Innovation
The road to stability
Tris Dyson says it’s time for Government to lead on innovation, to bolster financial resilience and improve access to jobs – and councils are best-placed to connect services.
Taking action on air pollution
Can air quality be improved through the power of good collective decision-making, facilitated by digital technology? Ann McGauran reports on a recent experiment.
Instagram leads to investment in our cities
Urban leaders need to better understand their online brand, as cities with fewer mentions across social media and online news tend to attract less investment, says Cllr John Merry.
A unique moment in time
At The MJ’s recent Future Forum, BT outlined the immense opportunities digital and online services are currently offering councils – and the chance for true innovation must be taken.
Can local government continue at this pace?
Managing Director and Client Partner for Capita Local Public Services Paul Abraham says that now is a great opportunity to rethink how we deliver services to citizens.
LGA insists in-person peer reviews will continue for now
Local Government Association (LGA) peer reviews will continue to be held in person despite a call for them to switch back to virtual delivery.
Village hall to be used to house homeless
A village hall will be converted into homes for the homeless in a scheme that is thought to be a first in the UK.
Is funding meeting councils’ needs on decarbonationisation?
Analysis by Nesta raises some questions about the effectiveness of competitive grant funding schemes to support local authorities’ role in home decarbonisation, says Madeleine Gabriel.
Eight post-pandemic digital trends for 2021 and beyond
Tim Pitts outlines eight post-pandemic digital trends. He says that one thing is clear; ‘The COVID-19 legacy will be far reaching across local government’.
How digital disruption can deliver better futures
Disrupting youth crime and exploitation through technology provides a chance to find and support the vulnerable and achieve radical change, say Dr Carol Homden, Amanda Kelly and Tim Aldridge.
Innovating for a fairer start
Early years and education is one of Nesta’s three focus areas for the next decade. Tom Symons outlines how they are partnering with three councils for trial discovery projects to improve school readiness levels.
Creating an imagining culture
Building ‘a more open, transparent, free-thinking culture where imagination thrives within our teams’ is crucial, and is especially important during the pandemic, argues Professor Donna Hall CBE.
Greater Manchester’s healthy case for digital innovation
COVID-19 is accelerating digital health and social care innovation in Greater Manchester, including work to understand the support needed by Troubled Families, and to help care homes track cases of the virus, says Lou Cordwell.
Throwing out ‘business as usual’
Innovation Unit’s Seb Chapleau outlines how Greater Manchester plans to keep new and nimble ways of working post-COVID.
Ambitions for Glasgow City Region undimmed by COVID
COVID may have brought delays to Glasgow’s £1bn City Deal infrastructure programme, but the region remains committed to all 21 projects, says Kevin Rush.
‘This was liberation’
Daisy Carter of the Innovation Unit outlines how COVID disruption inspired new ways of working in Greater Manchester.
How COVID confirmed Greater Manchester’s focus on people not programmes
Daisy Carter outlines how the citizen experience across Greater Manchester changed during COVID and shows the impact of ‘doing things quite differently’.
Learning from innovation in a crisis: Greater Manchester
The disruption of COVID has given Greater Manchester the chance to ‘design back differently,’ say David Jackson and Julie Temperley of the Innovation Unit.
Listening to and acting on young people’s lockdown stories
Innovation Unit has drawn up a set of recommendations for any local authority to build an ecosystem of support for the wellbeing of young people, says Daisy Carter.
The 2020s offer us the opportunity to truly realise the potential of places
When local government puts civil society at the heart of what they do, it brings democracy closer to the people, argues the Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees.
