My weekly posts
On rewiring the state – travelling second class through Purgatory – (It’s not the hope series, part four)
I’m excited by the promise of real devolution, local fiscal authority and public services organised around place. But exhausted, damaged institutions cannot be ordered into another heroic transformation. The climb needs base camps: time, resources, memory, political cover and permission to recover, learn and adapt. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_dante-emerges-from-the-inferno-he-looks-share-7489458365564227584-Tm7P/
Everyone in government wants to learn. Nobody wants to remember
I’m asking whether government can combine genuine insight with the power to act, and distinguish stale inherited answers from knowledge matured through failure and experience. Before fixing the frame, reformers must find the people who understand the system, remember what happened before and are least likely to be asked. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_everyone-in-government-wants-to-learn-nobody-activity-7490655290577690625-cQl3
On rewiring the state – Odyssey’s End (It’s not the hope series, part three)
Rewiring the State brings public services tantalisingly close to Ithaca: real devolution, local fiscal power and services organised around lives and places. But arrival is not safety. Trust must be earned by moving authority before accountability, providing financial stability, protecting relationships and letting evidence from delivery change policy. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_stop-me-if-youve-heard-this-before-odysseus-ugcPost-7489455705083588610-uWgy/
On rewiring the state – back to Bag End – (It’s not the hope series, part two)
We may finally be coming home to devolution and place-based public services, only to find the Shire stripped by austerity, burnout and endless restructuring. Implementation must start by understanding what exhausted staff have been protecting, rebuilding local authority and capacity, and preserving the informal arrangements that kept services working. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_imagine-fighting-your-way-across-middle-earth-activity-7489938513203859456-lzWg
On rewiring the state – ‘at last, rain’ – (It’s not the hope series, part one)
Real devolution and social care hope feel like rain after a long public-service drought. Hoorah! But damaged soil does not yield a harvest overnight. Stability, time, resources, relationships and local knowledge must be rebuilt, because workforce recovery is not separate from implementation: it is implementation. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_at-last-rain-after-years-of-public-service-activity-7489605926317023232-urox
Courses and events
Commissioning and Innovation: playing on a bigger stage
A practical three-day programme for commissioners working in complexity that helps commissioners, transformation leaders, and partners work more effectively across complex systems. It combines practical tools, public service examples, peer learning, facilitated exercises, and direct application to participants’ own challenges. Open for enquiries. https://link.redquadrant.com/CommissioningAndInnovation
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
chosen path 