My weekly posts
We didn’t lose the technology. We lost the machinery for learning together
We keep rediscovering the same local digital problems because we dismantled the machinery for learning together. From BVPI 157 to SAVVI and Open Referral UK, the useful bit was never the target itself, but the shared standards, memory and practical infrastructure that let councils learn from one another. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_localgovernment-datastandards-publicservicetransformation-share-7488562400292671488-9s2A/
What if one of the most underestimated risks in LGR is institutional bereavement?
I’ve been thinking about LGR as more than structure, appointments and communications. A council is also identity, memory, proximity, status and belonging. If we call all of that “resistance to change”, we miss the grief people are carrying into the new organisation. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_localgovernment-lgr-publicservicetransformation-activity-7488141561860431873-twJl?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAACuq-oBecVFDW6PCf3lkoG-peMeuLBeoho
What empowerment asks us to grieve
Empowerment can sound brisk and moralising if it rushes past loss. I’m exploring how Bottom, Customer and Citizen Space each contain different sources of power, and why adult-to-adult work means telling the truth about dependence, need, responsibility and what may first need mourning. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_what-if-empowerment-has-to-pass-through-grief-share-7487768478897270786-8vgE/
Courses and events
Next National Commissioning Academy
We’re building our cohort for the next national commissioning academy – our flagship commissioning programme from the PSTA. Register your interest now for our September 2026 cohort: https://link.redquadrant.com/nextacademy25
Leadership for systems change with LGR 2028!
Curious about how to lead transformation in the context of local government reorganisation and devolution? Responding to complexity: leading transformation in local government reorganisation and devolution is a five-month programme with the Open University and RedQuadrant, taking place September 2026-January 2027. We invite participants from organisations preparing for, going through, or having been through reorganisation, and who want to learn with and from others to build capacity for transformation in uncertainty.https://lnkd.in/gpX6ZG8h
smartCompass – our new AI-supported tool for AI for community-powered outcomes
Our new prototype smartCompass is a new, free tool to help commissioners, leaders, partners, and people working in public services see how their system is really working — and where to act next.Answer sixteen questions about a system you care about, and receive a personalised, AI-supported response by email. It helps you see strengths, blockers, patterns, and possible next moves. https://link.redquadrant.com/smartCompass
Compass v2 – comment on our new systems change tool
We’re now inviting comments on this beta new version of a systems change insight tool https://link.redquadrant.com/compassv2beta
Introducing the RedQuadrant Local Government Reorganisation hub
Local Government Reorganisation is coming fast. By April 2028, every new authority must be safe, legal, and fully operational. That means statutory officers secured, ICT cutovers rehearsed, services live, and residents experiencing seamless continuity. The RedQuadrant LGR Hub is the only model that guarantees readiness while embedding lasting capability. With a single accountable structure, governance at its core, and capability pillars across adults, children’s, SEND, ICT, finance, housing, and place, the Hub ensures no gaps, no surprises. Three outcomes, every time: Safe and legal on day one; Visible assurance and confidence in delivery; Future-ready capacity with transformation built in. Find out more now: https://www.redquadrant.com/lgrhub
Commissioning Compass: systems assessment for change
Our newly launched tool, the Commissioning Compass, helps you to assess your commissioning system and form an action plan for improvement. It’s available for free via our Teachable site – try it now! link.redquadrant.com/commissioningcompass
Things I shared on socials:
Jesuit Cybernetics Culture Research Unit (JCCRU) – call for abstracts
Jesuit Cybernetics Culture Research Unit / Methexis Institute. https://stream.syscoi.com/2026/07/31/jesuit-cybernetics-culture-research-unit-jccru-call-for-abstracts/
Rob Young on ARTORGA – the endeavour of Artifical Organisatism
(and other connections from Rebraiding Cybernetics and AI). Rob Young. https://stream.syscoi.com/2026/07/28/rob-young-on-artorga-the-endeavour-of-artifical-organisatism-and-other-connections-from-rebraiding-cybernetics-and-ai/
The Best We Can Do – An Introduction to Designing Our Systems, Together
Mary Parker Follett Foundation (Shapiro, 2026). Matthew Shapiro / Mary Parker Follett Foundation. https://stream.syscoi.com/2026/07/27/the-best-we-can-do-an-introduction-to-designing-our-systems-together-mary-parker-follett-foundation-shapiro-2026/
Top Public Sector consulting firms in the UK 2026
Consultancy.uk. https://www.consultancy.uk/rankings/2026/top-consulting-firms-in-the-uk
chosen path 