Through Thick and Thin
How an infrastructure for relationships could unlock the collective action we need to accelerate progress towards a world designed for and around relationships
Lots of people in lots of different spaces are doing amazing work around building better relationships, but the connections between these nodes are often weak or non-existent. Drawing on conversations with over 100 people in late 2020 and early 2021, we (led by Iona Lawrence) explore the challenges we share in prioritising relationships in the places that we live and work and the work that needs to be done to address those needs.
Our shared and uniting goal is to build a world that is designed for and around relationships: a world where relationships are the first mile, not the extra one.
Building a Relationship Collective: Our Proposal
Building on the insights unearthed in Through Thick and Thin, we submitted an expression of interest to the Bringing People Together Fund at the National Lottery Community Fund to bring to life the idea of an infrastructure for relationships. Drawing inspiration from Joe Mills and friends in the democracy centre, we decided to publish the proposal in the open so everyone can see what we’re hoping to do and more easily explore ways to collaborate.
In short, the expression of interest we submitted is for a two year project to design, test and build the necessary infrastructure to support shared learning and collaboration in the field of relationships and relationship-centred practice in the coming decades.
We are delighted to say that our application was successful and, as of Autumn 2022, we are focused on developing the infrastructure for a thriving field of relationship-centred practice. Find out more about our plans for the next two years below.
Growing Connection: The story of the Roots Programme
In this blog, we introduce three members of The Roots Programme team. The Roots Programme run programmes that bridge gaps, transcend social bubbles, and create lasting relationships across key facets of society. By building community through cultural exchange...
The man in the hospital
David Robinson reflects on a day at the hospital. As Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting consults on the future of the NHS, David makes the case for “critical synergy”. “We want the awesome science”, he says. “We also want good relationships - warmth and...
The Relationships Academy: Why, What and How
How can we most usefully respond to the increasing demand for knowledge about relationship-centred practice, and for support in turning that knowledge into action on the ground? This is the question that we have been actively exploring since we put forward the idea of...
Reflections on our discussion about relational phrases
In brief This week, twenty of us gathered on Zoom to discuss the language we use when talking about relationships. The conversation was inspired by the publication of a glossary of relational phrases and, while we discussed definitions on the call, the conversation...
“So what are you going to do now?”: Reflection on the US Presidential election
On the morning after the night before, David Robinson offers a Relationships Project perspective on the US presidential election. A friend messaged me on the morning after the US election: “So what are you going to do now?” He has always been sufficiently interested...
A ‘Society of Service?’: Practical ideas for local and central government
In brief Days after the Prime Minister launched a bold new Civil Society Compact, the Health secretary announced a major public consultation on the future of the NHS and the Chancellor introduced a budget that squeezed frontline services in the short term, invested in...
Doing what anyone would do
Days after the Prime Minister launched a bold new Civil Society Compact, the Health secretary announced a major public consultation on the future of the NHS and the Chancellor introduced a budget that squeezed frontline services in the short term, invested in the...
A glossary of relational phrases
In brief Over the last few years, many of us have been talking more and more about the importance of putting relationships first in our organisations, systems and communities. In being party to some of these brilliant conversations, and developing our own thinking,...
Relationships through the lens of power
Kaiden lives in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal and is a Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness Fellow. As part of their research fellowship, Kaiden's been supporting The Relationships Project to build a Pattern Library for Relationship-Centred Practice. In this blog, Kaiden...
Two years of bringing people together
In brief Back in July 2021, we shared our proposal to the National Lottery Community Fund’s Bringing People Together Fund. In July 2022, we shared what we got up to in the first of our two years of funding - from recruiting the Relationships Collective to bringing...
