The Work in Progress with Good Enough Start
What if parent-infant relationship services not only shape developing brains, but also the wider conditions in which families live, connect and grow?
The context
Good Enough Start (GES) is a pioneering community-led parent-infant-relationship service working in a rural community to maximise the potential within everyday moments to shape a baby’s developing brain. It sits where no statutory provision currently exists.
The opportunity
To work with the GES team from the start to innovate a new approach to delivering parent-infant-relationship services in rural communities. Together, we explored how service design could work differently – not only supporting families but also strengthening the wider early parenthood ecosystem around them.
The work
We worked alongside the GES team to:
- develop system leadership capability
- navigate barriers to innovation within established systems
- explore new approaches to parent-infant-relationship service delivery that work in rural communities as well as contribute positively to the early parenthood ecosystem
- embed complexity-sensitive evaluation into service delivery
- create a scalable model adaptable to the realities of different rural and urban places
The progress (so far)
The work has contributed to:
- practitioners applying systems leadership in real-world service development
- a wider movement of place-based leadership development emerging across the ecosystem (see Millom Connect)
- a service model intentionally contributing to the early parenthood eco-system (e.g. community power, participation and wealth building)
- evaluation becoming embedded within delivery rather than added afterwards
- a scalable community led model enabling places to adapt the GES approach to their own needs rather than replicate a fixed solution.
One lesson for leadership
It is not just what you do that matters, in complex systems, it is how we work that also shapes the outcome.
“Engaging with The Work in Progress was transformative. Amy always created a safe, energising space that enabled the Good Enough Start team to think more boldly, challenge assumptions, and ultimately develop and lead a service with increased confidence and clarity. Her flexible, bespoke approach enabled us to move away from more traditional ways of thinking and doing, to turn ambitious ideas into real support for families.”
GES strategic lead, 2026