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03 Apr 2026

Bridging the trust gap

In this episode, of What Next? Professor Mike Kenny, Head of Department at the Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge and Jacinta Koolmatrie, Aboriginal heritage practitioner explore the breakdown of trust between communities and institutions, showing how centralised governance and economic transition have fuelled place-based grievances, and why rebuilding trust requires institutions to share power, work at community pace, and support locally led approaches such as community wealth building and Indigenous-led responses.

Key takeaways

Place matters in practice as well as sentiment: policy outcomes vary with local history, networks, capacity and constraints, so design and implementation cannot be separated.
Community engagement improves decisions by revealing tacit, experience-based knowledge that is not captured in formal data or models.
Experimental, test-and-learn approaches that allow priorities to be set locally and adjusted over time produce more workable and legitimate outcomes than fixed, top-down programmes.

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Janita Koolmatrie, Aboriginal heritage practitioner

Jacinta Koolmatrie, Aboriginal heritage practitioner

The listening is more of a show to the world that they’re doing something, but they’re not actually doing something….They realise that they’re going to lose power if they do anything past the listening.

Professor Mike Kenny, Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge

Unless you really have a deeper understanding of how people feel and think about particular issues, the solutions you may try and impose just may well not fly, they may well not work or indeed be counterproductive.

Chapter notes - Scroll to the areas that interest you

00:00–09:00: Fracture, grievance and the limits of institutions

The episode opens with a diagnosis of growing public mistrust, social grievance and institutional fragility. Mike traces how economic restructuring, centralised governance and place-based neglect have eroded trust, while Jacinta reflects on communities for whom institutional recognition and legitimacy never existed in the first place.

Key themes:

Fractured trust and rising social grievance
Economic transition and place-based neglect
Institutions misaligned with on-the-ground experience

09:00–21:00: Power, disconnection and when listening fails

The conversation moves to questions of power and voice. Jacinta explains why consultation so often becomes performative. Mike explores how cultural and social factors compound economic dislocation, widening the gap between citizens and the state.

Key themes:

Centralised power and local disconnection
The limits of engagement processes
Maintaining legitimacy in divided societies

21:00-34:00: Place, community knowledge and what actually works

Mike shares examples of place-based approaches such as community wealth building and experimental policy design. Jacinta reflects on Indigenous-led responses during COVID, highlighting the role of trust, time, existing networks and tacit knowledge in enabling rapid and effective action.

Key themes:

Place-based approaches grounded in community knowledge
Tacit knowledge and existing networks
Going slow to enable meaningful action

34:00–48:00: Stories, legitimacy and shaping the future

In the final chapter, the discussion explores the role of narrative, memory and storytelling in opening space for new futures, while remaining realistic about the limits and difficulty of change.

Key themes:

Narrative, memory and legitimacy
The risks and value of nostalgia
Institutional capacity to adapt and realism about change

What next? Leadership conversations for a better future

Podcast series hosted by Marc Kahn, our Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer, and Lindsay Hooper, CEO at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).

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Disclaimer:

The views in this podcast series are those of the contributors, and don’t necessarily represent those of CISL, the University of Cambridge, or Investec, and should not be taken as advice or a recommendation.

Bridging the trust gap

Key takeaways

Listen to the podcast

Chapter notes - Scroll to the areas that interest you

What next? Leadership conversations for a better future

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