Tag: Community Power

Exploring the importance of prototyping in developing an innovation.

28th November, 2019

Community Power • Design • Impact • Innovation • Innovation In-depth • Members • 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

Community Power • Democracy • Politics

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

Community Power • Democracy • Public Services

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

Community Power • Economy and business • Ostrom

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

Community Power • Democracy • Governance • Politics

How does the design of the places we live, work and play shape our health and sense of belonging?

29th October, 2019

Community Power • Design • Housing • Impact • Innovation In-depth • Members • Place building • Transport

Looking at data, culture, and other challenges to adopting preventative approaches.

20th September, 2019

Community engagement • Community Power • Culture • Data • Members • Partnerships

A summary of the main ideas and lessons that emerged from the day’s discussions

20th September, 2019

Budgeting • Commissioning and Procurement • Community Power • Impact • Local government finance • Members

The number of children in care has never been so high, rising by 4% over the last year alone and by 2025, the funding gap for children’s services is expected to rise to £3.1bn. In 2017-18, nine out of...

11th September, 2019

Childrens' Services • Community Power • Public Services

Last week’s Spending Review announcement provided something of a proverbial crutch for children’s services, but offered few reassurances for the medium to long-term sustainability of what many see as the most important state function of them all. Failing to...

9th September, 2019

Childrens' Services • Community Power • Public 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, we need to start in the community – to grow...

9th September, 2019

Childrens' Services • Community Power

The number of looked after children has reached a thirty-year high, with spending in this area accounting for over half of spending on children’s services in 2018-19. Despite the injection of an additional £542 million in 2018-19, councils continue...

9th September, 2019

Childrens' Services • Community Power • Public Services

Support the community commissioning agenda and transform the way local authorities interact with communities For almost a decade, local authorities have struggled to manage increasing demand for public services whilst tackling the issues that communities face. As shown in...

13th August, 2019

Community Power • Economy and business

Since publishing The Community Paradigm in February, a question I get asked more than any other is what community-led services look like in practice. Clearly, there is a hunger out there to understand the mechanics of shifting to a...

10th July, 2019

Community Power • Devolution • Strategy and leadership

A new vision for public services in which communities are placed at the heart of delivery was set out in NLGN’s report The Community Paradigm, published in February this year. Our new report published today is called Community Commissioning:...

9th July, 2019

Community Power • Public Services

What is the point of public service inspectorates like Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission? The standard line is that they are there to make sure public sector bodies offer the very best to the communities they serve. But...

9th July, 2019

Community Power • Devolution • Devolution and reorganisation

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 how this shift is happening in practice.

8th July, 2019

Commissioning and Procurement • Community Power • Powerful Communities • Public Services

In February of this year NLGN set out a compelling new vision for public services in The Community Paradigm The report argued that for a preventative approach to public service delivery to be achieved, significant power and resource must...

8th July, 2019

Commissioning and Procurement • Community Power • Public Services

Two weeks ago, after months of hard work, we opened the doors to a brand-new cultural hub in the centre of Wigan. The hub is situated in one of our shopping centres, spread across six empty shopping units. Thinking...

30th May, 2019

Community Power • Strategy and leadership • Wigan

The plight of children’s services is a well-documented one, and it is in some ways a relief to see that organisations such as the Local Government Association are now listing it as the number one challenge facing local authorities....

1st May, 2019

Childrens' Services • Community Power • Public Services

“All adults should always do what is best for you.” – Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, child-friendly version (1989) On the thirtieth anniversary of this landmark Convention, the UK Government is falling...

28th April, 2019

Childrens' Services • Community Power

Nationalise or privatise? That has been a classic dividing line for politicians ever since Margaret Thatcher made the latter a core part of her platform in the 1980s. And even though the big privatisations of state-owned assets are long...

27th March, 2019

Community Power • Democracy • Political Systems • Public Services

Created in 2012 following riots in our inner cities, the Government’s Troubled Families Programme has received praise and criticism in equal measure over the last seven years. Created by the dynamic and straight-talking Dame Louise Casey, it has starkly...

19th March, 2019

Community Power • Public Services • Research Reports

“Thanks for this short bright moment in a very gloomy world” – Silver Sunday guest Last week when I opened the NLGN Annual Conference, I cited “Silver Sunday” as an exemplar of community collaboration in tackling isolation and loneliness...

15th March, 2019

Community Power • Participation and co-production • Public Services

Exploring how councils are working to tackle loneliness.

