Category: Innovation Exchange
Join us for an inspiring, peer-driven session designed to tackle the real challenges and opportunities councils and communities face today. Our Innovation Exchanges offer a unique, interactive session led entirely by the experiences of your fellow council officers and...
11th November, 2024
Join us for an inspiring, peer-driven session designed to tackle the real challenges and opportunities councils and communities face today. Our Innovation Exchanges offer a unique, interactive session led entirely by the experiences of your fellow council officers and...
11th November, 2024
It is vital that public spaces work for the residents and communities that live and work in them. Whether the public spaces are high streets, parks, public service buildings, they all are part of the bigger picture of how...
11th November, 2024
The complexities of transforming health services are vast with many different priorities and variables to consider. Place-based systems leadership can unlock barriers and open doors within services to help deliver change. One of the key factors in ensuring all...
11th November, 2024
Community Power • Health and social care • Integrated Health Systems
Building community cohesion where trust and a sense of belonging are paramount is imperative to help communities and places thrive. We have seen recently what happens without a long-term commitment to maintaining strong relationships, or investment in social fabric...
11th November, 2024
Colleagues throughout local government are still stuck between the rock of shrinking resources and the hard place of rising demand in many (if not all) service areas. The effect of the cost of living crisis is creating increased volatility...
23rd July, 2024
Councils have long aspired to engage residents in hyper-local decisions and collaboration through local democratic structures like Area Forums. There are great examples out there, but amidst a huge trust gap between citizens and public institutions, many councils are...
18th July, 2024
Many councils are recognising that for planning to truly deliver regeneration and inclusive growth well, they need to adopt a community-centred approach to building and develop places that work for residents. Bringing communities into the consultation and conversation from...
3rd January, 2024
Councils and their employees can transform levels of trust and build towards positive relationships with residents through each interaction. People-facing services are vital, not solely for meeting resident’s needs, but also in determining resident’s attitudes and engagement with Councils. ...
28th November, 2023
Councils up and down the country are having to make really difficult financial decisions. Decisions that will impact the way you run services and how you engage with your communities. So, how do you ensure that communities, their views...
16th November, 2023
The adoption of Generative AI can be a game-changer for organisations aiming to supercharge the efficiency and productivity of their operating models. This technology also has the potential to reduce demand on services and help reduce loneliness and social...
20th January, 2023
There has been a growing importance placed on the relationship between the council and its residents. Over recent years, we have seen the increased popularity of engagement methods like citizen assemblies and strength-based service approaches, that have brought more...
20th January, 2023
Design thinking can help inspire innovation, spark new ideas and uncover deep issues or new perspectives. It has gained popularity as a tool because when applied well it can be an inclusive, human-centred, efficient and adaptable approach to problem...
20th January, 2023
Are you feeling the stress? That’s unsurprising: there’s never been a more challenging time to be in a leadership position in local government. The pressure to deliver outcomes in an increasingly volatile world while also saving money is intense....
20th January, 2023
Given current challenges around local government finance, increasing revenue is top of the agenda for all councils right now. Additional investment is needed to fulfil your ambitions and provide high quality places where people want to live. Many councils...
20th January, 2023
Community engagement • Economy and business • Participation and co-production
A thriving and growing social economy is the desire of every council. The key to making this a success is empowering communities and community businesses to have a real stake in their local economy. But how do you actually...
20th January, 2023
Every council wants meaningful engagement and thriving communities. Could wellbeing be the magic ingredient that enables this to happen? Residents who are able to shape what happens in their area and who feel a sense of individual and collective...
20th January, 2023
Councils are constantly looking for new ways to engage their residents, from citizens assemblies to listening sofas. When councils don’t hear residents or don’t act on their views consistently and reliably the costs are very high; you lose trust, community...
15th December, 2022
Has your council declared a climate emergency but is struggling to make this a reality across the organisation? If so, you’re not alone. All too often, reducing carbon emissions and adapting to rising temperatures is seen as a trade-off...
19th October, 2022
Climate change • Innovation • Whole Council Approach • Working together
Councils are grappling with the challenges caused by the housing crisis. It’s often difficult to secure local development, navigate conflicts of interest and balance public input with investment. Community engagement can be adversarial and shared solutions beyond reach. But...
19th October, 2022
What can you do when you’re measured by outputs instead of outcomes? If your work is achieving deep, people-and-place-changing results that go way beyond top-down targets, you absolutely need to come to this session. We’ll explore the challenges of...
6th September, 2022
We live in unprecedented times, where we are facing increasing emergencies in our communities. From COVID to the cost-of-living crisis; the answer to solving these issues sits with our residents. Councils who listen to their communities unlock deep solutions...
6th September, 2022
Our communities are facing big and complex challenges, ones that can only be addressed by working together, across all areas of the system. Getting services, especially from different organisations, to collaborate is not an easy task. How do we...
26th April, 2022
Places need new types of leadership, people who increasingly collaborate with staff and communities to tackle today’s biggest challenges. This type of leadership is about starting to shift power to put others in the driving seat. Walking alongside communities,...
14th April, 2022
Meet others who are working on the same stuff as you in these subject-specific deep-dive sessions.
5th January, 2022
Meet others who are working on the same stuff as you in these subject-specific deep-dive sessions.
5th January, 2022
Meet others who are working on the same stuff as you in these subject-specific deep-dive sessions.
5th January, 2022
Councils that seriously engage their residents build deep relationships of trust that enable them to transform a place together. This kind of shared agenda saves you money, time and aggro down the road because the whole community is bought...
4th January, 2022
Facing untold demand and financial pressures following the pandemic, councils are increasingly looking to radically transform their operating model to avoid future crises and continue to deliver decent services. But many of those leading that change immediately find themselves hindered by...
23rd September, 2021
Many councils have declared a climate emergency and pressure is growing for councils to act on those declarations. But what does an effective strategy for emissions reductions look like in a place? Where can councils take direct steps to reduce emissions and where must they mobilise...
29th April, 2021
Addressing climate change is a major imperative for councils across the country with many now having declared a climate emergency. More than ever councils are expected not just to work with residents and business to drive down emissions but...
27th April, 2021
The pandemic has highlighted how important a close, collaborative relationship between councils and their partners can be. Local charities and community groups have the knowledge and capacity to massively enhance a place’s ability to respond to its most pressing...
2nd February, 2021
Increasingly, councils are drawing residents into decision-making. Approaches range from informal conversations to full-blown citizens assemblies. The goal is to draw on local knowledge, strengthen legitimacy, create more responsive services and build collaborative relationships. At a time of shrinking...
2nd February, 2021
Councils have discovered that shared narratives – or put simply, stories – are powerful. As the pandemic showed in its early stages, a simple narrative can mobilise communities and inspire the workforce to extraordinary joint effort. Get the wider...
27th January, 2021
Councils embracing a community power model soon realise how important it is to free up the frontline of the workforce. Only with that freedom can council workers let the community genuinely lead, build relationships of trust and break away from...
10th December, 2020
Many councils are embracing a community power model. Some have been at the cutting-edge of this for years, and others stepping firmly into this space through community partnership throughout the Covid-19 crisis response. This approach recognises the power and...
10th December, 2020
Central Government is inevitably a major factor in a council’s success. Whitehall is home to funds and powers that can either help unlock transformation and impact or stymie ambitious plans for change. Ministers and MPs also play the chief...
1st April, 2020
Governance • Partnerships • Political Systems • Strategy and leadership
Councils across the country are increasingly facing up to the challenge of delivering local economies that are both vibrant and inclusive. Creating a labour market that not only delivers jobs but good, well-paid and secure jobs is a central...
1st April, 2020