Shaping Birmingham’s Future Together: Towards Embedded and Inclusive Participatory Governance

Abstract

(Executive Summary) Birmingham City Council's "Shaping Birmingham's Future Together" (SBFT) initiative represents an opportunity to transform how the city tackles inequality and maximises inclusive growth opportunities through participatory governance. This report examines how SBFT can support institutional culture change towards participatory policymaking, drawing lessons from UK and international experiences but situating recommendations within Birmingham's specific context and challenges.

The report argues that participatory policymaking must be deeply embedded within governance structures to enable meaningful engagement, mobilise diverse communities, and support mutual learning and transformative change. Achieving this requires facilitative leadership and the cultivation of boundary-spanning roles that bridge divides between government, civil society, and local communities. Advancing inclusive participation also demands an intersectional approach that centres marginalised voices to address systemic inequalities. Key recommendations include:

Key recommendations include:
- invest in boundary spanner roles that can support collaboration across different sectors and stakeholders;
- rebuild trust through transparent participatory processes, ensuring follow up on citizen input;
- rethink participation not as disjointed events vulnerable to the political cycle, but as coherent processes embedded into day-to-day policymaking;
- build on existing community assets and resources, recognising and supporting their diverse roles and activities;
- incentivise alliances across diverse community, voluntary and grassroots groups to strengthen synergies and collaboration, rather than engendering competition over limited resources;
- adopt an intersectional approach to encourage inclusive participation that centres marginalised voices and experiences.