Comment: 05.01.2009

Julian Dobson

One of our dilemmas is our desperate hurry to make a difference. Our clients want action: governments, councils and communities want quick wins. Who can blame them?

The Sagrada Familia church is the pride of Barcelona - famous not only for the invention and imagination of its architect, Antoni Gaudi, but also for taking well over a century to complete. Although unfinished, it's one of Spain's most popular attractions. Asked why construction was taking so long, Gaudi is said to have replied, ‘My client is not in a hurry'.

One of our dilemmas is our desperate hurry to make a difference. Our clients want action: governments, councils and communities want quick wins. Who can blame them? It's scant consolation to someone who's lost their job that we're investing in their children's skills.

But the first lesson of regeneration, repeated incessantly by those who have watched the ebb and flow of policies and programmes, is that it's a long-term mission. Sometimes the message gets through: housing market renewal, at its outset, was a fine example of long-term thinking. The new deal for communities was intended to kick-start a 25-year change in the way we address society's wicked issues.

Ten years on, it's time to take a more mature look at what we're doing. In this issue five of our original readers reflect on what they've learned over the last decade: their insights are well worth reading.

New Start, too, has reflected on how best to build on what we've learned as we start our second decade. Our ambition is the same: to stand up for those who are working to make our cities and communities better places, and especially those who have to live with the consequences of those efforts.

We've always taken pride in providing a toolkit for regeneration practitioners, highlighting good practice and offering a platform for innovative and challenging thinking. But the way we're doing that is changing. Our printed magazine is now a monthly, focusing much more strongly on learning and analysis, providing more high quality content designed to inspire and inform - explaining how and why, not just what, where and when. Our events provide opportunities to explore some of these key issues in face-to-face settings.

We'll continue to provide a first-class news and jobs service through our website, giving you best value for your recruitment needs. And we'll offer more opportunities for you to partner us in disseminating learning and good practice. Above all, we'll develop as a social business underpinned by values of integrity and social justice.

The frustrations of funding and the Herculean task of tackling poverty won't go away. But as Sagrada Familia demonstrates, hope and imagination can stay with us too. And regeneration, like the construction of Gaudi's cathedral, should be a labour of love against the odds. New Start will share that journey with you, as a critical and encouraging friend.