Shaping a learning network supporting regeneration and social integration in London
By: Social Integration, Regeneration, Londonmet Lab
Tags: London, Codesign, Social Integration, Learning, Regeneration

Introductory co-design workshop — recollections and reflections

On 21 October the Social Integration and Regeneration Learning Network held its first introductory co-design workshop. The purpose was to, first, reconnect with our regeneration contacts across London boroughs and do some sense checking around how COVID-19 affected regeneration work in their boroughs. Second, we wanted to co-design our forward programme and get an early input from participants.

To set the scene, Katherine Radlett — Policy and Projects Officer (Social Integration) at the GLA — discussed the importance of social integration, reflecting on the Mayor of London’s vision for a socially integrated city and his all of us approach to social integration. Katherine set out social integration principles within the context of the GLA’s work on regeneration programmes, highlighting the importance of the built environment to improving the lives of Londoners and bringing them together.

Social integration principles (as illustrated below) provided a continual point of reference throughout the workshop.

Social Integration principles (Mayor of London ‘All of Us’ Strategy, 2018)

We used the visual collaboration platform Miro, to gather insights on three main themes:

● How COVID-19 has affected the work of local authorities on regeneration and social integration

● What the network can do to support the work of local authorities on social integration and regeneration

● Potential input, suggestions and contributions from participants into our programme of events.

We were extremely pleased with the small group discussions. Each of these yielded valuable insights into the challenges posed by COVID-19 to local authorities, but also some important revelations about various opportunities brought about by the different ways of working and the increased focus on social integration. We captured some of these discussion on our Miro board:

Amongst the most important challenges, participants mentioned:

● restrictions on and re-prioritisation of funding

● the halting of planned high street projects

● face to face engagement with communities under lockdown and social distancing measures

● concerns relating to mental health, workloads and job security.

It was also noted that COVID-19 had highlighted inequalities that existed before the pandemic.

The new opportunities highlighted by participants can provide us with an important anchor in trying to harness these to affect positive change in the future. Amongst these were:

● the unprecedented scope for discussion and reflection that the pandemic had enabled,

● the significant increase in volunteering from all sections of the community (and organised by the local authority, for instance in volunteering centres and through food hubs)

● a renewed spotlight on equality and diversity.

This was described as creating new connections — between people, and between local authorities and communities — with positive effects on trust and engagement.

In exploring how the network could support local authorities, participants identified themes such as:

● addressing the stigma of regeneration, especially the relationship between regeneration and gentrification;

● embedding social integration principles in policy and infrastructure from the outset (rather than post-planning);

● addressing the often-adversarial dynamic between long-term residents and more affluent, mobile populations;

● effectively evaluating impact and best practice;

● harnessing the volunteering wave and communities coming together.

The network proved to be directly relevant to the participants’ ideas for how their work could be supported in future. This included facilitating the sharing of best practice, as well as new projects and ideas. This reflected a broader objective for local authorities to work outside their own ‘silos’, and instead learn lessons from other local authorities (beyond the context of COVID-19).

Through an emphasis on reflective learning, the Social Integration and Regeneration Learning Network is ideally placed to harness the key themes raised during the introductory co-design workshop and use them as a basis for future discussions.

The official launch of the network is scheduled for 11 November. We were delighted by the range of input gathered during the introductory co-design workshop, and the opportunity this provided for local authority participants to discuss challenges, opportunities and ideas openly and reflectively. We look forward to running future events across a range of related themes.

Are you interested in participating in our learning network? Register your interest here.