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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 24/07/20
Bridget Nurre Jennions, Centre for Public Impact
+44 7387 522788
bridget@centreforpublicimpact.org
Jane Aslanidis, Senior Manager at the Centre for Public Impact, discusses the urgent need to reshape the economy to put people first.
Originally published by Open Access Government.
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We live in a divided society with an ever-widening power gap. The inequality in our communities — exposed by the revolts of Brexit and Trumpism, and furthered this year by COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter — is an open and raw wound. What's clear from 2020 is that the old ways of working no longer work. Ironically, the past three decades have been dominated by a rigid commitment to “what works,” with KPIs and hierarchy determining action in both the public and private sectors. With governments around the world cautiously turning their attention back to rebuilding a post-pandemic economy, there is a real opportunity now to shift that focus from “what works” to “what works for everyone.”
That opportunity was squandered in the years following the 2008 recession, which saw a return to business as usual. The contract between citizens and government to protect the best interest of the people was broken, and indeed never repaired. Once again, the people who are most affected by the economic breakdown we are seeing now — low-income workers on furlough and essential workers, many of whom come from historically marginalised groups — are likely to be excluded from conversations on how best to rebuild it.
Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We cannot return to a “business as usual” that doesn't consider the diverse perspectives of the people most affected by volatility, lest we face another public uprising in ten years' time. We have the opportunity to do better — and many governments around the world already are.
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Read the complete piece on Open Access Government.
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About the Centre for Public Impact
The Centre for Public Impact is a not-for-profit founded by Boston Consulting Group. Believing that governments can and want to do better for people, we work side-by-side with governments—and all those who help them—to reimagine government, and turn ideas into action, to bring about better outcomes for everyone. We champion public servants and other changemakers who are leading this charge and develop the tools and resources they need, like our Public Impact Fundamentals, so we can build the future of government together.
