinkable now.

And in the last ten years, partnership working has gradually become more and more accepted as an essential part of the day job. Previously, many saw it as a distraction at best.

We need to ensure a similar culture shift on citizen involvement

As the recession bites and times get tougher, the need for this will become more obvious. Scarcity breeds resentment. Tensions between the "haves" and "have nots" and between the "have nots" will intensify. Transparency on decision-making will become more important. People feeling they have been informed, consulted and involved will be essential.