@cormacrussell
I animate communities & support professionals/orgs working in citizen space. Books include: The Connected Community, and Rekindlling Democracy. More here: https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/who-we-are/cormac-russell/
A photo of the cover of a book called 'The connected community ' by Russell & McNight, 2022
Read it; heed it; and act!
#connectedcommunity
@cormacrussell.bsky.social
Empowering citizens to share power and resources to help each other attain a better quality of life is key to a thriving democracy and inclusive community development: citizen-network.org/library/putt...
@cormacrussell.bsky.social
This is great chat folks... weirdly uplifting.
I like the work on the Liberated Method www.changingfuturesnorthumbria.co.uk/rethinking-p... & Cormac Russell always speaks a ton of sense I think.
And let's also notice the (maybe rare) micro examples where we do manage to join things up with people.
"Often our definition of community says more about us than it does about actual communities." - Cormac Russell / Image by #BornFabulousPodcast
Exploring the Potential of Community-Centred Public Services. Cormac Russell for New Local.
www.newlocal.org.uk/publications...
- The Connected Community, Cormac Russell and John McKnight 2/2
It's not too late: Pick up a copy of The Connected Community by Cormac Russell and John McKnight today, and join us virtually on October 21 for a discussion of the book's ideas. localreturn.org/events/?even...
Don't just tell communities help will eventually arrive.
But work with them, listen, empower them to develop real improvements with public support.
12 'Putting Communities First' recommendations: citizen-network.org/library/putt...
@cormacrussell.bsky.social
Our next book discussion will focus on The Connected Community: Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighborhoods by @cormacrussell.bsky.social and John McKnight. Get reading, and join us on October 21 for conversation!
"It is a famine we could have prevented.. food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel. It is a famine within a few hundred metres of food.. a preventable famine sustained by complicity"
Tom Fletcher from the UN on famine being declared in Gaza City
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
@profdevisridhar.bsky.social:-
life expectancy “is much less about your own choices and is instead tightly linked to where you live and the political choices made by your government”.
Greater Manchester’s Live Well programme is doing what more combined and local authorities should: backing trusted local leaders like Leah Chikamba-Mulando to deliver health and wellbeing services in a way that works for their particular community.
www.right-here.org/communities-...
#CommunityPower
At #StrongerThings, @cormacrussell.bsky.social urged us to make “good trouble.”
His latest think piece for New Local sets out how might we do that in practice & argues that certain things are best done with citizens in the lead.
Read the full piece here 🔗 buff.ly/ffiAs3D
It is not enough to discover assets; we must connect those assets with one another in new ways that multiply their contribution, power, equity and influence. #abcd
"Community is a verb, not a noun." - Cormac Russell / Image by #BornFabulousPodcast
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Over half due to cold homes, plus damp and unsafe conditions.
When will social housing finally be treated as health policy?
Billions are spent patching up the NHS while ignoring the root causes — damp homes, cold flats, unsafe housing.
2/2
bregroup.com/news/bre-rep...
In a new thinkpiece, @cormacrussell.bsky.social proposes 3️⃣ shifts for greater alignment between institutions & communities
Issue-based ➡️ place-based responses
Institution-first ➡️ community-first
Provision determined by public services ➡️ co-produced alongside communities
🔗
One more thing from #StrongerThings 2025:
I'm really keen for library services to be actively present in this space, so here's a list of the speakers' books.
Obviously @hilarycottam.bsky.social and @cormacrussell.bsky.social there but a few others!
[links support @librariesconnected.bsky.social]
Interesting discussion on silos but shifted to community driven national reform.
Sahil Khan at Peabody on how we can shift to bottom up reform
@njdavies.bsky.social - how gov can put in place conditions for this - non competitive funding, ministerial remit, longer LG funding
#StrongerThings
Lots this morning about importance of what community facing organisations do in the face of increased inequality and volatility.
Big q for libraries is how do we recognise and maximise what we do through collaboration - & how we build the robust & resilient partnerships we need.
#StrongerThings
Cont from @indyjohar.bsky.social
Biggest risk we hold is loss of the social contract and impact this has on local and national functioning and security.
We as community engaged orgs have the agency - and responsibility - to transform the country to maintain this social contract.
#StrongerThings
A radically different civie future Indy Johar Director, Dark matter labs
Hearing from @indyjohar.bsky.social about increased volatility as we head to 3 deg warmer.
We exist at intersection of localism and planetary relationships.
Need to be able to think in terms of multiple beneficiaries of our actions - again back to measuring value across different stakeholders.
He’s arguing a strengths based approach - you can centre people but still have institutions operating on their weaknesses.
But centre people and give them agency to build on their strengths and access to services it shifts.
Again, libraries are the perfect framework for this.
#StrongerThings
Really good way to disrupt the usual “broadcast” model of keynotes - made us think about how we engage.
Useful tool to use in future - start with asking questions of *how* the audience will engage before even starting to discuss *what* they engage with.
#StrongerThings
Developescut Centering Community How valusbla do you plan on this keynote being? 2 How participetive do you plan on being during this keynote? 3 NI How much risk do you plan on taking during this keynote? 4 How much do you plan on contributing to the shared Jeering and wetbeing of everyone in this room during the keynote?
Ooh - @cormacrussell.bsky.social up next - he’s been brilliant at our seminars.
He’s starting very on-brand - coproducing his keynote!
#StrongerThings
@cormacrussell.bsky.social
‘not needy, but needed’ a brilliant reframing of our role as professionals
#StrongerThings
Nurture Development’s @cormacrussell.bsky.social joins us with provocations around community-centred renewal.
“What’s really exciting about what we’re seeing today in the UK is not just great micro practice on the ground, but a lining up of the micro and the macro”.
#StrongerThings
Nugget from @cormacrussell.bsky.social : "connect the gifts of an individual with the community" to mobilise
#communitypower . #communitydevelopment #communitybuilding #healthandwellbeing #StrongerThings
