The London Collaborative was an ambitious programme designed to improve the capacity of London's public sector to work across boundaries of place, profession and organisation in order to meet future challenges facing the capital. Over the course of two and a half years it aimed to make London a city where the 'whole' of the talent and resources within its public sector institutions was greater than the sum of its parts.

The London Collaborative was commissioned by Capital Ambition in 2007 and led by The Young Foundation in partnership with OPM to work closely with London's chief executives to drive and foster collaboration in key strategic areas and build connections, a sense of common purpose and resilience through a network of senior staff from London's public sector, the London Leadership Network. During 2008, Common Purpose helped design, recruit and run events for the Network.

The Network brought together people who make decisions, plan and deliver key services and policies that shape the capital. It grew to over 400 members, primarily from local councils, but also from health, the police, the GLA group, social housing providers and other public bodies.

The work of the Collaborative included:

Future scenarios and challenges facing London over the next twenty years in the first phase of work. This played a significant part in designing our second phase of work - working with public sector leaders to explore specific challenges and to build strategic capacity in:

• retrofitting housing as a key contribution to reduce carbon emissions: identified the most effective means of reducing carbon emissions and focused on a London-wide programme of retrofitting housing, e.g. by adding insulating material, installing/ replacing appliances and adapting windows, walls and roofs, to achieve multiple objectives.
• understanding London's complex population flows: reviewed and captured work underway in London on population intelligence, proposing a ‘smart' commissioning group to amplify awareness and impact of population intelligence, identify issues of importance to London, question myths such as the ‘returning migrants' and influence official data.
• worklessness: to explore how collaboration between boroughs and key agencies can help communities in social housing where the experience of worklessness is often inter-generational and financial incentives to work can be weak. This identified two opportunities: a Pilot Commissioning Board to develop a clear working relationship with Jobcentre Plus and to manage employment support contractors sub-regionally; and adult apprenticeships in London local government.
• behaviour change: to develop high-level thought leadership and build the capacity, understanding and practice of London's public sector to facilitate behaviour change. A number of practice sessions and an active living action learning set were held, and a guide to behaviour change was produced.

London Futures Challenge programme. From December 2009 to March 2010 we ran a programme to ‘redesign' the shape of public services in the face of significant reductions in public spending. Propositions were developed from three ‘more for less‘ sessions and were tested at an event that brought together the London Leadership Network in February. Radical propositions were developed for London's chief executives to consider at the Chief Executive Retreat in March.

Network London, a website and online networking tool for the London Leadership Network, launched late 2009. The website contains information about the London Collaborative and a private members' networking tool to allow for collaboration.

Face-to-face events for the London Leadership Network to foster common purpose, develop ideas and futures thinking. looked at innovation, responses to tough times, leadership styles, behaviour change, and encounters with foreign delegations. Summaries of events during phase one can be found here and phase two here.

All of the London Collaborative activity can be viewed in timelines  here (phase 1) and here (phase 2).

Papers

There are a number of reports and papers on our work, from early scenarios and analytical work to a guide to behaviour change. These can be found on the publications and papers page and on Network London.

Who to contact

Capital Ambition is developing further the London Leadership Network (LLN) and maintaining and developing Network London.

The main contact at Capital Ambition is Selena Lansley, London futures client programme manager, selena.lansley@londoncouncils.gov.uk tel. 020 7934 9995. Please contact her about anything to do with the London Collaborative programme, its challenges, the London Leadership Network, Network London, and about future plans.

For information on the London Collaborative from the Young Foundation please contact Nicola Bacon, Local Projects Director, or Sophie Hostick, Researcher.