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James Plunkett

@jamestplunkett.bsky.social
7.4K followers 1.8K following 2.3K posts

Interested in more human ways to govern our lives together, and how technology can help. Blog: medium.com/@jamestplunkett 🏳️‍⚧️

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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Our social fabric is frayed, so who’s fixing it? Big launch @kinship.works today! We are publishing a major new report, Meet the Menders, in which we map the disciplines of civic renewal. I’ve shared all the info here: lnkd.in/p/erATC_n9
lnkd.in
🔔 Launch day! 🔔 This is a big one and we hope people find it useful... Our social fabric is frayed, so who's fixing it? Today we're launching a major new report from Kinship Works, Meet th...
🔔 Launch day! 🔔 This is a big one and we hope people find it useful... Our social fabric is frayed, so who's fixing it? Today we're launching a major new report from Kinship Works, Meet the Mender...
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
🔥 New today 🔥 The first publication from The Marshall Plan for Civic Life 👇 Today @kinship.works and @demos-uk.bsky.social have published a Discussion Paper to open a conversation about how to fund a decade of civic renewal. marshall-plan.netlify.app (1/n)
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
🔥 New today 🔥 Can a new style of political leadership unlock the energy at the edges? As Andy Burnham rises to the Premiership, I've written an essay exploring the value of a more enabling style of political leadership. (1/n) medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Can a new style of political leadership unlock the energy at the edges?
As Andy Burnham rises to the Premiership, this essay explores the value of a more enabling style of political leadership. What is enabling…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
I've written a new post exploring a fascinating turn in education reform. After a period in which there was pressure for ever narrower approaches to education, today's pioneers are advocating for a holistic model, with schools at the centre of a thriving civic life. (1/n) medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
How to grow tomorrows
What if schools were not just sites for delivering education, but societies in miniature? Thousands of chances to cultivate a better future
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
🔥 New today 🔥 Can a new style of political leadership unlock the energy at the edges? As Andy Burnham rises to the Premiership, I've written an essay exploring the value of a more enabling style of political leadership. (1/n) medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Can a new style of political leadership unlock the energy at the edges?
As Andy Burnham rises to the Premiership, this essay explores the value of a more enabling style of political leadership. What is enabling…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Ah, the joys of interacting with HMRC. I need an authentication code from the app in order to login to my account, but I need to login to my account in order to set up the authentication codes. Has anyone broken out of this particular doom loop? (No, they do not answer the helpline.)
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Ok, this is a big one: Announcing the Marshall Plan for Civic Life. A landmark programme of research and deliberation to develop a funding settlement for civic renewal. More from @pollycurtis.bsky.social and me about the work: medium.com/@jamestplunk... Website: www.marshallplan.org.uk (1/n)
medium.com
A Marshall Plan for Civic Life
There is a growing movement for civic renewal, with broad political support. But one question remains unanswered: how do we fund this work…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
New: Can the NHS leapfrog the rest of government on public sector digital work? (1/n) medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Could the NHS leapfrog the rest on public sector digital work?
Start small, think big
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
New: Can the NHS leapfrog the rest of government on public sector digital work? (1/n) medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Could the NHS leapfrog the rest on public sector digital work?
Start small, think big
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
One of the oddest signs of our times is that so many people want to run marathons and half marathons that getting a place is like trying to buy Beyoncé tickets. A nice thing, I think? Or have we all just gone mad?
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Some Friday reading. One snippet: "There are stark differences in the way the centre and the edges think about scaling. The centre uses phrases like ‘roll out’ (3.4x more than the edges), as well as ‘milestones’ (5.7×), ‘targets’ (3.9×), ‘pilot’ (2.0×), and ‘implement’ (1.9×)... (1/2)
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Some Thursday reading 👇👀
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
🔔 New today! 🔔 How do worldviews differ between the centre of government and innovators at the edges? A major new publication from The Centre for the Edge initiative from Kinship Works and Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). And a new website too! 1/2 medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
The centre is from Mars, the edges are from Venus
How do worldviews differ between the centre of government and innovators at the edges? And can we stop these differences from being a…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
🔔 New today! 🔔 How do worldviews differ between the centre of government and innovators at the edges? A major new publication from The Centre for the Edge initiative from Kinship Works and Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). And a new website too! 1/2 medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
The centre is from Mars, the edges are from Venus
How do worldviews differ between the centre of government and innovators at the edges? And can we stop these differences from being a…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
🎉 Announcing a new project today 🎉 A collaboration between Kinship Works and The Future Governance Forum, supported by Barrow Cadbury Trust @kinship.works @futuregovforum.bsky.social @barrowcadbury.bsky.social. Mapping the energy at the edges to improve government medium.com/@jamestplunk.... 1/n
medium.com
Re-energising government
What we see at the edges isn’t just energy — it’s methods we should be using in government
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Off to Liverpool to see how the Citizen First incubator has been going. A trip to Anfield to hear what the entrepreneurs have been up to. What a treat! I wrote about these methods in this post: medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
How to activate citizen agency
If communities have half the answer, what is the other half?
