Adapting to survive

摘要

There are few underutilised adjectives left that describe the political challenges facing the United Kingdom since the summer of 2016. Even without three years of almost continuous political and constitutional crises, there is a palpable sense that local government and the communities we represent exist in an increasingly 'VUCA' (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment. As a fundamentally 'people' business, local government managers and politicians operate at the heart of this environment. We are not (and never have been) immune from the effects of technical and societal changes all around us. At the same time, we have an incredibly practical job to do in the here and now; vulnerable people to be cared for, children to be protected, bins to be emptied. Consequently, local government leaders need to strike a balance between the uncertainties of the intermediate horizon and the need to be extremely effective in the present, with all the associated challenges of tight budgets, spiralling demand and rapid change. It is a balance most councils strike remarkably well, particularly given that the political pressures facing councillors tend to exert disproportionate pressure on the need for short-term actions.