Imagination Activism in Camden
Over 18 months Moral Imaginations worked together with Camden Council to design and deliver Camden Imagines: a project to build, scale and embed imagination activism in Camden. We are really excited to share the fruits of our labour with you in a new report “Imagination Activism in Camden” which you can read below:
To download the report, click here.
The report tells the story of how, in late 2022, Camden Council in London became the first UK local authority to offer Imagination Activist training to its staff. 32 people from repairs to planners took part over 8 weeks in a course designed to expand their imaginations, give them practical tools and techniques, and to make them ambassadors for the imagination within the organisation. This was Camden Imagines Phase One, the first step of a longer partnership between Moral Imaginations and Camden Council to grow municipal imagination across Camden.
Participants learnt how to include future generations in decision-making, future visioning and how to move from accepting what is to imagining what if. The next phase of Camden Imagines will involve embedding Imagination Activism into the organisation, training the leadership, and rippling out into the community, creating new ways of collaborating with communities and to share power and resources. The aim will be to think differently, address complex challenges and shape the future of Camden together.
Watch the 3-minute project video:
Top findings of the report
Exercising collective imagination is deeply linked to a sense of psychological safety. This design principle underpinned the entirety of the programme, with almost 70% participants reporting increased psychological safety, and 100% reporting an increase in imagination capacity.
Imagination can be integrated into a professional setting, providing tools and practices that have practical relevance to the day-to-day work of a civil servant. Participants all reported feeling equipped with practical, relevant tools, which goes against the assumption that imagination is ‘fluffy’ or impractical.
Imagination has a role to play in local government, policy-making and civic innovation, introducing new perspectives and an expanded worldview, and should be seen as a core capability of 21st century civil service leadership.
Imagination can help energise a new kind of activism which focuses on imagining how things could be, and implementing the changes needed to get there, rather than fighting and resisting how things are. This has the potential to unleash huge amounts of energy, and turn meetings into a movement.
If you’d like to read/listen further…
Visit the Camden Imagines blog where you can find the 20 blogposts from Camden’s Imagination Activists following their experience of the programme
Listen to Rob Hopkins’ podcast episode where Cllr Georgia Gould (Leader of Camden Council) and Phoebe Tickell discuss the project: From What If to What Next: Episode 69 - What if every institution ran Imagination Activist training?
Read our blog: Imagination is not day-dreaming by Phoebe Tickell and Jo Brown (Director of People and Inclusion at Camden)
Read our blog: An invitation for local government to invest in municipal imagination by Emily Bazalgette.
Read our blog: Imagination is at the heart of change. How is Camden working to build imagination into everything they do? by Phoebe Tickell and Nick Kimber (Director of Policy and Strategy at Camden)
Explore Camden’s visionary strategy document: We Make Camden
Support us in the next phase…
We’re really excited about the next phase of work in Camden and beyond, helping build the wider movement of municipal imagination. If you’re interested in being part of what we’re building, including resourcing the next stages of this work, please get in touch. If you’re interested in building municipal imagination in your local area or with your council, please also get in touch.
Project quotes
“People have stopped me and said, “I feel like I've changed as a person going through this. I've never experienced that before on any other programme or course that we've run as a council or at any time in my career.”
Jo Brown, Director of People and Inclusion
“The tools we learn in the programme feel freeing – it creates the psychological safety to think differently and beyond what we ever thought possible”
Camden Imagines participant
“I look forward to a new era of municipal imagination galvanized by love and community power”
Cllr Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council
“I have felt able to speak up a bit more about things that I feel are important - translating how I feel instinctively into something useful.”
Camden Imagines Participant
Blogposts by Camden Imagination Activists
-
![]()
The future can be one of hope not fear
Imagining our way from good to great — by Ian Gilson, Organisational Design Lead
-
![]()
So Yusuf, what are your dreams for this year?
Journal entry from Yusuf Bahroozi, a resident of one of Camden’s housing estates in 2025 — by Ododo Dafé
-
![]()
I come to work with my whole creative self, and ask difficult questions when needed
My imagination realisation — by Maybel Houston, Learning and Development Apprentice working in the Human Resources Learning and Development Team
-
![]()
It changed the way I think about what I do
Five portals to access imagination — by Jane Murphy, who supports Camden to deliver on the Prevent Duty
-
![]()
Dear future me: we’re going to make this happen
A journey into 2030 where imagination is flourishing in the Borough of Camden — by Rozita Leetham, Consultation and Engagement Officer for the Community Investment Programme, Camden’s Regeneration and Development scheme
-
![]()
Moving from Imagination to Activism
Generating and transforming good ideas into affirmative impactful actions — by Emma Le Blanc, Job Hub Adviser at Good Work Camden Centre
-
![]()
With the space to think comes an improved capacity to include more perspectives in my work
Why psychological safety matters more than you think it did — by Phil Barrett, Early Help Coordinator within the children’s services
-
![]()
I have high hopes that all in this group have what it takes to make this world a better place
Don’t forget to fight the power — by Martin Cuba, Repairs Neighbourhood Coordination Officer supporting Neighbourhood Housing Officers
-
![]()
It’s not about doing things better, it’s about doing better things
Imagination in the workplace — by Neelam Kumar
-
![]()
If we acknowledge and name our failures we have the ability to improve
Camden Imagines: How we learned to celebrate failure — by Elita Johns, Digital IQ Development Officer in Digital & Data Services who leads on Camden’s Induction programme
-
![]()
I wanted a licence to be able to think differently
Why I wanted to be an Imagination Activist — by Wahid Rahman, team manager at Contact Camden, managing a team of 17 customer service officers in the Parking and Business Team
-
![]()
Imagination activism: building common purpose
Remembering our common purpose of putting our residents first is key to building a healthy and thriving community — by Lioko Mabika, Senior Policy and Projects Officer in the Equalities team
-
![]()
If we can’t imagine the future we want to see, how can we make it happen?
Imagining a truly collaborative and participatory future — by Sue Sheehan, Participation team at Camden Council