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Does anyone know a good dog walker in Liverpool? Need someone central-ish for the day later this week.
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
🔔 NEW today from @kinship.works 🔔 Ending the institutional monoculture. How can we spread more diverse institutional forms across the public sector and civil society? medium.com/@jamestplunk... (1/n)
medium.com
Escaping the institutional monoculture
How can we spread more diverse forms?
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
🔔 NEW today from @kinship.works 🔔 Ending the institutional monoculture. How can we spread more diverse institutional forms across the public sector and civil society? medium.com/@jamestplunk... (1/n)
medium.com
Escaping the institutional monoculture
How can we spread more diverse forms?
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Another quick share of this new post. 👇 On the capabilities required in government to make programmes like Pride in Place (and neighbourhood healthcare) a success.
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
A new post on the capabilities government needs to support the work of civic renewal. I share three insights. 1. This work doesn't scale, it spreads. 2. Don't go for speed, go for traction. 3. Use your power to hold space open. (1/n) medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Building a civic statecraft
To support civic renewal, government needs new capabilities
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
A new post on the capabilities government needs to support the work of civic renewal. I share three insights. 1. This work doesn't scale, it spreads. 2. Don't go for speed, go for traction. 3. Use your power to hold space open. (1/n) medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Building a civic statecraft
To support civic renewal, government needs new capabilities
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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 03/03/2026
Finally getting around to reading the frankly embarrassing number of @jamestplunkett.bsky.social long-form essays that I've been piling up for months. This one on government disciplines is excellent. I hope that @policycamp.bsky.social has some positive influence. medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
The disciplines theory of government
Are legacy disciplines dragging the whole operation down?
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Brilliant job alert! 👇 And a wonderful initiative more generally.
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
New post: Can we use 'test and learn' methods in the NHS? What would it take to do so? Long but important! I think this is one of the biiggest delivery questions facing the UK government. medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Can Test & Learn methods save the NHS?
On the challenge of using these methods here
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
New post: Can we use 'test and learn' methods in the NHS? What would it take to do so? Long but important! I think this is one of the biiggest delivery questions facing the UK government. medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
Can Test & Learn methods save the NHS?
On the challenge of using these methods here
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Gavin Freeguard @gavinfreeguard.com · 19/02/2026
NEW @kinship.works for @jrf-uk.bsky.social Help us map the disciplines of civic renewal - We know community-led approaches to reviving civic life (Big Local, etc) work - But we lack understanding of disciplines/professional roles that enable it What should we look at? medium.com/kinship-work...
medium.com
Help us map disciplines of civic renewal — roles & skills communities need to revitalise civic life
Help us map the disciplines of civic renewal — the roles and skills communities need to revitalise civic life If helping us map public sector reform communities wasn’t enough… We’re starting …
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Excited to be finally giving a talk at TransformGov! 👏👇
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
A final Friday share of this new post, published this week. How do we activate citizen agency? Could we build an activation layer at the edges of public institutions? 👇
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
One for Wednesday. With bonus metaphors… 👇👀
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
📣 New today: How to activate the agency of citizens. 📣 A post exploring methods for activating citizenship, using a case study of the Citizen First model developed by @publiclife.bsky.social and currently running in the Liverpool City Region. 1/n medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
How to activate citizen agency
If communities have half the answer, what is the other half?
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
📣 New today: How to activate the agency of citizens. 📣 A post exploring methods for activating citizenship, using a case study of the Citizen First model developed by @publiclife.bsky.social and currently running in the Liverpool City Region. 1/n medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com
How to activate citizen agency
If communities have half the answer, what is the other half?
