There’s a lot that’s good about Dorset’s public services. At the same time, we know we can do better. When the people who plan services (us) make assumptions about the people those services are for (you), it’s less likely to work out well. We want to listen and involve local people more in our planning, and in the way we deliver services.

It’s not just about public services. In fact, the role those services play in keeping people happy and healthy is more limited than we sometimes think.
There are loads of factors that can positively influence our day to day lives – family, friends, work, community activities, finances, our homes, the local environment… it’s a big list.

Our role is not only to provide services, but to practically support those other things that keep people happy and well on a day-to-day basis. People and communities are more than able to help themselves, and we want to support those efforts, not get in the way of them.

The 100 Conversations project saw us speak with 100 local people in Dorset to find out what it means to people to live their best life.

We spoke to people from all walks of life, with a particular focus on wide representation across geography, age, sex, protected characteristics, deprived communities, minority communities and disability groups.

The feedback we received has since fed into, along with other public feedback projects from across the ICS, the Working Better Together strategy.