Category Archives: Local government

Unlocking local capacity – local authority entrepreneurship

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By Hywel Lloyd, OPM senior fellow.

Hywel LloydThis is the latest in a series of posts in anticipation of new research from OPM about what local government can do to unlock local capacity. To find out more about the free evening seminar on Tuesday 21 February where the research will be launched, click here.

Across the country local authorities are engaged in massive change. On one hand they are seeking to balance budgets in light of significant changes to their central grant; on the other, they are looking to ‘unlock’ capacity that exists in their locality. This local capacity can take many forms. Continue reading →

Simple but powerful: making community leadership work in practice

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By Phil Copestake, OPM principal.

Phil CopestakeThis is the latest in a series of posts in anticipation of new research from OPM about what local government can do to unlock local capacity. To find out more about the free evening seminar on Tuesday 21 February where the research will be launched, click here.

When looking to unlock the capacity of local communities, local councils find nothing is more fundamentally important than the language they use. This was one of the points that struck me most powerfully at a really excellent, wide-ranging debate last week at the RSA, to launch the 2020 Public Services Hub’s evaluation of Sunderland City Council’s community leadership programme.

In amidst thoughtful opinions offered by amassed luminaries including the RSA’s own Matthew Taylor and head of volunteering charity CSV Lucy de Groot, the leader and chief exec of Sunderland both made telling points based on their practical experience.  Continue reading →

What can ‘the beautiful game’ teach us about how to unlock local capacity?

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By Sarah McDonnell, OPM senior researcher, with an introduction from Phil Copestake, OPM principal.

Sarah McDonnellAt OPM we know that whatever councillors and officers in local government feel about ‘open public services’ and ‘the big society’, few disagree that with much less money available, local authorities must find a way of unlocking the energy and capacity of local people. Each council is tackling this in a different way.

On Tuesday 21st February we’ll be launching a report based on brand new research with councils across England. The report will give an in-depth, wide-ranging picture of the practical ways in which local authorities are going about the difficult but vital task of unlocking local capacity.

We’ve got a fantastic panel of speakers at the launch event, including the Mayor of Newham Robin Wales, Stuart Etherington from NCVO, the leader of Oxfordshire County Council Keith Mitchell, and Matthew Gott, a senior director from complex families pioneers Swindon. The seminar will be in the early evening, in Central London, and is free, but places are strictly limited. If you’re interested in coming then please email seminars@opm.co.uk.

In the run-up to the 21st February there will be lots of posts on this blog offering different perspectives on how best to unlock local capacity, from the point of view of councils, residents and communities themselves, and local voluntary groups. To kick things off (the first of many puns: you have been warned) we have OPM’s Sarah McDonnell asking: what can local councillors and officers learn from the leadership strategies of managers from the world of… Premier League football! Continue reading →

From compliance to judgement: trusting more, controlling less

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By Sue Goss, OPM principal.

Sue GossLocal authorities – like many other public services – often struggle to move beyond the rhetoric when it comes to taking a common sense approach to managing risk. OPM’s recent work with the London Borough of Ealing provides an example of how turning the traditional ‘top down’ view of management upside down can help to identify practical steps to empower frontline staff.

Last week I was working with the Council’s Senior Leaders Forum – their top 80 or so managers – to think about the transition ‘From Compliance to Judgement’, or how a council like Ealing can shake off the sheer weight of bureaucracy and procedure that slows us down. The Munro Report has brought the issue back on the agenda – arguing that we have created compliance cultures that get in the way of good professional practice (Munro focused on children’s services, but the lessons hold across the piece). Ealing had a particularly good story to tell – about their ‘riot recovery’ work.

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The 21st Century local authority – how will you make decisions about yours?

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By Hywel Lloyd, OPM senior fellow

Hywel LloydLocal authorities across the country are getting to grips with continued budget pressures, and the consequences of wider policy changes. These changes reflect the concept of the diffusion of innovation (Everett, R. 1962) – some authorities are creating new ways of working and organising, others are adopting some of their solutions, while many are watching and learning to see which approaches are successful and applicable to their circumstances. Continue reading →

How collaboration can help address local delivery challenges

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By Hywel Lloyd, OPM senior fellow.

Hywel LloydI recently had the pleasure to be involved in a two-day workshop hosted by the Institute for Government, part of a wider set of initiatives which make up ‘Transforming the Civil Service’ programme.  Although the event focused on Whitehall, the issues of running effective services (and other interventions) for the public good are as, if not more, relevant to local leaders.

The event looked at reducing re-offending, and local adaptation to climate change. From the insights generated on the two days it is possible to draw out a number of key lessons that can be applied locally in any process of reviewing and redesigning local services in a time of austerity. Continue reading →

Practical tips to overcome the challenges facing public sector mutuals: event report

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By Phil Copestake, OPM’s head of communications.

Phil CopestakeLast week saw OPM’s Spinning Out Mutuals fringe event at the National Children and Adult Services (NCAS) conference. The session was really successful, with a packed room at the cavernous ExCel centre, excellent speakers (well, apart from yours truly) and a lively debate. For those who couldn’t make it, I thought I’d post a few of the best practical tips mentioned for overcoming the genuine challenges facing those wishing to ‘spin out’ public sector mutuals. The important contribution that events like this make to raising awareness of mutuals was underlined by Jesse Norman MP:

The short inquiry report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Employee Ownership, which I chair, emphasised how important it is that the Government’s mutuals programme is better understood and viewed as a means to drive real improvements in our communities. Organisations like OPM play an important role in building awareness about mutuals and helping to create the capacity for change. Only by understanding the real life experiences of people who have already started down this route – such as the speakers and participants at this NCAS event – can we capitalise on the tantalizing possibility of public sector mutuals.

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There’s more to commissioning than cost

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By Judith Smyth, OPM director.

Judith SmythWorking with local authorities and others to help them improve their commissioning, I have encountered a lot of confusion about what specifications can and should contain.

In some places there is a view that lowest cost is the only thing that matters. But this can result in decisions that conflict with corporate vision and strategy and unintended consequences for communities, the environment and the economy. Continue reading →

Making the case for mutuals: three key ingredients

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By Phil Copestake, OPM’s head of communications.

Phil CopestakeAs my colleague Hilary noted in her post last week, questions are being asked about whether the Coalition’s grand ambitions for developing staff-owned mutuals in the public sector can be fulfilled. The national picture may be mixed, but when it comes to individual local areas it all boils down to whether you can make the case (and whether there’s a case to be made, of course).

In advance of OPM’s Spinning Out Mutuals fringe event at the National Children and Adult Services conference – which is free to attend – I thought I’d road-test what seem to be some of the key ingredients for checking whether a mutual is right for you, your service and your community. (I’m also going to speaking about public service mutuals at an EU-sponsored conference in Brussels, next Tuesday, so if you’re able to offer your thoughts on this post in the comments box, or via Twitter @philblogs, then you’ll be doing me a considerable service!) 

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An Indian summer for public service mutuals?

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By Hilary Thompson, OPM chief executive.

Hilary ThompsonOver the spring and summer there was less media interest in public service mutuals and perhaps less actual new interest on the ground. But as England enjoys an Indian summer, we’re expecting interest to increase again.

At national level, there have been many questions about whether we yet have the right climate for public service mutuals in this country (as illustrated by Co-operatives UK’s report on international comparisons). Continue reading →