At work:
- Evaluation work: interviewed a stakeholder from a local authority, and their enthusiasm and support for the programme was a joy to behold. Listening to the evaluation recordings is coming to a close, just one more to review. Listening to the overlapping chatter of half a dozen excited children’s voices for hours on end is A LOT – but amidst the crafting and requesting pencils and googly eyes, their insights into the programme and into the value of their contributions, are at times profound. Also they are FUNNY. Here are some of my favourite exchanges:
- Kid 1: “I’m the chattiest!”
Kid 2: “No you’re not, I am!”
Kid 3: “No I am!” - “I want to stay here for ever, because I’m enjoying this.”
- “Can you stop laughing at my art?! Don’t laugh, I’m trying my best.”
- “I never use long words, they take too long to say.”
- Kid 1: “I’m the chattiest!”
- Engagement project: visited a social care provider’s tenant voice meeting, and these are always a joyful experience with this particular provider, because they are so inclusive, welcoming, and genuinely centering the voices of the people they support. They have been working on being a tenant-led organisation for years, and it shows. I am provisionally (subject to checking with the other members involved) invited to a few of their localities to chat with them about their experiences of social care. Also the provider collects a bunch of qualitative data from the people they support as well as their families and relatives, including about their people’s experiences in the wider social care sector, and are happy to share this, so that is an unexpected and very delightful bonus.
- Mentoring of local health board leaders is ongoing.
- My proposal for the whole team EDI workshop has been approved, we’ll reconvene to develop it some more in a few weeks. (The event is in October.)
Deliverables this week:
- Interim deliverables for the EDI facilitation day: wrote and sent a brief for the speakers (I am asking them to do 5-6 minute “lightning talks”, and short talks are always more challenging, so hopefully some context and guidance will support their prep). I had an informal chat with the Chair, and talked to the venue about room configurations. It’s all coming together.
Development this week:
- I heard back following an expression of interest I submitted a little while back (to join the associates team at an organisation working in relationship building across communities and wider society) – I have a sort of interview-meeting-chat in a few weeks.
- I haven’t done anything more on the Request for Quote I picked up last week (facilitating a strategy day), apart from thinking about it and letting it percolate in the background. Will draft and send off next week, before I go on leave.
- Had a meeting to plan the Black Mountains College guest lecture I’m helping with, with the lead tutor and the other guest speaker. It’s going to be interactive and interesting. (It’s about complexity and systems change!) Looking forward to sharing what I know, as well as learning from the other tutors and the students.
- Had a meeting to discuss delivering an “Introduction to co-production” session for university researchers and staff who support research, in October. I have done the Intro to Copro so many times now, but delivering it with a specific twist is still interesting. I like the challenge of figuring out what this group will need, how it will be relevant to their work.
- Haven’t done anything on the New Idea this week. Noting it here so it doesn’t fall off my radar.
At home:
- Welsh learning – apart from my daily Duolingo I have done very little this week. Hmmm.
- I did not complete the darkroom setup this weekend, although the workbench is now purchased. Instead I completely revamped the hall cupboard, which I had sporadically started a couple of months ago and then abandoned again, leaving coats and shoes and other contents distributed across the flat. It is SO satisfying when everything has an appropriate place, and the space supports a good workflow. I got fed up with everything being everywhere, and also when I’m away the cat sitter will be visiting so that was extra motivation to get it done.
- Norway in less than a week! Making lists.
- No reading blog this week, because of all the time spent on DIY (the 80/20 rule really applied, those last 4 shelves took bloody ages), and also because my head is full of the evaluation report data and I … basically I don’t feel like it, hah. No reading blog next week because I’ll be on my way to Norway then! Normal service will resume in September.
- Went down to Penarth to have a proper dip in the sea this weekend. Missed two weeks this past month, and had a mini dip one weekend when no one else was around, but everyone is back from the summer hols now and it was lovely to get together again. It was marvellous and still hot, even though on Wednesday the chilly morning felt quite autumnal.
The group bobbing about, minus the photographer!