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No Strings Attached: How community-led devolution would transform England’s skills sector

With huge employment and economic challenges on the horizon, Charlotte Morgan argues that local partnershiops of councils, colleges and communities could transform post-16 education in England - if they...

26th November, 2020

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This Isn’t Working: reimagining employment support for people facing complex disadvantage

Over 2 million people are out of work due to health conditions and disabilities. But each year, only 4% move into employment. This Isn't Working, argues that support for...

27th October, 2020

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Think Big, Act Small: Elinor Ostrom’s radical vision for community power

Exploring the ground-breaking work of economist Elinor Ostrom, the intellectual hero of community power. And asking what it could mean for the UK today.

21st October, 2020

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Towards Resilience: Redesigning our systems for a better future

The paper identifies five pillars that need to form the centre piece of any approach: economic resilience, public sector resilience, community resilience, environmental resilience and workforce resilience.

12th October, 2020

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Community Mobilisation: Unlocking the Potential of Community Power

This report offers a how-to guide for organisations interested in this process, illustrating a range of potential strategies to build active, networked and powerful communities.

29th July, 2020

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Edition #10 Preparing for a Second Wave of Covid-19

DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION HERE We surveyed nearly 100 council leaders, chief executives and council mayors across the UK. On top of regular questions about the economy and public services,...

23rd July, 2020

Communities vs. Coronavirus: The Rise of Mutual Aid

This report argues that the Mutual Aid phenomenon is a powerful demonstration what’s possible when communities come together.

13th July, 2020

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How is COVID-19 changing the relationship between communities and public services?

This report summarises findings from an event held with the New Local Government Network (NLGN) on the changing relationship between communities and public services during and beyond COVID-19.

9th June, 2020

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Edition #9
Special Topic: COVID-19

MAY 2020 Councils’ economic confidence plummets but faith in community hits all-time high. NLGN’s Leadership Index is a quarterly survey sent to all chief executives, council leaders/mayors in the...

27th May, 2020

Cultivating Local Inclusive Growth: In Practice

This report looks at how the concept of inclusive growth is being interpreted by practitioners in the field and work backwards towards understanding, rather than attempting a new theoretical...

11th February, 2020

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Leadership Index January 2020

Poor air quality ‘top concern’ for councils, but most feel unable to tackle it NLGN’s Leadership Index is a quarterly survey sent to all chief executives, council leaders/mayors in...

22nd January, 2020

Cities in Action 2: Rough Sleeping

This report focuses on learning from international examples to prevent and eradicate rough sleeping. It proposes that the UK and devolved governments work with mid-sized cities and places to...

25th November, 2019

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Leadership Index October 2019

NLGN’s Leadership Index is a quarterly survey sent to all chief executives, council leaders/mayors in the UK. It provides insight into the level of confidence on key issues affecting...

29th October, 2019

From Tiny Acorns: Communities Shaping the Future of Children’s Services

This report makes a case for a future of children’s services that is led by children and families. It argues that to ensure the future sustainability of children’s services,...

9th September, 2019

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Leadership Index August 2019

NLGN’s Leadership Index is a quarterly survey sent to all chief executives, leaders and council mayors in the UK. It provides insight into the level of confidence on key...

20th August, 2019

Community Commissioning: Shaping Public Services through People Power

This report makes a convincing case for why the process needs to be led by citizens and service users not public sector professionals. Importantly, it also explains in detail...

8th July, 2019

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Cities in Action 1: Workplace Automation

This report highlights ideas and best practice successfully implemented by countries, regions and cities around the world in response to similar challenges faced by places in the UK.

3rd July, 2019

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NLGN Leadership Index April 2019

NLGN’s Leadership Index is a quarterly survey sent to all chief executives, leaders and council mayors in the UK. It provides insight into the level of confidence on key...

3rd April, 2019

The Community Paradigm: Why public services need radical change and how it can be achieved

Combining policy analysis and insights from leading edge practice, The Community Paradigm sets out a new vision and policy agenda for the future of public services. It forms the...

17th March, 2019

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NLGN Leadership Index January 2019

NLGN’s Leadership Index is a quarterly survey which provides insights into the level of confidence on key issues affecting local government. It is sent to all chief executives, leaders...

29th January, 2019

Rebalancing the power: Five principles for a successful relationship between councils and communities

With financial resources likely to be under pressure for the foreseeable future, councils will increasingly need to become a supporter and enabler of communities ready to solve their own...

20th September, 2018

Most local authorities will only deliver the bare minimum in five years’ time

Northamptonshire is just the beginning: most local authorities will only deliver the bare minimum in five years’ time Only one third of councils feel they will financially be able...

8th August, 2018

What do council chief executives and leaders think about the future of discretionary services?

NLGN’s Leadership Index provides insights into the level of confidence on key issues affecting local government, based on the perception of council leaders, mayors and chief executives. The latest...

8th August, 2018

Creating Healthy Places

Factors as varied as employment, transport, housing, and green space all affect people’s health. And over the last four years, councils have undertaken a variety of innovative work with...

5th June, 2018

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Key Cities: Ready to Meet the UK’s Biggest Challenges

NLGN has been commissioned by the Key Cities Group to undertake research into how mid-sized cities can contribute to resolving the big national challenges that the UK currently faces....

