Our quarterly round-up edition of Global Local allows you to revisit your favourite topics – and gives our new readers a chance to catch up. Keep reading for a refresh on our top content from the past year.

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In August, we turned our attention to the global addiction crisis, a public health epidemic with devastating impacts on communities. Our featured briefing covered the lasting legacy of the locally-created Iceland Model for discouraging teen alcohol and drug use, alongside case studies on cities that have turned the tide against gambling and opioid nightmares.

We also focused on global health inequalities in a post-pandemic world, where for many healthcare outcomes have worsened, leading to a new impetus to address the root causes more comprehensively than before. We provided a new long read about local government's key role in addressing this issue, supported by inspiring local policy examples.

Finally, we marked Valentine's Day with a spotlight on local government's role in sexual health services. Sexual health services have faced severe disruption in recent years, leading to alarming and lasting impacts on global gender equality. We featured a briefing with innovative service delivery case studies from the UK and Canada.

Right at the start of the year, we took a look at the changing nature of work. The structural shifts to working patterns post-pandemic, be it remote working or the 'great resignation', have been felt keenly by local government and have presented challenges for workforce planning. Later in the year, we examined the current and future workforce needs of councils and communities to ensure services are delivered and strategic goals are met. The newsletter featured a new paper highlighting various international examples of initiatives to tackle skills and capacity issues.

One of the year’s most pressing issues for local government was the cost of living crisis. Across multiple editions, we explored innovative ways that local government can help to address rising cost of living concerns for the residents in often desperate times.

We showcased how councils have acted on the frontline this year to help their communities with cost-of-living support, through measures like resilience hubs in the U.S. and warm banks in the UK, despite being in financially vulnerable positions themselves.

We also explored steps that local government can take to reduce energy costs and fuel poverty, from energy efficiency initiatives to more radical projects such as district heat networks. We highlighted best practice case studies including Spain's community energy initiatives and the district heat network in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Remembering how far we still have to go in the fight for gender equality, we examined the serious social crises of modern-day slavery and violence against women, highlighting how local government can intervene to identify victims and help them find a new start. Our featured briefings for these editions presented innovative ways we can improve our awareness of modern slavery locally, alongside the work of a Western Australian organisation supporting women suffering financial abuse.

Our International Women's Day edition turned a critical eye to both the role of women in local government and local government's role in supporting women and girls. We featured initiatives to improve women's political participation, plus targeted gender mainstreaming interventions.

We focused on how local government can use procurement powers to improve social outcomes – both locally and throughout the supply chain. Featured examples included ethical ICT procurement recommendations, sustainable food procurement strategies, and policies empowering Indigenous people.

After the launch of the 'Levelling Up' White Paper in the UK, we explored regional inequality and centralisation globally. We outlined insights from a paper on global city-led levelling up best practice and featured a New Zealand case study on the impacts of central-led cuts.

Finally, to celebrate Pride this year we put a spotlight on how municipalities can visibly welcome, support and celebrate their LGBTQIA+ communities. This edition included a fantastic interview with Carl Austin-Behan, Manchester’s first openly gay Mayor and LGBTQ+ Adviser for the current Mayor, who gave advice on organising effective community-led Pride events and how to make LGBTQ+ issues visible in local government all year round.