Category: Articles

The traditional siloed model of public services is ineffective for complex societal problems. But three public spending shifts can change this.

20th September, 2024

Central government • Local government finance • Person-centred funding • Policy

Matthew China, Policy, Insight and Communications Manager at Wealden District Council tells us about Wealden’s ambition to become a community-powered council, how it’s building on strong foundations to take on the challenges of the future, and some of the...

10th September, 2024

Community Power • Local government • Place building • Strategy and leadership

With the Autumn Budget in sight, Former Secretary of State John Denham and New Local’s Jessica Studdert make the case for Total Place 2.0.

9th September, 2024

Devolution and reorganisation • Local government finance • Place-based budgets • Political reform • Public Services • Total Place

Enfield Council’s Grace Murray shares ten pointers for community-powered leadership.

5th September, 2024

Community Power • Leadership • Public Services • Strategy and leadership

By listening to and valuing the insights of communities, the public sector can build better services, improve outcomes and use limited resources more wisely. But what are the essential ingredients for effective collaboration? And how can you overcome barriers...

14th August, 2024

Collaboration • Community engagement • Community Power • Local government • Public Services • Wellbeing

After a bold start, the Government has an opportunity to pursue a test and learn approach to place-based service reform, says Jessica Studdert.

12th August, 2024

Local government • Politics • Public Services

We at New Local condemn the racist and Islamophobic violence that black, Asian and migrant communities have been subjected to over recent days.

8th August, 2024

Public Services

Councils are facing reduced funding, rising demand and increasing costs. New Local and IPPO's research project explores how local authorities are responding and what we can learn.

31st July, 2024

Local government • Local government finance • Public Services

New Local Chair Katie Kelly talks to Shaheen Warren from our practice team ahead of our brand-new Radical Leaders event in September. Expect topics from leadership icons to Damascene moments and finding courage through collaboration.

29th July, 2024

Community Power • Leadership • Local government • Public Services • Strategy and leadership

Kath O'Dwyer has spent the last 40 years making her mark in public service, most lately as the chief executive of St Helens Council. Picking questions at random, she talks life outside work, inspirational quotes, and why she's a...

22nd July, 2024

Community engagement • Leadership • Leadership Lucky Draw • Local government • Northern England • Strategy and leadership

Sometimes even the most well-meaning idea can be turned into a source of polarisation and anger. How can deliberative and consensus-building approaches be used to take the heat out of public discourse? Five changemakers share their insights.

22nd July, 2024

Community Cohesion • Community engagement • Community Power • Stronger Things 2024

New MPs have arrived for their first day on the job, the Cabinet is in post, and the wheels of government are turning once more. Catriona Maclay puts forward nine lessons that can be learnt from local government.

11th July, 2024

Central government • Community Power • Local government • Politics • Public Services • Strategy and leadership

Lydia Hutchings and Beth Kilheeney explain how the Greater Manchester Better Outcomes Partnership works with young people to prevent homelessness and how the project is being evaluated.

11th July, 2024

Community Power • Homelessness • Measurement and Evaluation • Public Services • Young people

For many councils, area forums are at the heart of democratic engagement. But despite nobel intentions, some have drifted away from their purpose. How do we reimagine them?

1st July, 2024

Area Forums • Community engagement • Devolution and reorganisation • Practice work • Strategy and leadership

Imran Hashmi outlines three principles for local authorities to strengthen their support for community businesses.

17th June, 2024

Community Power • Cost of Living Crisis • Economy and business • Local government • Resilience

Local Trust’s CEO Matt Leach shares three key takeaways from Stronger Things 2024.

17th June, 2024

Community Power • Stronger Things • Stronger Things 2024

Community Catalysts' Nick Sinclair and Helen Allen share 10 key lessons from Stronger Things.

12th June, 2024

Stronger Things 2024

Reflections on Stronger Things 2024 by Brendan Martin, Public World.

7th June, 2024

Community Power • Local government • Public Services • Stronger Things

Five reasons why we think Stronger Things might just be the most valuable eight hours of your year.

20th May, 2024

Community Power • Local government • Public Services • Stronger Things

Kathy O'Leary is the Chief Executive of Stroud in Gloucestershire. We dig into Kathy's leadership secrets as she picks questions at random from our lucky draw - from how her upbringing shaped her, to what she most regrets about...

15th May, 2024

Leadership • Leadership Lucky Draw • Strategy and leadership

As she steps into an interim CEO role, Jessica Studdert puts forward three proposals for the next government, at a critical time for councils.

13th May, 2024

Central government • Devolution • Local government • Local government finance • Place-based budgets • Total Place

In his last week as chief executive of New Local, Adam Lent ditches sensible moderation and describes the change we really need: radical integration, radical devolution and radical community power.

