Category: Articles
Adam Lent, Director of the New Local Government Network, says we urgently need a post-pandemic recovery strategy for the public as well as the private sector. While the UK struggles […]
27th April, 2020
If you live in the UK today and have a disability, you are twice as likely to be unemployed than someone who is not disabled – a fact so well-known […]
24th April, 2020
20/4/20 – 24/4/20 Local authorities are indispensable in our current crisis and are therefore under enormous pressure. They manage the public services that people are increasingly reliant on, support the […]
24th April, 2020
Community Power • Councils Respond • Covid-19 • Public Services
Today, there are more councils than ever who realise that they can’t do it alone. That their best work, and most robust decisions, come from working hand-in-hand with the communities […]
21st April, 2020
Who was Elinor Ostrom? What were her key arguments? How are they relevant to localism, public services, and politics in the UK? This presentation serves as an introduction to our […]
20th April, 2020
Community Power • Ostrom • Politics • Public Services • Video
Local authorities are indispensable in our current crisis and are therefore under enormous pressure. They manage the public services that people are increasingly reliant on, support the most vulnerable people […]
17th April, 2020
Community Power • Councils Respond • Covid-19 • Public Services
After years of enforced slumber, the state is starting to stir. The signs of this were there even before the pandemic hit in full, with Rishi Sunak’s March budget promising […]
14th April, 2020
Local authorities are indispensable in our current crisis and are therefore under enormous pressure. They manage the public services that people are increasingly reliant on, support the most vulnerable people […]
9th April, 2020
Community Power • Councils Respond • Covid-19 • Public Services
Local authorities are indispensable in our current crisis and are therefore under enormous pressure. They manage the public services that people are increasingly reliant on, support the most vulnerable people […]
3rd April, 2020
Community Power • Councils Respond • Covid-19 • Public Services
These are unsettling times – there is much to fear and much to lament. But of all the developments of the last few weeks, the one that I’ve found most […]
27th March, 2020
Local authorities are indispensable in our current crisis and are therefore under enormous pressure. They manage the public services that people are increasingly reliant on, support the most vulnerable people […]
27th March, 2020
Community Power • Councils Respond • Covid-19 • Public Services
It feels like only a cliché will do as a title for this article. Maybe this tells you something about my writing ability – but, maybe, just as love-songs on […]
24th March, 2020
A deep global slowdown is a gift to the authoritarians. Adam Lent argues democrats need to unite around a vision of politically empowered communities to see them off. @adamjlent According […]
24th March, 2020
Adam Lent argues we need to start thinking now about a post-pandemic plan focused on building stronger communities and a resilient economy. As is often the case with a crisis, […]
20th March, 2020
Covid-19 • Economy and business • Employment • Public Health
Women do the vast majority of unpaid care, and are often at the heart of community work. But can community empowerment help create a more egalitarian approach to paid and […]
9th March, 2020
Community Power • Employment • Health and social care • Women
Simon Kaye explores the legacy of Elinor Ostrom, the first female Noble-prize-winning economist, who proved that communities can successfully take charge of the assets around them. It’s work that should […]
8th March, 2020
Community Power • Economy and business • Ostrom • Public Services
To mark International Women’s Day 2020, we speak to Julia Unwin DBE, whose remarkable career has seen her lead the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and lead an inquiry into the future […]
6th March, 2020
Kajal Odera ran campaigns for Youth Parliament, Crisis and Macmillan before joining Change.org – an online petition website with over 240 million users worldwide. She became the UK Executive Director […]
6th March, 2020
As part of their partnership with our Stronger Things event, Tim Pitts from digital technology provider Agilisys explores the potential of technology, data and creative thinking for local government. Local […]
27th February, 2020
In July 2010, during his honeymoon period as Prime Minister, David Cameron unveiled what he called his “great passion” – the Big Society agenda. Built around principles of localism, volunteerism, […]
26th February, 2020
Head of Communications Katy Oglethorpe responds to the Centre for Local Economic Strategies’ critique of the Community Paradigm , by arguing that communities – working in partnership with government – […]
24th February, 2020
With the new government committed to building ‘places we want to live in’ by giving communities more say on development, and the upcoming NLGN conference in March looking at how […]
18th February, 2020
The last few years have seen scores of councils publish inclusive growth plans – a radical admission that the economy, as presently constructed, is failing to deliver for millions of […]
15th February, 2020
Economy and business • Environment • Inclusive Growth • Strategy and leadership
On 14 February, Camden Council is celebrating Valentine’s Day in a rather disruptive way. 130 people from across the country and from a range of organisations are coming together in […]
14th February, 2020
