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Andy Galloway is a Business Director at New Citizen Project, a strategy and innovation consultancy that works with all types of organisations to create participatory strategies, cultures and projects that invite people to step into their power as citizens.

At the heart of the New Citizen Project is the principle that by thinking of ourselves as citizens rather than consumers, we’re more likely to participate, volunteer and come together to make our society stronger. Andy and the NCP team work to design creative interventions that shift culture and practice by helping their members (including the National Trust, The Guardian and WWF) think of people as citizens first and foremost.

Since joining NCP in 2019, Andy has led innovation projects in the health and care system, local government, national charities and businesses. He’s also on the board of Empathy Week, an education festival using the power of film to develop the skill of empathy in students all over the world.

What does it mean to think of ourselves as citizens, and how do you inspire organisations to adopt this principle?

Our central belief at New Citizen Project is that, given the right opportunity, people can and will shape the things that matter to them for the better. Based on that, we aim to build organisations’ belief, skills and confidence in more participatory ways of working.

It’s about tapping into the ideas, energy and creativity of everyone, in pursuit of better outcomes — whether that’s for a local place, business, charity, or society as a whole. That’s the future we’re trying to create at New Citizen Project; a future where organisations do things with people, not just for people or to people.

Our role as citizens is to create, participate and collaborate to shape the positive change we want to see, and the role of organisations is to facilitate us in doing so.

‘CITIZENS: Why the key to fixing everything is all of us’, by Jon Alexander and Ariane Conrad.

You can learn more about our ideas, background and stories, in our co-founder Jon Alexander’s book, CITIZENS: Why the key to fixing everything is all of us.

What type of projects do you work on?

We work across all sectors, and every project we work on is different. Sometimes it’s about co-creating organisational strategies and governance structures alongside stakeholders. Sometimes it’s about delivering landmark participatory projects that signal a shift, as we did when working with the National Trust, RSPB and WWF on the People’s Plan for Nature.

And sometimes it’s about transforming internal culture to be more supportive of working collaboratively with citizens, like in our most recent work with local authorities.

What are three key principles that you believe should guide leadership?

Luckily we have our own three principles, which translate nicely to this question! They are: Purpose, Platform, and Prototype. Each comes with its own question for organisations and their leaders.

So, for ‘Purpose’, it’s ‘What are we trying to do in the world that’s so big, we need more people (and more diverse groups of people), to help us achieve it?’. This is about examining why your organisation exists in the first place. Hint: it’s probably not something you can achieve on your own! Which takes us to the next principle.

‘Platform’; if we know we can’t achieve our purpose alone, then: ‘how can we make it meaningful and joyful for people to join in and contribute?’ There are countless examples of organisations acting as platforms for participation. For example, WWF’s ‘Walrus from Space’ initiative, where the public are invited to help track walrus populations online using GPS, becoming ‘walrus detectives’. Or internal ones, like Udemy’s ‘DEAL’ (Drop Everything And Learn) hour, where once a month employees have to stop what they’re doing and learn something new. 

‘Prototype’ finally asks, ‘how can we build energy for new ways of working?’. We encourage organisations to involve people in the prototyping process. Don’t simply decide what needs changing and set off to change it — bring your teams, and stakeholders (whether they are your customers, members, beneficiaries, etc.) along with you.

These principles aren’t just a ‘nice to have’. We believe that every type of organisation has the potential to do things better, by thinking differently about people. Any leader can think about their organisation in the context of these principles.  

What’s the best piece of leadership advice you’ve ever received?

When I became the Sport Officer at the University of Bath Students’ Union (my first leadership role was in student politics!) I received the best piece of advice, which also translates to our work now. It was not to feel the pressure to deliver everything, for everyone, all at once.

It might sound quite basic, to prioritise. But as a leader, I really felt responsible for achieving the things I’d set out to do. Obviously that’s a good principle, but that type of ‘servant’ leadership is also a surefire way to (a) disappoint and (b) burn out.

Instead, over the course of the year, and with the support of a very good staff team, I was able to see my role more as a facilitator. By the end of my tenure, I felt less responsible for delivering the wants and needs of students and their sports clubs, and more able to help students create change on their own terms.

Which leaders inspire you?

I watched the play Dear England last year, after a glowing review by our Research Director, Oliver. It tells the story of Gareth Southgate’s journey managing the England men’s football team, through to the 2022 World Cup. It’s really good.

Southgate is a great example of what leadership can look like through the ‘citizens’ lens. From his work with psychologist Pippa Grange to get to the root of England’s penalty woes, to the narrative put forward in his Players Tribune letter, which sought to unite the nation around the team ahead of the Euros.

An underlying story in the play is about Southgate striving to offer the support that he didn’t have after missing a penalty which saw England knocked out of Euro 1996. That’s clearly part of it, but I think we can look a bit deeper than that. Southgate’s approach throughout his time as manager points to a broader shift – we’ve seen the country unite around the team more than ever (at least in my lifetime), and even start to see glimpses of what’s important, aside from trophies — the potential for sport to have a positive impact on society.

What’s the single most important thing you want to achieve in your career, or you’d like to see happen as a result of your work?

I’ve always been motivated by creating meaningful change, and working at New Citizen Project means I can do that in all sorts of different contexts — with different organisations, in different ways.

I guess what I’d most love to see happen is for that wider story to shift. In these times, there’s a risk that organisations revert to business-as-usual, but what we need is innovative, citizen-led solutions. So I hope over the next few years we start to see more and more organisations and leaders working to develop people’s agency to solve problems, not simply trying to solve problems on their behalf.

What’s a favourite motto or quote that you often draw on?

If there’s one quote that sums up our work and the approach we take to transforming organisations and institutions, it’s by American author and lecturer in education, parenting, and human behaviour, Alfie Kohn: “All of us are smarter than any of us”.

When you genuinely believe this, you have to change your starting point, from solving problems for people, to creating solutions with people. That’s what our work is all about.

 

If you’re interested in learning more, or exploring what this could look like in your organisation, get in touch with Andy at andy@newcitizenproject.com, or sign up to New Citizen Project’s upcoming training opportunity, The Citizen Quest, starting 12th September in London.

 

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