What should the next decade of local government look like? That’s a question that is neither being asked enough nor elicits a single response.

Think-tank Demos’ new Public Services Network was set up in part to answer this question – and it appears to be settling on the importance of relational approaches that put communities at the heart of services. The Social Market Foundation has made a similar attempt to sketch out the next decade of public service reform, though its vision for local government more resembles a Whitehall department. It advocates for ‘user-focused’ services’– similar to Demos – alongside a greater use of evidence and technology.