2nd May, 2024

Community Power • Devolution and reorganisation • Local government • Politics • Public Services

On local election day we're celebrating some of the many ways councils are transforming their places with the help of community power.

2nd May, 2024

Community engagement • Community Power • Democracy • Local government • Politics

Labour lacks a strategy for a public sector under unprecedented pressure. The solution can be found on the frontline, says Adam Lent.

8th April, 2024

Community engagement • Community Power • Local government • Politics • Public Services

Adam Lent tackles some of the most common questions about community power in the public sector, from its benefits, to real-life examples, to its why its time has come in today's 'permacrisis'.

8th April, 2024

Community Power • Health and social care • Local government • Politics • Public Services

Adam Lent reflects on New Local’s fourth Radical Leadership session with local government leaders.

4th April, 2024

Community engagement • Community Power • Culture • Leadership • Local government • Public Services • Strategy and leadership

Mari Roberts-Wood, Managing Director at Reigate and Banstead Council tells us about what makes the council unique and what you can expect to find along Banstead’s majestic Narnia Trail (complete with a lion, a witch and a wardrobe).

27th March, 2024

Community engagement • Community Power • Health and social care • Local government

Summer Simpson speaks to Lucy Colbeck, programme manager at Playing Out, about the benefits of street play for local communities, growing support for the movement in local and central government, why residents should stay in the driving seat and...

26th March, 2024

Community Cohesion • Community engagement • Community Power • Community-led • Local government • Wellbeing

From giving residents a blank sheet to determine the council’s priorities, to making statutory consultation processes interactive and fun, Test Valley Borough Council is pushing the envelope on community engagement.

20th March, 2024

Community engagement • Community Power • Local government • Public Services • Strategy and leadership

The suffocation of local government leaves Britain profoundly weaker just as the world becomes more hostile, says Adam Lent.

14th March, 2024

Local government • Local government finance • Public Services

As Depute Chief Executive of Scotland's East Aryshire council, Katie Kelly was a leading part of some of the most radical power sharing done by any UK council. Now as Chair of New Local, she takes a random pick...

14th March, 2024

Community Power • Leadership • Leadership Lucky Draw • Local government • Strategy and leadership

New Local’s senior practice lead Catriona Maclay explains how Barnet Council is supporting staff to embed community power across the borough and shares six lessons from the journey so far.

11th March, 2024

Community engagement • Community Power • Local government

The chief executive of Ealing council takes a chance on our Leadership Lucky Draw, exploring topics from how to get things done, to why Ealing is taking a positive slant on immigration, to how to turn around a negative...

7th March, 2024

Leadership • Leadership Lucky Draw • Local government • Strategy and leadership

Jo Fitzpatrick and Jim Leyland explain how Wakefield Council had a Big Conversation with residents, training 100 ‘conversationalists’ to have over 1,300 face-to-face conversations with people across the district to find out what they like about their area and...

4th March, 2024

Community engagement • Community Power • Health and social care • Local government • Public Services

Anthony Okereke is the Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. He took on New Local's leadership lucky draw.

29th February, 2024

Leadership • Leadership Lucky Draw • Local government • Politics • Strategy and leadership

The leader of Manchester City Council takes on our Leadership Lucky Draw, answering questions ranging from dream dinner party guests to how her upbringing shaped her.

22nd February, 2024

Leadership • Leadership Lucky Draw • Local government • Manchester • Strategy and leadership

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.

20th February, 2024

Community Power • Leadership • Local government • Public Services • Strategy and leadership

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

Leadership • Strategy and leadership

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

Eleanor Brown shares three lessons from piloting designing thinking at Enfield Council, and makes the case for problem solving from the outside in.

1st February, 2024

Community engagement • Local government • Public Services

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

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 we saw in the Total Place pilots of 13 years...

31st January, 2024

Devolution and reorganisation • Local government finance • Place-based budgets • Political reform • Total Place

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 the Apolitical Foundation Accelerator programme, helping equip a new type...

23rd January, 2024

Community Power • International Examples • Leadership • Politics

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 improve health and prevent disease. She reflects on three years...

16th January, 2024

Community Power • GPs • Health and social care • Healthcare

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 communities, her groundbreaking work with health champions and what brought...

9th January, 2024

Community Power • Health and social care • Strategy and leadership

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

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 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

We explore the positive health and wellbeing impact of the Big Local programme - a hyperlocal community-led initiative.

11th December, 2023

Community Power • Health and social care • Healthcare

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 network knits people together, say Darlington Borough Council’s Chris McEwan...

6th December, 2023

Community engagement • Health and social care • Local government