Who is responsible for the future of Place?

Place is experienced by residents as a whole — through their home, neighbourhood, services, health, safety and opportunities — not as a collection of organisational boundaries. Yet responsibility for shaping it remains divided across local authorities, housing providers, health bodies and community organisations.

This session asks why place-shaping matters now and whether public sector organisations are genuinely equipped to deliver it. Are structures, cultures and priorities built around residents’ lived experience, or around institutional responsibilities? What would it take to align insight, assets, investment and accountability around the outcomes communities value?

We’ll explore:
• Why a place-based approach can deliver better, more sustainable outcomes
• Whether councils, housing providers and their partners are organised to work at place level
• How residents can shape priorities rather than simply respond to them
• What stronger shared leadership, data and accountability could look like

If better places depend on organisations acting around residents rather than organisational boundaries, the next question is how our systems enable that ambition — leading directly into the following session on procurement as a tool for positive change.