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Our latest blogs, long-reads, videos and podcasts about all-things community power, local government, public services, and more.
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Brendan Martin and Cormac Russell respond: Public service leadership at a time of ‘permacrisis’
Social entrepreneurs Brendan Martin and Cormac Russell share their take on Adam Lent’s recent blog about radical public service leadership developed with key figures in our network.
By Brendan Martin, founder and MD of Public World, and Cormac Russell, founder and CEO of Nurture Development
20th February, 2024
Community Power • Leadership • Local government • Public Services • Strategy and leadership
Radical Leadership: how to lead the public sector in the permacrisis
We're living in a permacrisis. How should public service leaders adapt to this landscape? We sat down with some of them to come up with a plan.
7th February, 2024
Community Power: How to…Start!
New Local's senior practice lead Catriona Maclay explains how Wealden District Council is charting its path to community power using transparent, collaborative self-evaluation.
6th February, 2024
Community engagement • Community Power • Local government • Practice work
What does design thinking have to do with local authorities?
Eleanor Brown shares three lessons from piloting designing thinking at Enfield Council, and makes the case for problem solving from the outside in.
By Eleanor Brown, Director of Customer & Communications, Enfield Council
1st February, 2024
Government should withdraw council productivity plan demand
The intent behind Michael Gove's announcement was not to improve productivity – and it won’t, writes Adam Lent.
31st January, 2024
Central government • Local government • Local government finance
“It’s time for Total Place 2.0”: John Denham in conversation with Jessica Studdert
The best policy that almost was? Former Secretary of State John Denham & New Local's Jessica Studdert discuss their new paper calling for a come-back for place-based budgeting as...
31st January, 2024
Devolution and reorganisation • Local government finance • Place-based budgets • Political reform • Total Place
The art of creating awesome politicians
A tech engineer by training, Omezzine Khelifa left a life in France to work in the Tunisian transition from dictatorship to democracy. Today she is the executive director of...
23rd January, 2024
Community Power • International Examples • Leadership • Politics
“The impact is palpable” – How upturning healthcare is serving East Surrey
Dr Gillian Orrow is a GP and co-founder of Growing Health Together, an East Surrey initiative which helps Primary Care Networks collaborate with community members and local organisations to...
By Dr Gillian Orrow
16th January, 2024
The space-maker: introducing Samira Ben Omar
Our board member, Samira Ben Omar, has dedicated her career to addressing inequalities in health and other spheres. She talks about why the NHS needs to relate differently to...
9th January, 2024
Community Power • Health and social care • Strategy and leadership
“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together”: 2023 in review
Adam Lent takes a look back at the ups and downs of 2023, shares his hopes for the year to come (and channels Marilyn Monroe).
19th December, 2023
Community Power • Health and social care • Local government • Public Services
“Sustained growth is a MacGuffin”: Why councils must find other ways to prosper
Alongside the drive for growth, tapping into the wealth of insight, energy and tangible assets in communities will help us solve our most formidable challenges, writes Adam Lent.
13th December, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Economy and business • Local government • Local government finance
Five times communities sowed the seeds of healthier places
Five brilliant examples of what communities can achieve when money and decision-making power are in their hands.
11th December, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Health and social care • Local government
New research: Community-powered investment has positive impact on health
We explore the positive health and wellbeing impact of the Big Local programme - a hyperlocal community-led initiative.
11th December, 2023
Health in Haughton Matters
A vibrant community set around an ancient village on the edge of Darlington, Haughton and Springfield has its challenges. But a wealth of local pride and a strong voluntary...
By Cllr Chris McEwan and Sean O’Connell, Move More Officer, Darlington Borough Council
6th December, 2023
Community engagement • Health and social care • Local government
How We Did It: Transforming public services into people power with Good Help
Helen Chicot from Rochdale Council introduces a three-year project which has used Good Help principles to tackle the council’s most pressing challenges, transforming the way the way it works...
24th November, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Health and social care • Local government • Public Services
A better way forward: How community power can save money and reduce demand on public services
Mila Lukic from Bridges Outcomes Partnerships spells out the problem with centralisation and why we need to think about service design and delivery in a very different way.
