Governance requires bold governments

The role of government has changed drastically in recent years. Not only does it now have to deal with individual and assertive members of the public who get eagerly involved in consultation; it also has to cope with well organised lobby groups. The general public is no longer prepared to sit still and listen. So making plans behind a desk and then dropping them into the community is no longer acceptable. That is certainly true of a complex process like urban regeneration.
‘Government’ has to make way for ‘governance’. The government has to stay in the driving seat, but it must be continuously talking to everybody involved in the process. And the concept of a ready-made plan that can be implemented as it stands has had to be abandoned. Numerous adjustments are required as plans are put into practice.
How does governance work? There is no standard recipe. The appropriate method depends on the objective. You need a different procedure for generating innovative solutions, for example, than for establishing support or finding investors.
Innovation requires steering, boldness and leadership.
To establish support, you need an attractive sort of enthusiasm and, at the same time, you have to be able to listen to the wishes and ambitions of the parties involved.

The art is not to get lost in the process. Consultation mustn't get bogged down in endless meetings or result in drab compromises. And government shouldn't try to know everything or investigate everything. An objective it can move towards is much more important.
One of the ways of avoiding pitfalls of this kind is to work in small, effective teams that act as brokers for ideas. They needn't think up all the solutions themselves; they go looking for players who do have the solutions and they give them the opportunity to get to work. This is about forging smart coalitions. Steering remains possible if developments are channelled.

That requires a new sort of government. The top-down model no longer works but that does not mean that the bottom-up model is the solution. A broader perspective is required that goes beyond the neighbourhood or the area alone. That is why the best approach is to combine the two in a single model: middle-up-down.
In this model, government has to operate with energy, inspiration, boldness and enthusiasm. And particularly with leadership.

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