YoCo Change Makers Workshop

8th May 2022

YoCo has great plans for the York Central site. We want to build a co-owned neighbourhood of forever affordable homes, places to gather and play, spaces for wildlife and growing and a thriving economy that builds wealth for the whole community. We also want those ideas to influence the whole of the York Central site, as outlined in the YoCo Community Plan for York Central. But how can we make the changes we want to see?

We worked with two friends of YoCo who are also experienced coaches – Joanne Rule and Fay Andrews-Hodgson – to explore our ideas about change, recognise what we are already doing and to make plans.

The workshop was structured around questions. Joanne and Fay have used the workshop questions to write up what emerged from the workshop conversations. Joanne’s also shared her post-workshop reflections to help us draw out issues for YoCo to continue to pursue.

What helps and what hinders change making?

What helps? Joy, understanding how the structures work, being positive, hope and vision.

What hinders? Lack of transparency/not knowing where the power lies; thinking ‘what's the point?’

Joanne’s reflection: How does it stretch your thinking to consider understanding the ‘people in the structures?’ (Not simply understanding 'the structures.') In working with groups, I'm repeatedly struck by how a shift of emphasis towards wanting to understand stakeholder positions and perspectives with open hearts can unlock possibilities.

What is the impact we want?

On cities: York central could be great example of how cities could ‘work’ through acknowledging and valuing the interrelationships between people and place and creating an ecosystem where linkages are about sharing.

On neighborhoods: To bring about housing which is more than bricks and mortar. It's neighbourhoods with fuzzy boundaries expressed as "York Central is brilliant"

On Values: To create a massive cultural shift which has an impact on value systems. Create a co-owned neighbourhood that expresses the things we value. To create an environment and local economy to enable human flourishing. Being deliberate about the values we want to express:

- Transparency of values we are aiming for

- Transparency of the design to express them

On economy: To grow an economy which is not something ‘external’ to us – ‘we are the economy’. To create local wealth where small businesses flourish and become a circular economy. To ultimately sustain ourselves within our community.

On Equity: To create equity in outcome through redistribution (of opportunities, power, wealth). The YoCo co-owned neighbourhood is a physical thing that expresses and re-engineers economy in equitable ways.

On political agency: To transform political culture through involvement and agency. To grow ourselves, not asking for permission.

Joanne’s reflection: There are similar ways of expressing impact here. You could find a well-crafted way of expressing impact such as ‘To create an environment in which people of York can thrive and flourish’. Something which captures the sense of city-building and exemplar and how this should matter to all of us in York? And I also think there's still value in crafting a change statement which links impact to your approach to change as we discussed at the planning meet for this event. E.g. your 'building a great city one planter at a time.'

What are our beliefs and assumptions?

Values:

· Cooperation / Community / Compassion

· Connections (People, place, money, activity, values)

· Clean burning fuel (hope, vision, agency, positivity)

· Learning together, being ok with not knowing

· Recognising different perspectives

Assumptions:

· Clear vision of the future we want

· Create an environment in which people can thrive and flourish (physically, emotionally, politically, economically, spiritually)

· Community wealth – comes from and enables individual wealth – and creates common security

Ethics

· Caring, sharing, respect – not just human but planetary

· Maximising potential of all

· Not speaking on other people’s behalf

What are we doing already to get there?

What else might we do to make bring about the impact/big changes?

Win a Council seat by standing for election in the ward

Ask/Invite more people to help e.g. to call out for wood for planters

Work smarter with existing groups in the area

Create a YoCo house of plants – using permaculture

Consider a credit union – exchange system – and build relationships with growers on the edge of the city, creating a box scheme, for example.

More high-level engagement: CEOs of Homes England, Network Rail, Council

Develop communications about our theory of change

Bring in more money to do the things we want to do

Distribute agency within YoCo, sharing the workload and empowering others

Work through local/national connections and tensions

Hold a picnic again – have fun reaching out

Engage a variety of age groups – the walk from the railway museum to the site

How do we do this by stealth – meanwhile use of a building is not the whole thing. Create a place where the elements of us are seen as a whole – a building will be brilliant but let's not be held back, let’s build a garden which showcases everything

Joanne’s reflection: At the beginning of the day there was a little bit of conversation about who "we" are. As you clarify your impact statements, and think about what else you will do to get there, you can stretch that sense of "we-ness". Stretching that sense of "we-ness" could be important because to achieve the change you want to bring about will need to involve more people than YoCo (and 'YoCo' expands conceptually to include many others.) This will affect the whole of York. I was moved by that realisation and am open to what else I can do to be involved.