14th March, 2019

Community Power • Health and social care • Innovation In-depth • Members • Mental health • Wellbeing

‘@adamjlent Two things make Big Picture schools fundamentally different from conventional schools. One is the extent to which students are able to shape their own curriculum and learning journey. The other is the central role of community. Students are...

27th February, 2019

Community Power • Democracy • Public Services

A new approach to public services is gradually emerging on the front-line. Many innovations coming from local government, the health sector, education and social enterprises are flourishing independently of each other, but have at their core one shared feature:...

25th February, 2019

Community Power • Public Services

While the Westminster Bubble obsesses over the daily drama of haggling and brinksmanship over the shape of EU withdrawal, the NLGN Leadership Index reveals new insight into what is actually happening in our country. This quarter, our survey of...

29th January, 2019

Brexit • Community Power • Resilience

20th January, 2019

Community Power • Health and social care • Local government • Members • Partnerships

Insight into how to upskill the workforce in your area and building effective partnerships with the business community.

20th January, 2019

Community Power • Economy and business • Education and skills • Members • Partnerships • Skills

This article first appeared on the Local Government Chronicle website on 7th January 2019. It is generally accepted that doctors should avoid diagnosing their own illnesses and prescribing their own treatments. Evidence supporting this principle comes today with the...

8th January, 2019

Community Power • Health and social care • Public Health

Exploring the development of partnerships between local authorities and social investors.

18th December, 2018

Community Power • Finance • Local government finance • Members • Social investment • Third sector and civil society

Developing deeper relationships with your residents and moving from a transactional relationship to a collaborative one.

20th October, 2018

Community engagement • Community Power • Community Voices • Democracy • Members • Participation and co-production

Exploring the work of local government around local renewable energy generation.

18th October, 2018

Climate change • Community Power • Environment • Infrastructure • Innovation In-depth • Members

On 18 July 2018, NLGN partnered with FutureGov to host our latest Innovation Exchange at their offices in London. All of our Innovation Exchanges produce a detailed Insights Report available exclusively to NLGN members. This is the Foreword to...

12th October, 2018

Community Power • Democracy • Public Services

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 problems. Communities themselves may also need to change their expectations...

20th September, 2018

Community Power

The relationship between councils and communities is shifting. The traditional role of the council as primarily a “service deliver” has diminishing impact in a context of reduced budgets, rising demand and shifting public expectations. There is increasing recognition that...

13th September, 2018

Community Power • Public Services

Exploring the pros and cons of joint ventures, wholly-owned housing delivery companies and council-led delivery.

29th July, 2018

Community Power • Housing • Innovation In-depth • Members • Partnerships

Implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and using this opportunity to innovate.

20th July, 2018

Community Power • Homelessness • Housing • Members • Public Services

Starting with problems, not software and focusing on users’ needs to make the most of new digital tools.

20th June, 2018

Community Power • Digital • Local government reform • Members • Strategy and leadership

Exploring how different councils have approached co-production: where users are equally responsible for shaping a service.

29th May, 2018

Community Power • Innovation In-depth • Members • Participation and co-production • Social Care • Young people • Youth

Whilst recent events have placed emphasis on generational differences– particularly between millennials and older baby-boomers – intergenerational Homeshare schemes are addressing a problem that cuts across the perceived generational divide, and are gaining increased traction among Local Authorities. The...

23rd May, 2018

Community Power • Public Health

We know our staff are our biggest asset and at a time of limited resources we need to ensure we are utilising their full potential. We deploy operational staff in communities every day, collecting the bins, cutting the grass...

30th April, 2018

Community Power • Leadership • Powerful Communities

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 can such an intangible thing be transformed? In this essay...

18th April, 2018

Community Power • Culture • Devolution and reorganisation • Governance • Strategy and leadership • Think Piece

This article first appeared in the LGC on 17 April 2018 The news that the British National Party no longer has any representation in local government following the resignation of its last remaining councillor has been welcomed across the...

18th April, 2018

Community Power • Conservatives

Insight into how to get the right team in place to explore the possibilities of data.

20th March, 2018

Community Power • Data • Members • Strategy and leadership

Exploring how councils are measuring social value and the impact this can have on procurement processes.

29th January, 2018

Budgeting • Commissioning and Procurement • Community Power • Impact • Innovation In-depth • Members • SMEs • Social investment

Exploring how councils are approaching inclusive growth in practice.

29th November, 2017

Community Power • Inclusive Growth • Innovation In-depth • Members • Place building

Exploring how councils can make use of behavioural insights.

20th October, 2017

Behavioural Insights • Childrens' Services • Community Power • Innovation In-depth • Members • Transport