5th June, 2018

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Culture Shock: Creating a Changemaking Culture in Local Government

Increasingly councils are recognising that it is organisational culture not structure that drives impact. But what is the culture of local government? Why is changing it important? And how...

18th April, 2018

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How confident are council Chief Executives and Leaders in the economy, society and environment?

Our Leadership Index reveals council Chief Executives and Leaders hold low confidence that they have adequate resources and powers to deliver statutory services. NLGN’s Leadership Index provides insights into...

28th March, 2018

Council chiefs lack confidence that they have adequate resources and powers to deliver statutory services

A survey by New Local Government Network has found that council Chief Executives, Mayors and Leaders do not feel they have adequate powers and resources to meet local need...

23rd March, 2018

What do council chief executives and leaders think about Brexit?

Our new Leadership Index reveals the pessimism for the impact of Brexit on local economies Our survey of all council Leaders and Chief Executives, published in the Guardian on...

5th March, 2018

Place-based policymaking after Brexit: In search of the missing link?

This report explores the dividing lines that drove 2016’s decision to Leave. This report reveals the Brexit vote was a visible expression of the diverse economic trajectories, experiences and...

23rd January, 2018

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Reaching Out: Influencing the Wider Determinants of Health

Government must acknowledge health as an economic asset that boosts workforce productivity Over 85% of senior public health officers surveyed1 found that economic development departments are not as engaged...

28th November, 2017

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Social Value in Procurement

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires commissioners in public authorities to have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being when buying public services. Public bodies are now...

8th May, 2017

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Producing the Goods: Collaboration as the Next Frontier of Productivity

Kindly supported by: Councils should focus their energies on understanding how the motivations of the public can be harnessed to help councils to be more productive, and then use...

29th March, 2017

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Building Homes, Growing Communities

To help councils build the hundreds of thousands of new homes that are needed, NLGN has published a practical guide, Building Homes, Growing Communities, to help ensure that the...

23rd March, 2017

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Could a robot run a council?

At a time when councils are facing unprecedented financial pressures, the development of new robotics technology has the potential to help, according to participants in a roundtable debate convened...

28th February, 2017

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Outside the Box: The Council Workforce of Tomorrow

Local government needs to engage its current and future workforce to make sure they are ready to take on the challenges of tomorrow’s council. This report uses original research...

8th December, 2016

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Unlocking the Power of Local: Reflections on the new Place Leaders

As our economy becomes increasingly globalised, our public policy response needs to become more localised. To ensure places are not buffeted by outside forces and are able to create...

15th November, 2016

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A common interest: The role of asset transfer in developing the community business market

DOWNLOAD NLGN RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS NLGN were commissioned by Power to Change in March 2016, to provide the most comprehensive possible mapping of asset transfers from local authorities to...

2nd November, 2016

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Work it out: Creating Local Systems of Employability Support

Kindly supported by: Local government should have more powers to help tackle persistent unemployment: 98% of councils think that employment and skills provision should be locally commissioned. 80% of...

20th October, 2016

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The Four Forces That Make Cities Successful

Many cities offer people tangible opportunities for discovering economic security for themselves and their families. And some of the world’s largest cities offer the greatest opportunities if they are to...

14th September, 2016

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Devolution Revolution: The next steps to deliver outcomes

Central Government need to be much clearer about what they want from devolution and much more willing to create the conditions to achieve it. This is the key finding...

13th July, 2016

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Smarter, Not Harder: How devolution can make places more productive

Cities across the UK must be given control over a third of corporation tax to help them fix the country’s underperformance on productivity, a new report by think tank...

6th July, 2016

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Leaders who collaborate, collaborators who lead

In spring of 2016, NLGN and Veredus held two discussion events on the theme of collaborative leadership. The participants were council chief executives: the first event representing some northern...

10th May, 2016

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All Together Now: WHOLE SYSTEMS COMMISSIONING FOR COUNCILS AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

This report takes a “whole systems” approach to ensure services are working in an integrated way wrapped around people. Getting this right will require greater collaboration between commissioners and...

28th April, 2016

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Funding Arts and Culture in a Time of Austerity

In partnership with: “Find a way to keep faith with arts and culture” Arts Council Chair urges local authorities as arts and culture funding falls Sir Peter Bazalgette urged...

13th April, 2016

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Get Well Soon: Reimagining Place-Based Health

This final report moves the debate into practical territory by focussing on actions rather than structures, and the wider resources of places rather than the organisational boundaries of institutions.

17th March, 2016

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Picking up Signs, Not Pieces

Supported by: In collaboration with Action for Children, NLGN hosted three roundtable discussions on the role of local government in supporting parents. The first two discussions were held with...

10th December, 2015

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Children’s Services: Roundtable write-up

NLGN hosted a roundtable in partnership with Prospects in March 2015 to discuss changing delivery models for children’s and youth services. This paper outlines the key themes from this...

14th July, 2015

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Demystifying Data: The Data Revolution and What it Means for Local Government

data is not just a financial asset, but equally that it is the key that unlocks council’s ability to fully integrate and transform the services they offer local people...

23rd April, 2015

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A Design for Life: How Councils and Housing Associations can Collaborate for Impact

Local authorities, housing associations and the health sector are natural partners. There is significant overlap between the people they work with and the challenges they face. This report examines...

24th March, 2015

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