local government & public services
public sector management | contracting | commissioning | service delivery | devolution | planning | community services | public policy | planning | public spending | voluntary sector | private sector
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Transforming Communities
Tomorrow's Communities must be empowered to act for themselves and in partnership with public services and government.
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Flourishing Neighbourhoods
It is misleading and unhelpful to describe communities as 'left behind' - instead we need to think how we will grow Neighbourhood Democracy.
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Paint Your Town Red
David Towell reviews a new book describing the realities of the Preston model.
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Improve Health by Growing Community
Our health is damaged by isolation, inequality and powerlessness, so we must reconnect people by conscious community development
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The Macroeconomic Case Against NHS Privatisation
The economic case for privatisation of the NHS and other public services is false, in fact privatisation is economically dangerous.
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Cities and Communities Beyond COVID-19
A review of Robin Hambleton's Cities and Communities Beyond COVID-19 the timely and impressive sequel to Leading the Inclusive City.
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Welcoming Refugees into Our Communities
Steph Farr explains how we might be able to change hearts and minds to ensure communities welcome refugees and others who need our help.
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How Have We Misconceived the NHS?
David Zigmond argues that government is forcing the NHS to adopt the worst features of neoliberalism and communism.
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Rekindling Democracy
Cormac Russell's inspiring book describes the limitations of current models of public policy and offers a positive community model in their place.
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Closer to Home
Amy-Grace Whillans-Welldrake reports on the progress of Greater Manchester devolution and explores the possibility and desire for even deeper devolution.
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Public Spending in Sheffield
Joshua Shepherd analysed public spending in Sheffield in order to understand the impact of the UK's centralised system on local communities.
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Does COVID-19 mark the end for markets in the NHS?
UK Government response to the COVID-19 is an implicit acknowledgement of the limitations and dangers of a marketised healthcare system.
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The Upstream Response to COVID-19
Dr Simon Duffy sets out some key principles to guide local communities as they develop their response to the COVID-19 crisis.
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Buurtzorg and Self-Management
Buurtzorg is a powerful social innovation, started in the Netherlands, which enables self-management and continuity of care.
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Self-Direction Worldwide
Lynn Breedlove observes the competing conceptions of self-directed support emerging around the world.
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Learning from Penzance Citizens Panel
Gavin Barker shares lessons learnt from the recent Penzance Citizens Panel on Housing, Homelessness and Low Pay.
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Social Work Writing and Bureaucracy
Why has writing reports, plans, case notes and assessments come to dominate everyday social work, often at the price of real social work practice?
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Why I Wrote Second Class Citizens
Stef Benstead found that many people, like Christian Conservatives, care about poverty but have false beliefs about why it exists, this inspired her to write Second Class…
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Dissent from Consensus
Bureaucracies and regulatory control systems undermine important social innovations such as person-centred planning.
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NHS Reform: Money Can't Buy Love
David Zigmond argues that more money alone won't restore the NHS to the values of its birth. The NHS needs more trust, freedom and cooperation.
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Private Firms Can Serve the Public
Gary Wootton explains how the state can overcome the limitations of markets by creating procurement systems that promote equality.
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The Partner State
Reimagining care with the Commons and peer to peer (P2P) alternatives.
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Canaries in the Coal Mine
Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service (NCVS) share their 2019 report on the state of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Gateshead and Newcastle.
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Social Value Policy and Framework
This policy sets out the legal context for social value and an approach a council could adopt to deliver social value through commissioning and procurement activities.