The Covid-19 pandemic has put the spotlight on the enduring question of the optimal degree of concentration versus dispersion of powers and the different ways in which this seemingly elusive optimum can be achieved. But, how are systems of territorial governance organised and how can we compare them? The latest in our Post-Covid Councils work…
Limerick City and County Council has been recognised by the internationally renowned US foundation Bloomberg Philanthropies for the Council’s work in local government innovation. In this blog, we cover the story of how Limerick’s commitment to innovation in service delivery led them to become the first Irish city to feature in the publication.
In March, a social action charity in Oxford City set up Oxford Together, a community response volunteering programme, and Oxford City Council joined these grassroots efforts. Storytelling was used as an evaluation methodology, and remarkable stories emerged – the key learning themes of which are highlighted here.
LGIU Scotland’s Kim Fellows is in conversation with Josie Saunders from Scottish Canals to talk about recent research by Glasgow Caledonian University which, in a global first, shows the extent of the positive impact canal investment has on the local community around it.
Problems implementing the new Covid restrictions are of the Government’s own making. Mayors and local leaders are articulating alternatives that show we can reassess our centralised approach to power and governance
Joe Mitchell is a long-time friend of LGIU’s through several years of work on the local elections in his former role at Democracy Club. Joe is now freelance and still working on democratic renewal. We asked him to summarise some of his latest thoughts for Local Democracy Week alongside our long read on keeping elections…
In the latest of our Post-Covid Councils framework, this time looking at the location of power, Joseph Ward, Doctoral Researcher in POLSIS at the University of Birmingham, outlines how dealing with Covid-19 and the implementation of local lockdowns has shifted power in the central-local government relationship and how local and regional governments might intervene on…
Kathie Pollard, Policy Officer at the Scottish Land Commission, blogs about the recent recommendations made by the Vacant and Derelict Land Taskforce.
Janet Sillett breaks down the new three tier Covid-19 alert system after the Prime Minister’s recent announcement and the consequent implications for local governments.
Obama Foundation Young Leader and Harrow councillor Peymana Assad speaks with LGIU’s Ingrid Koehler about her journey into politics, how she maintains her motivation and what the pandemic has taught us about the importance of local leadership.