Quarterly Round-up

Each week Global Local focuses on a different topic, highlighting innovative content and insights from LGIU and our members around the world.

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 few months.

In the past quarter, we've applied a local government lens to some of the most pressing issues affecting our places today, with editions on improving air quality, equality for women and girls, and youth participation in democracy.

We've also explored some issues that are often neglected, offering solutions to issues like failing maternity and child healthcare systems and the age of the "permacrisis" and extreme events. We highlighted innovations and questions around the use of emerging technologies in social care, and shone the spotlight on some of the best practice in Nordic local government today.

With every topic we address, we always aim to highlight best practice case studies and fresh thinking and research. If you’d like to get involved and share your story on a global platform, tell us all about your experiences here. And, as always, thank you for reading and supporting Global Local.

Were you sent this Global Local newsletter by a local government colleague? 
Our purpose at LGIU is to keep local government informed, engaged and connected. Subscribe to Global Local and for less than $1 a week and this subscriber-only Global Local newsletter plus access to detailed, topical policy briefings will be sent straight to your inbox each week. Is your organisation already a corporate member? Register with us to find out and potentially get Global Local at no extra cost as part of your membership.

Our most recent edition celebrated International Women's Day 2023, highlighting ways to improve women's participation in local government while considering how councils can help improve the lives of women and girls. We tackled gender mainstreaming in policymaking and planning decisions, and featured an interview with Dr Michelle Maher, Programme Manager of See Her Elected, which works to increase women's participation in Irish local government. Elsewhere, LGIU's Simone Short offered advice on pay negotiations for women, and we showcased some of our favourite examples of cities working to make gender-equal places, from Vienna to Barcelona.

---

This quarter, with the cost-of-living crisis still in the spotlight, we covered an invisible issue closely linked to inequality: Air pollution. Poor air quality is responsible for more deaths annually than smoking and is strongly tied to climate change, alongside issues of housing, transport, education and wellbeing. Our featured briefing took a look at the actions local governments, communities and other non-state actors can take to improve air quality. We showcased case studies on how local governments are trying to tackle the drivers of poor air quality and pollutants in their area, be it through hydrogen, big data or, local campaigns or behavioural nudges. We also took a look at the impact of air quality on inequality and mental health, and featured resources on rural pollution and sustainable transport options for local governments.

Also topical is the concept of "permacrisis", prolonged periods of crisis management that local governments are often at the forefront for. With economic deficits, climate change, the after-effects of the pandemic, and vast income inequality, adaption to future crises rather than solution is likely the way forward for local authorities. Our newsletter starts with a featured piece explaining the concept of permacrisis, the global crises we are experiencing today, and its increased relevance in the 2020s. Further on, we highlight the skills and resources needed to confront and manage such risks, be it new models, systems and operation styles.

In February, we turned our attention to maternal and child healthcare, some of the most crucial public health delivered today. We covered both the important and devastating institutional failures often in forefront of maternal and child healthcare coverage, and some of the exciting and innovative ways local governments are engaging in this sector. Our featured briefing closely examined recent failings in the system in the UK and provides guidance for councillors to better support the wellbeing of children, mothers and families in their local areas. We also showcased some great council policies on generational community support for young families and perinatal mental health support for new mothers.

Elsewhere, we looked at the use of emerging technologies in social care, and how this tech may offer a solution to the issues of ageing populations and the financial and workforce pressures social care systems face. We asked how exactly we can expect technology to revolutionise social care and in what forms, be it machine learning, remote monitoring or an AI-powered robot named Pepper. At the same time, we explored how these technologies can be implemented in a responsible and ethical way. A new blog from LGIU Head of Content Ingrid Koehler detailed her experiences with a failed social care tech project, and a case study from the London Bi-Borough looked at their successes in providing SEN services.

---

In January, we cast the spotlight on all things Nordic local government. Famed for their strong welfare states and high degree of social trust, we highlighted the successes of local governance in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. Our newsletter examined how these countries are responding to global challenges such as climate change, ageing populations and more. Our featured briefing provided an overview of how Finnish councils are responding to the centralisation of health services. Elsewhere, we cover the so-called 'Nordic Model', libraries, addiction treatment, and a Swedish town that uses trained crows to pick up cigarette butts. Yep, trained crows.

More recently, we examined young peoples' relationship with democracy in 2023. We know that in many democracies, there is concern that young people are disengaging from politics and losing faith in liberal democracy. But at the same time, many major political movements are being led and fought for by young people, not to mention everyday activism. The challenge for democracies, and local government in particular, is to encourage youth engagement in representative democracy while also integrating less traditional forms of political participation. Our featured briefing this week offered a global perspective on whether young people are losing faith in democracy, in addition to innovations from Tunisia and the US on improving youth engagement.

---

Interested in more Global Local content?

---

Thanks for reading!

Next week, we’ll be looking at the issues of digital poverty and rural broadband.

Have a story to share? Get in touch!

---

Copyright © 2022 LGiU, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
LGiU
251 Pentonville Road
London, N1 9NG
United Kingdom
Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails? Why not update your preferences to pick and choose the type of alerts you receive. You can unsubscribe from this list (but doing so will mean that you will not receive any content from us, including LGiU daily news and other LGiU policy briefings).