About
Legitimise This! is a new venture with a cheeky name!
It's a challenge to all of us, you and me, and our institutions.
How can we solve society's biggest problems with all of society in mind?
What would a good decision look like for THAT problem?
Is it still legitimate to behave as we always have?
What more could we achieve if we worked together?
Big Ideas. Argued Out Load!
Yeah sure, but who...?
Rakesh (Lal) Pinao
Working towards better decisions in an open democracy and in a changing climate
Northland, New Zealand
I spent eight years in local government in Northland — hard work, but worth it. I worked on a range of institutional projects and problems with great people all trying hard to make a difference for their communities. Climate adaptation was the new challenge, and that work is where I learned how far the gap can run between a policy on paper and a decision a community actually believes in.
That's what led to this adventure.. to boldly seek out better ways to make big decisions. Better democracy, in the face of a changing climate, demystifying uncertainty and policy, and finding more effective ways to make systems work for people. Giving people a real, structured way into decisions that affect them — not just a submission form.
Before local government, I worked in higher-education project portfolio management in Auckland, in IT management in London, and even earlier still, in meteorology in Wellington. Different domains, same instinct: find the actual mechanism underneath a system, look through the uncertainty to find meaning and agency. Arguing about eveything is part of it, making it productive and getting it to lead somewhere is still the challenge.
Thank you for reading. If you find any of this useful of interesting, get in touch.