It was my first time at a Solace annual conference, and I’ll be back again. It felt like many more people are ready to think about radical public service solutions and deeper civic engagement – there was a sense of real receptivity to what some of the leading authorities are saying and doing. David McNulty, CEO […]
A good session was had at UKGovcamp on developing local capacity for innovation. We had some very experienced folk in the room which allowed us to see ways through all the challenges and barriers! There are a number of features to the discussion worth covering, but as a headline we achieved the central UKGovcamp goal […]
As we approach UKGovcamp on Saturday, I was wondering about the big “how do we make stuff happen” question. An NLGN survey of 65 councils on innovation found that 90% say they lack the skills needed to implement new ideas successfully, but paradoxically they still expect to generate 50% of the necessary savings through innovation […]
I’ve been wanting to write something about what’s been happening for me for a while .. here goes. Early last year the opportunity to apply for voluntary redundancy came up at Brighton & Hove City Council where I had been working for 6 years. The way it works is that you can put an application […]
It’s been good to see the recent flurry of talk about a GDS for local government. I agree with those who have said it’s too hard to create a team like the central government one in terms of securing the mandate, buy-in and funding. And I’m very much with the sentiment from Anthony Zach that […]
The news keeps on coming about continued pressure on local government finances. In the article, “LGA warns councils could face ‘financial meltdown‘”, we see that the Local Government Association suggest an expected “black hole” of around 15% of the required budgets for 2015/16. Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chair is quoted, Over the past three years [councils] have […]
Devices coming out of your ears? I’m sure loads of people think the same. Why have I got a Blackberry *and* and iPhone jangling around in my pockets? Isn’t it both inconvenient and a serious waste of money and resources? I’d much prefer it if I could just use my iPhone for work as well […]
