Tag: Democracy

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

We spoke to TPXimpact’s Claire Hazelgrove about the importance of giving everyone a voice in change and the practical tips to help the public sector embrace community power.

21st March, 2022

Community engagement • Community Voices • Democracy • Events • Stronger Things

Grace Pollard explores how organisations can ask themselves: How are we listening? Who are we listening to? And does our listening lead to action?

31st January, 2022

Community engagement • Community Power • Culture • Democracy • Local government

Ideas and reflections centred around three main challenges: building trust with communities; creating an organisational culture that values and enables community deliberation; and ensuring that councils are engaging with and hearing from all their communities.

1st September, 2021

Community engagement • Community Power • Culture • Democracy

During lockdown, there was a surprising increase in local participation - demonstrating the positive role of community power in emergencies.

16th August, 2021

Community Power • Councils Respond • Democracy • Mutual Aid

Six key factors to consider when setting up a commission that will help you maximise impact.

22nd June, 2021

Commissioning and Procurement • Democracy • Devolution and reorganisation • Political Economy • Strategy and leadership

All over the world, people are coming together to make decisions on some of the major issues we're facing today. But what is the potential for real consensus vs conflict? And does this modish form of community power have...

11th May, 2021

Citizens Assemblies • Community engagement • Community Power • Democracy • Local government • Long read

Local government can seem complicated, but it's where local democracy happens. We start our explainer series by looking at the different types of council in England and what they do.

5th May, 2021

Democracy • Devolution • Devolution and reorganisation • Explainer • Local government

Pivoting from the short-term emergency response to Covid-19 towards long-term organic community development.

24th February, 2021

Community Power • Culture • Democracy • Members • Strategy and leadership

Experiences of engaging communities - both successes and initiatives that didn't work as well as hoped.

15th June, 2020

Community engagement • Community Power • Culture • Democracy • Members

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 to the OECD the world is heading for a...

24th March, 2020

Community Power • Covid-19 • Democracy

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. My most terrifying duty as Head of Economics at...

31st December, 2019

Democracy • Economy and business • Employment • Public Services

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 paper, major new funding for infrastructure, money for towns...

13th December, 2019

Community Power • Conservatives • Democracy • Public Services

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'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

Participative approaches are popular - but they often fail to be truly inclusive Alex Fox OBE, who leads the revolutionary Shared Lives community carer scheme, shares his two lessons for making sure people with disabilities and other excluded groups...

30th October, 2019

Democracy • Participation and co-production • Political Systems

Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings have got MPs exactly where they want them: defending Parliament. They may cast this right now as a battle between an executive that wants to deliver on the referendum result and a legislature that...

28th August, 2019

Brexit • Democracy • Politics

In May’s local elections, 10 areas took part in a trial requiring people to show some form of identification before casting their vote. The downside of this, we now know, was that some 750 people were denied their chance...

6th August, 2019

Democracy • Political Systems

A week ago, the UK reached its hottest recorded temperature. Over the weekend half a month’s rain fell in one hour. On Tuesday, major flooding hit Yorkshire. And yesterday, the Met Office confirmed that the UK’s 10 hottest years...

1st August, 2019

Climate change • Democracy • Environment • Participation and co-production

Happy local election day! In the unique way of our quirky local democratic traditions, a complicated collection of nearly all English metropolitan boroughs, most district councils and some unitaries are holding elections today. Across the country, pavements have been...

2nd May, 2019

Brexit • Democracy • Political Systems • Politics

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

‘@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

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

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

Community participation in local government initiatives has become an imperative globally, including the UK, since it lies at the core of democratic values. Nonetheless, it continues to be a challenge, and it is often implemented in very limited ways,...

3rd February, 2018

Democracy • Leadership • Participation and co-production

In order to start a conversation between local and national leaders in advance of the manifesto writing process, NLGN have produced a collection of political essays from council leaders and influencers from all the main parties.

17th September, 2013

Democracy • Research Reports

This collection brings together four essays on the history of local government. Bermondsey, Birmingham, Liverpool and London provide the stage and politicians from each of the major political parties take leading roles.

3rd July, 2013

Democracy • Devolution and reorganisation

The return of public health to local government is probably the biggest single transfer of new responsibilities for decades. Many in the sector are justifiably excited by the change though analysts are already flagging emerging challenges. At this time...

22nd May, 2013

Democracy • Health and social care

Local councils of the future may undergo a process of ‘Californication’ as they respond to budget cuts, new analysis predicts. A report published today by localism think tank the New Local Government Network (NLGN) outlines three new models for...

7th September, 2011

Democracy • Research Reports

Proposals to make new elected Police Commissioners more accountable to broader local democratic government and their local communities are published in this new NLGN paper

16th November, 2010

Democracy • Research Reports

Cities and their surrounding areas could be governed by elected mayors with wide-ranging powers over tax, policing and health according to plans outlined in a new report. With David Cameron committed to referendums on elected city mayors in 12...

25th January, 2010

Democracy • Research Reports