12 years of Solution Focus supporting a systems change in local government

About this event

Paut Kromkamp and Els van Beurden lead this Global Chapter. In 2007 the Dutch government introduced a significant change in thinking about its welfare system as our ageing population would stress resources more and more. Besides combining several laws and transferring the funding from national to local council level, the government changed from a philosophy of ‘caring for’, to a philosophy of working towards the quality of life people envisioned for themselves.

The local council of Barneveld, a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland, sought a new way of implementing this thinking. Paut Stromkamp had an idea of how solution focus might fit the bill.

Since 2010 they have been working together implementing John Wheeler’s and Vivian Hogg’s Signs of Wellbeing model with exciting results, including

fewer objections high customer satisfaction different and sometimes cheaper provisions Together with Els, her client from day one, Paut will tell you the story of how they took on board all the other significant systems changes since and are now expanding SF thinking to the whole organisation of 600 employees.

Low key, minimal interventions, leaving the content with the organisation, involving the rest of the community, introducing Intervision - there are many stories to tell about these past 12+ years.

Paut and Els would love your questions and hope to take away some ideas on taking this project further.