‘The question is how are we going to make this place better, not just how do we improve performance on police measures.' So said a superintendent we interviewed for Collaborate's new report, Building Collaborative Places.

This was a sentiment echoed across the public sector in the places we visited – Oldham, Coventry and Essex – and also by leaders of business and the voluntary sector. In these and many other places, the reality of ongoing austerity, rising demand for services and increasingly visible social divisions in our communities is prompting a radical re-think of how we improve local outcomes.