By Mila Lukic, CEO and Co-Founder, Bridges Outcomes Partnerships
16th November, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Health and social care • Local government • Public Services
How collaboration and community engagement can help create a stronger NHS
How can we tackle the growing crisis in the NHS? TPXimpact’s Iain O’Neil says shifting towards community-led approaches can protect the NHS’s future and improve health for all.
By Iain O’Neil, Managing Partner - Health, TPXimpact
15th November, 2023
Community Power • Health and social care • Stronger Things • The NHS
Where We’re At: Fife Edition
Fife Council's Mike Enston tells us about the challenge of growing inequalities, the council’s ambitions to redistribute power to the community and why you can’t visit Fife without enjoying...
By Mike Enston, Executive Director, Communities Directorate, Fife Council
9th November, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Interview • Local government • Public Services
Community power was on Labour’s fringe but didn’t feel niche
Radical devolution was a key talking point at Labour party conference, but Keir Starmer's speech didn't deliver on the detail, writes Katy Oglethorpe.
23rd October, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Devolution • Labour • Local government • Politics
How We Did It: Starting a Local Property Partnership
Lorinda Freint from Richmond and Wandsworth Councils and Bex Trevalyan from Platform Places introduce a new process to unlock town centre buildings and explain how they got started in...
17th October, 2023
Keeping the community power conversation going
TPXimpact's Charlotte Obijiaku shares highlights from our recent workshop showcasing six stories of community power, and makes the case for deeper collaboration.
By Charlotte Obijiaku, Deliberative Democracy Officer, TPXimpact
6th October, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Local government • Stronger Things
Labour’s way forward in office? Community power
Our public finances are in crisis. The next government will need to focus on making better use of existing money if it is to ensure better outcomes for local...
26th September, 2023
Community Power • Local government • Local government finance • Public Services
“It felt like a levelling out”: How people in poverty are changing the system in Trafford
Built on the power of relationships, this project brought together local residents with lived experience of poverty and key decision makers in the public, private and third sectors to...
13th September, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Community Voices • Interview • Local government • Poverty and inequality • Public Services
Councils must work harder to secure support for green schemes
Local government must look beyond conventional consultation approaches to drive forward the environmental agenda that Westminster is so easily abandoning, writes Adam Lent.
13th September, 2023
Climate change • Community engagement • Community Power • Local government
“This is the best opportunity we’ve had for community power”: Claire Hazelgrove
There are signs that community power could be becoming a political reality. We speak to TPXimpact’s Claire Hazelgrove on the imperative of seizing the moment.
By Claire Hazelgrove, Community & Political Engagement Director, TPXimpact
11th September, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Interview • Local government • Stronger Things
How We Did It: Participatory Action Research
Xia Lin from Toynbee Hall introduces a research method designed to embed resident participation in local change-making.
6th September, 2023
Community engagement • Community Power • Local government • Participation and co-production
Joint venture: how an NHS physio waiting list was shrunk in just two days
Is it possible to significantly reduce health and social care waiting lists overnight? It may seem like a policymaker’s – or patient’s – pipedream. But a new innovation from...
30th August, 2023
Health and social care • Healthcare • Strengths-based approach • The NHS
What councils need to unlock place-based prevention
Government action is needed to ensure councils' ambitious and expansive vision for preventative work can be realised, writes Grace Pollard.
7th August, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Devolution and reorganisation • Local government • measuring
As Westminster fiddles while the world burns, local politicians must show climate leadership
Adam Lent argues that mayors and councillors need to urgently step into the void left by Westminster climate complacency and start having real, difficult conversations.
25th July, 2023
Nandy: We need politics for people with skin in the game
What is Labour’s vision for community power? Is the party serious about handing over control to local areas, and their people, if they win the next election? How do...
20th July, 2023
Central government • Devolution and reorganisation • Labour • Stronger Things
Putting communities at the heart of climate action decision making
Climate change and its impacts are already being seen and felt around the world, meaning we need to take action now to mitigate and adapt to its effects. Kelly...
By Kelly McBride, Deliberative Democracy Lead, TPXimpact,
20th July, 2023
Climate change • Community Power • Engagement • Local government
Oflog’s approach is delusional
Devoid of a transformational vision, Oflog will fail to improve performance, writes Adam Lent.
13th July, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Innovation • Local government
Bringing community power to life at Stronger Things
Tom Chigbo, Community Engagement & Participation Manager at TPXimpact, shares his experience of and insights from Stronger Things 2023.