Between 2010 and 2020, the UK experienced something unprecedented in recent history – a decade without a recession. Yet, somehow, this period also saw the lowest levels of wage growth […]
12th February, 2020
Economy and business • How to guide • Inclusive Growth • Strategy and leadership • Video
Is a growing economy something to celebrate when the benefits it brings are out of reach to many? While the economy grew as a whole in the 2017/18 financial year, […]
11th February, 2020
Inclusive Growth • Research Reports • Strategy and leadership
Millions of people in communities across the country find it difficult, or even impossible, to work because of the impact of a disability or long-term health condition. These disabilities and […]
7th February, 2020
Community Power • Disabilities • Employment • Public Services
The realities of the way in which the elecatoral map was redrawn in December mean that Conservative politicians are starting to talk about the economy a little bit differently. Discussions […]
5th February, 2020
What on earth is devolution, what’s held it back & what might come out of the new government White Paper? This animation accompanies this handy FAQ by New Local policy […]
30th January, 2020
English devolution is back in the spotlight. As the Government prepares to publish a White Paper to set out its “offer for enhanced devolution across England”, we at NLGN have […]
24th January, 2020
If any main theme has emerged in the Labour Party’s leadership contest so far, it is community empowerment. Almost all the candidates have at least mentioned the importance of decentralisation […]
24th January, 2020
Adam Lent argues that our intensifying climate crisis requires a political, economic and cultural revolution rooted in the empowerment of communities. @adamjlent We enter this new decade in the grip […]
20th January, 2020
Climate change • Community Power • Environment • Public Services
The North-South divide is the trope most commonly used by policy-makers to highlight the problems of regional inequality in England, but it is by no means the country’s only socio-economic […]
15th January, 2020
So, the new decade begins with Australia literally on fire. Unsurprisingly, many of us are feeling the moral imperative for climate action more strongly than ever, and yet a glance […]
6th January, 2020
The PM may have given minimum wage earners a cash boost but Adam Lent argues only bringing the low paid into the heart of power will make a long-term difference. […]
31st December, 2019
Democracy • Economy and business • Employment • Public Services
Dining dividing lines continue to eat up councils as they fail to agree on what to have for Christmas lunch. We asked council leaders, chief executives and Mayors what they’d […]
24th December, 2019
In theory, a Conservative government with a very strong mandate should prove a tasty prospect for the local government sector. The party’s manifesto commits the government to a devolution white […]
13th December, 2019
Community Power • Conservatives • Democracy • Public Services
Many of us in the local government sector are all too well acquainted with you the negative side of the budgeting process. As demand seems to consistently rise, money gets scarcer and less certain.
4th December, 2019
Budgeting • Commissioning and Procurement • Strategy and leadership
Local authorities experience considerable difficulties as they budget to keep vital services going whilst facing uncertainty about their future finances, and this is exacerbated when they are unsure when a longer-term settlement can be achieved.
4th December, 2019
Budgeting • Commissioning and Procurement • Public Services • Strategy and leadership
With this Community Paradigm front and centre in our minds, here’s our take on the highlights from each party’s manifesto and what these say about their vision for local government and communities.
27th November, 2019
In response to the debate about a Community Power Act, Adam Lent argues that culture change is vital but alone it is not enough to transform a highly centralised, resistant system.
26th November, 2019
The environment has been skyrocketing up councils’ agendas in recent years, but local government still faces significant challenges in how to respond.
25th November, 2019
The number of people spending the night on the streets is increasing all over the world, as nations struggle with their own housing crises or have difficulties funding the multi-agency support services needed for individuals to overcome the complex...
25th November, 2019
Given the increasingly stretched resources in councils, prototyping provides a sensible and low-cost approach to test new ideas and obtain buy-in along the way.
22nd November, 2019
In this briefing, we’re exploring the benefits and opportunities that arise when we create the time and space to bring prototyping practices into our work.
22nd November, 2019
NLGN is working to empower communities in this bid to take back control with our overarching Community Paradigm agenda, and our latest project is an investigation into the research and insights of Elinor Ostrom.
15th November, 2019
Inclusive growth is a buzzword in local government these days, but how can it be delivered in practice?
12th November, 2019
Economy and business • Inclusive Growth • Strategy and leadership
Donna Hall CBE discusses leadership, the Wigan Deal, and what drew her towards NLGN and its vision of a world where communities hold the power.
11th November, 2019
Community Power • New Local Board • Strategy and leadership • Video
NLGN's Director makes the case for a new law that would shift power from public institutions and into the hands of citizens.
11th November, 2019
This October, I had the pleasure of participating in an NLGN Innovation Exchange for the first time.
6th November, 2019