The People We Need
Why relationships matter and what this means for us in 2025
Relationship building is rarely seen as a priority, but without strong societies and effective relationships we cannot hope to deal with the problems that we face as a country. This is the conversation that the world needs now.
– Rt Hon Gordon Brown
Our relationships with one another are the foundations, the bedrock, on which all else is built. Every aspect of our lives, individually and collectively, depends on the quality and strength of our relationships. And yet UK society has consistently undervalued relationships, marginalising the evidence.
We can set a different course and build a different future – if we make the policies, create the conditions and nurture the skills that bring about thriving relationships. We need each other and we all have a part to play.
What’s inside?
The evidence
Everything works best when relationships work well – outcomes are transformed. We share examples.
How did we get here?
Relationships have been designed out of our communities and services. We trace the history of our disconnection.
The government we need
A relational approach to policymaking would support us to meet the challenges of our time. We make the case.
Setting a different course
A Relational Practice Academy could transform how we live and work together – we invite you to collaborate.
Learning to do better
Relating well, one-to-one, consistently, and systematically is a learned skill; a skill that transforms how we live and work together. Making the policies and creating the conditions for thriving relationships in our communities and our institutions is also a learned skill.
We can all learn to do better.
There is no dedicated training institution anywhere in the the world that fills the gap. Our response is a new centre for applied learning in relational practice. A centre for the people we need.
This will build on experience, ours and others, and it will be a collaborative venture. Interested in playing a part?
Other reports
The Moment We Noticed
Reporting on our learning from the first 100 days of our Relationships Observatory, we identify a set of shifting undercurrents in how we are behaving with one another during the Covid pandemic.
The Casemaker
The Case Maker assembles the evidence for putting relationships first, shared what great relationship-centred practice looks like, and how it could make an impact in your context.
Citizens Rising
Reporting two years on from the start of the pandemic, we share the perspectives and priorities of young people forgotten during the response.
