Opening the Walsall event was Sharon Palmer, Chief Executive of Regional Action West Midlands (RAWM). Sharon urged the room to “look below” the Big Society headline to the detail of what that means, such as the proposed reforms of the NHS and the welfare system, and the plan to create 5,000 community organisers.

Sharon felt that understanding the Big Society at the moment was “like gathering together pieces of a jigsaw”, based on sharing experiences across local government, policing, health, the voluntary sector, community groups, and elsewhere. But it was also “not a new thing” but building on what already exists.

Central to the drive towards Big Society is “payment by results” which means that people will be focused on outcomes. Indeed, the ‘Big Society’ itself, said Sharon, was “not a process or a structure [but] an outcome”. These include changing behaviours and values, tackling disadvantage at a local level, and changing the relationship between the state and the individual.

The building blocks towards achieving those outcomes included accountability and transparency; building local activism, citizenship and volunteering; and developing the role of the community and voluntary sectors service provision and delivery – including projects such as the Big Society Bank and Social Investment Bonds.

Ultimately this was being driven by three things: a reduction of resources; policy reform; and a shift in power.

But there were issues that needed to be considered: while we are focused on giving power and rights to citizens, how do we ensure responsibility, and reduce risk? How can we balance limited resources with demand, while also capitalising on opportunities? And how can we ensure the most disadvantaged are not further marginalised?