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Some Friday reading! 👇 ☕ 📖
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Essential reading alongside today's final report from ICON, the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods. In the report below we get deep into the practice of civic renewal. A positive, progressive, local mode of collective action, growing in the cracks of our struggling old system. 👇
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
🎉 Launch day! 🎉 Today at @kinship.works we're publishing Civic Rewilding, our final report on the craft of civic renewal. We've synthesised the lessons from Big Local, one of the biggest ever experiments in rejuvinating the civic capacity of neighbourhoods. 1/n www.kinship.works/publications...
kinship.works
Civic Rewilding: Applying the lessons from Big Local — Kinship Works
In this final report we synthesise the evidence from Big Local, providing a practical guide to the craft of ‘civic rewilding’. This is a revised and expanded version of our earlier Working Paper, addi...
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
🎉 Launch day! 🎉 Today at @kinship.works we're publishing Civic Rewilding, our final report on the craft of civic renewal. We've synthesised the lessons from Big Local, one of the biggest ever experiments in rejuvinating the civic capacity of neighbourhoods. 1/n www.kinship.works/publications...
kinship.works
Civic Rewilding: Applying the lessons from Big Local — Kinship Works
In this final report we synthesise the evidence from Big Local, providing a practical guide to the craft of ‘civic rewilding’. This is a revised and expanded version of our earlier Working Paper, addi...
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Nick Plumb @nickplumb.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Excellent canter through the field of civic renewal by @jamestplunkett.bsky.social. "technocracy lacks an emotional register. It can’t speak in sentiments like pride, agency, and a felt sense of momentum - precisely the sentiments that are abundant in community-led development."
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transformgovtalks.bsky.social @transformgovtalks.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
🚨 6PM, WED 28 January 🚨 At TPXImpact or online Matt Wood-Hill, MHCLG, and Linda O’Halloran, TPXimpact on public service market-shaping. ​Patrick Diamond, Professor in Public Policy, Queen Mary, University of London, on government effectiveness luma.com/pc7ji8sg Please share! Thanks 🙏
luma.com
TransformGov Talks: January 2026 · Luma
Join us at 5.30pm for a 6pm start. Matt Wood-Hill, MHCLG, and Linda O'Halloran, TPXimpact on public service market-shaping Patrick Diamond, Professor in Public…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
A new guest post I’ve written for Sam Freedman’s Substack, exploring the evidence on civic renewal and Labour’s communitarian turn… 👇
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Jeni Tennison @jenitennison.com · 18/01/2026
Three technology-related things I'm really interested in, along the lines of @jamestplunkett.bsky.social's piece. 1. What (if any) central data/digital infrastructure supports local community activities? James mentions Polis for example. Perhaps OpenStreetMap might be another?
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Niamh Lennox-Chhugani @niamhtaohealth.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
A really optimistic, actually quite joyful piece! Thank you for sharing @jamestplunkett.bsky.social
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
New post just out: "Power to the People" Today we have a guest post from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social on how Labour can counter the "Britain is Broken" narrative by investing in civic life and giving people more control over their community. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...
open.substack.com
Power to the People
How Labour can restore civic life and counter the "Britain is broken" narrative
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
New this week! The latest in our work mapping public sector reformers. 👏👏👏 @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social has pulled together the amazing responses we got to a shoutout before Christmas. He’s shared an update here: 1/n medium.com/kinship-work...
medium.com
Mapping public sector reformers: an update
In late October 2025, we kicked off some work trying to map where the public sector reformers are. What are the communities, events…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
New this week! The latest in our work mapping public sector reformers. 👏👏👏 @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social has pulled together the amazing responses we got to a shoutout before Christmas. He’s shared an update here: 1/n medium.com/kinship-work...
medium.com
Mapping public sector reformers: an update
In late October 2025, we kicked off some work trying to map where the public sector reformers are. What are the communities, events…
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
One of the most interesting trends of the last few years has been watching Google's products become as bloated/hard to use as Microsoft's. An iron law of political economy: big companies get sclerotic/bureaucratic! (This is one reason it's so important to have activist competition policy.)
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Back at one of our favourite venues. Very impressed if anyone guesses it!
A photo of a stage at a music venue
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Christmas Day walk to a mountain temple in Lampang. Not quite on brand for the day maybe but very beautiful.
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Eugh, I know HMRC digital services are much improved, and this has taken endless toil. But after being stuck in a loop trying to sort a trivial task let’s just say there is still work to do. Also: please employ more service designers.
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
A Friday share of this 👇 Perfect hopeful reading for the Christmas wind down:)
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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
One of my favourite insights from this Working Paper on Big Local: the power of taking a more organic approach to governance. Rather than designing governance in Whitehall - a chart that looks neat on paper - cultivate it as a local capability. 🧵
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