By Tom Chigbo, Community Engagement & Participation Manager, TPXimpact
12th July, 2023
In Practice: Communities Tackling Health Inequalities
What can health professionals, councils, charities and communities do when they come together to work on reducing health inequalities? At Stronger Things, changemakers behind some of the most innovative...
5th July, 2023
Health and social care • Healthcare • Stronger Things • The NHS • Video
NHS at 75: why the workforce plan should start with communities
Building a community-powered NHS is urgently needed to overcome the current and future challenges facing the system. On the 75th anniversary of our much-loved health service, Laura Charlesworth delves...
5th July, 2023
Commissioning and Procurement • Community Power • Health and social care • Public Health • The NHS
Bola Owolabi: A mission to close the health gap
What does it take to bridge health inequalities that have been widening across the UK? We speak to the woman tasked with this formidable task, Prof Bola Owolabi.
4th July, 2023
Health and social care • Healthcare • Inequality • Integrated Health Systems • The NHS
Evidence unpacked: does community power boost wellbeing?
Giving communities more agency has been linked to improved wellbeing. But to what extent is this backed up by evidence? And how do we help harness the benefits of...
22nd June, 2023
Three keys to thriving community businesses
Community businesses can reap huge dividends for local areas. But how do we unlock their potential? And what role can local government play in this? Power to Change's Chief...
By Tim Davies-Pugh
21st June, 2023
Community business • Community Power • Economy and business • Local economies
We’ve assembled a rebel alliance – but their ideas should be mainstream
Radical change in public services is still an uphill struggle. National and local leaders need to make sure they are enabling not blocking the innovators.
8th June, 2023
“Soft light, not the spotlight”: How to make a community-powered leader
Community power calls for a new mould of leader. But what does this actually look like in practice? We asked some of our Stronger Things audience for their insights,...
1st June, 2023
How can local areas ‘design out’ severe hardship? A new framework
In collaboration with The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, we have developed a framework to support local areas to make progress towards designing out the most severe forms of hardship.
10th May, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Local government • Participation and co-production • poverty • Public Services
Fiscal Devolution: why we need it and how to make it work
How wealth is distributed and how much power local areas have over spending is fundamental to growing the economy. Here's how to make fiscal devolution work.
26th April, 2023
Devolution • Devolution and reorganisation • Explainer • Local government finance • Local government reform
Why you can’t afford to miss Stronger Things 2023
Hear why we think Stronger Things might just be the most valuable eight hours of your year.
21st April, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Health and social care • Local government • Public Services • Stronger Things
We need a fundamentally different approach to public sector leadership
Leading under pressure needs to become a discipline in itself, argues Adam Lent.
17th April, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Leadership • Local government • Public Services
Levelling Up – The labour market and health of the nation
In recent years we’ve seen a continued and increasing link between health and economic outcomes, brought into sharp focus by COVID-19. Imran Hashmi and Laura Charlesworth examine what this...
14th March, 2023
Covid-19 • Disabilities • Economy and business • Employment • Health and social care • Inequality • Mental health • Public Health
The chancellor needs to prioritise resilience
Ahead of the Spring Budget, Joe Sarling makes the case for a new economic vision with resilience at its heart.
13th March, 2023
Budgeting • Central government • Economy and business • Finance • Local government finance • Policy • Public Services • Resilience
Does economic growth lead to higher happiness?
Imran Hashmi unpacks the relationship between economic growth and wellbeing, arguing that local people should be at the heart of decisions about economic policy in their area.
9th March, 2023
Community Power • Economy and business • Local government • Policy • Wellbeing
How we lost sight of the point of public services: The case for whole system reform moving towards strengths-based and relational services
In the first instalment of our New Thinking series, Alex Fox and Chris Fox examine the state of public services in the UK today, and make the case for...
By Alex Fox and Chris Fox
2nd March, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Local government reform • Public Services
The Welsh Wellbeing of Future Generations Act has lessons for us all
Polly Lord sets out five lessons for England from the Welsh Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
28th February, 2023
The Westminster bubble must be burst
The centre has lost its ability to govern and radical change is needed, writes Adam Lent.
14th February, 2023
Central government • Community Power • Devolution • Local government