Creating meaningful partnerships between councils and their communities requires honest dialogue and serious commitment to building trust, writes Neil Gibson

Local authorities across the country are engaged in a process of transformation. Whether the focus is on managing expectations, or delivery of services or governance, at all levels there is strong motivation to innovate and create new models of working, to turn local authorities into leaner, more vigorous organisations.

For many councils, devolving services is the answer to shrinking budgets and rising demand. Changing the relationship between communities and their councils is fundamental to the creation of new post-austerity models for council services. While devolution will be a big driving force over the term of the next government, community responsibility will be a game changer on the ground.