Central Bedfordshire Council facilitated the development of the vision, given our unique and extensive range of responsibilities for Central Bedfordshire as a place. However, given the scope of the vision, it has been explicitly and deliberately developed with key stakeholders and partners, using a variety of bespoke engagement techniques and building on existing mechanisms where possible. The development of the shared vision has been based on existing data, intelligence, insight and existing strategies. However, a fresh approach was adopted so that it challenged current thinking and considered future societal, lifestyle and technological advancements and changes.
A broad discussion, using a range of tools and techniques, was used to develop a clear understanding of the current perceptions, strengths and challenges we face, as well as identifying where there was consensus and dissonance on different aspects of Central Bedfordshire. This included three half-day stakeholder workshops with representatives from around 60 organisations, engaging young people through active school assemblies, hearing from two school councils, the Youth Parliament and Children in Care Council. We heard from local businesses through a business-focused visioning workshop and engaged existing partnerships and forums such as the Health Transformation Board, Equality Forum, Older People's Network and Town & Parish Council Conference through a number of different activities.
During October and November 2019, residents were able to visit one of twelve drop-in sessions. Over 600 postcards with ideas were received from these. A further 89 residents attended one of three workshops to explore ideas further, and throughout the entire process, thoughts, ideas and feedback were gathered online.
Summary of the engagement process
This visual timeline illustrates the engagement process used to develop the Central Bedfordshire 2050 vision. Events took place between July 2019 and February 2020 and are colour-coded by audience:
- Stakeholders (purple): Three workshops, including "The Here & Now", "Opening Minds", and "Bringing it All Together", plus sessions with employment groups, business leaders, and the Health Transformation Board.
- Young people (green): School assemblies, school councils, and careers fairs across several schools including Flitwick, Silsoe, Campton, and Central Bedfordshire College, plus engagement with the Youth Parliament and Children in Care Council.
- Residents (blue): Twelve town roadshow events in locations such as Sandy, Leighton Buzzard, and Biggleswade, plus three resident workshops and ongoing focus groups.
- Partnerships and forums (red): Involvement from the Equality Forum, Children in Care Council, and older people’s groups.
- Elected members (dark purple): CBC member sessions, Member of Parliament discussions, and the Town & Parish Council Conference.
The timeline ends with the publication of the Central Bedfordshire 2050 vision in Autumn 2020.
Looking ahead: insights and future thinking
As well as learning from data, trends and conversations with stakeholders, we also captured insights from futurologists to build our collective vision. Being inspired by thought leaders on the changes that could impact our future living, working, mobility, infrastructure and environment helped us to think beyond our usual horizons and consider future scenarios. While a number of these scenarios felt distant and far into the future, our necessary response to the COVID-19 pandemic brought many of them into sharper focus — for example, the rapid shift to more agile and home working and the reported increase in community spirit have helped many reflect on the type of futures we want.
All of these processes have informed a vision which defines high-level ambitions for Central Bedfordshire, articulating our long-term goals.
The vision was drawing to its conclusion just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning, bringing with it profound changes to our lives in many different ways. Although it was drafted in advance of the pandemic, its long-term focus and exploration of key themes such as technology and future ways of working suggest that it remains equally valid in the context of our learning from the COVID-19 experience.