The aftermath of the elections is upon us, member induction has started and a lot of new councillors are seeking to change the ‘world’ (or at least their wards). Different political balances or changes in political leadership mean that the role of chief executives becomes a new ‘job’.

To add to the changed role, many district councils moved from election by thirds to all-out elections as well as reducing in size by up to a third. This is another facet of councils’ transformation work, ensuring the size of council balances the democratic and organisational requirements. So what will the future hold? Apart from the need to look at decisions which have been timed to be made after the elections, there is a widespread cultural move in councils to become more commercial in approach.

Becoming more commercial is more than a mantra. It is essential the transferable practices of the commercial sector are embraced by the public sector, particularly where better value for money is provided. This requires both member and officer development programmes to reflect the different skills and competences required as well as ensuring there is a channel of information to share learning from other organisations in whatever sector, ie not just the commercial approach.