Civic Leadership and Innovation report

LESSONS FROM ABROAD – NEW REPORT ON CIVIC LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION

"With local authorities staring into the abyss of the spending gap, there has never been a better time for the public sector to enhance its effectiveness by developing innovative approaches to problem solving. This is the topic of the latest report from the Local Authority Research Council Initiative (LARCI), " said Professor John Benington Warwick Business School.

With examples ranging from civic responses to climate change in Sweden, to regional civic innovation in New York, the report illustrates inventive approaches taken by other countries to issues of real interest to local authorities in the UK.

Cllr Richard Kemp of the Local Government Association said: "This Scoping Study of the new possibilities for civic leadership will be of value to all who are interested in widening their horizons. Both stimulating and useful, it offers many practical ideas and suggestions"

‘International Insights on Civic Leadership and Public Service Innovation’, provides advice on how to use international exchange to advance the understanding and practice of civic leadership and public service innovation in local governance. Researchers in the Cities Research Centre at the University of the West of England, Bristol have worked closely with a Steering Group of experienced practitioners to throw new light on the innovation agenda confronting public services in the UK.

The report suggests that imaginative civic or ‘place-based’ leadership can make a significant contribution to the development of the innovative capacity of local service providers. Three overlapping ‘realms of civic leadership’ are distinguished – political, managerial and community. The analysis suggests that the areas of overlap between these realms provide ‘innovation zones’ in which new ideas and approaches can be tried out. The report includes several illustrative examples of creative civic leadership in other countries:

• Regional civic innovation in the Capital District, New York, USA
• The civic leadership response to climate change in Malmo, Sweden
• Urban leadership and community involvement in Enschede, The Netherlands
• Participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil
• The planning and participatory programme in Medellin, Colombia

These ‘cameos’ demonstrate how place-based, collaborative leadership can bring about significant innovation in practice. The report concludes with a series of suggestions on how to improve approaches to civic leadership and public service innovation in the UK.

International Insights on Civic Leadership and Public Service Innovation, by Robin Hambleton, Jo Howard, Michael Buser and Marilyn Taylor, was published by the Local Authority Research Council Initiative (LARCI) in June 2009 and can be downloaded at www.larci.org.uk.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

• Professor Robin Hambleton (Tel: 0117 328 3195, email:Robin.Hambleton@uwe.ac.uk )

RCUK PRESS OFFICE
o Chloe Somers (Tel: 01793 444 592, email:chloe.somers@rcuk.ac.uk)

LARCI SECRETARIAT:
o Victoria Morrisroe (Tel: 01793 413163, email: victoria.morrisroe@esrc.ac.uk)
o Dr Andrea Turner (Tel: 01793 413 121, email: andrea.turner@esrc.ac.uk)

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. This release is based on an Scoping Study on Civic Leadership and Public Service Innovation, which was sponsored by LARCI. The study was conducted by Professor Robin Hambleton and his team in the Cities Research Centre at the University of the West of England reporting in June 2009.
2. The Civic Leadership Steering Group for this study was chaired by Councillor Richard Kemp, European and International Portfolio Holder, Local Government Association. Members included representatives of: Communities and Local Government (CLG), Local Authority Research Council Initiative (LARCI), Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), Whitehall Innovation Hub, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, Community Sector Coalition, European Association of Local Authority Chief Executives (UDITE) and University of Twente, The Netherlands
3. Advisers from 18 foreign countries contributed to the study.
4. LARCI acts as a conduit between Local Authority and Research Councils funded researchers, responding to the growing demand on Local Authorities for evidence-based policy making. It scopes future research requirements through a series of rapid reviews which it then uses to lever involvement from other partners. LARCI facilitates ambitious research programmes which address critical future issues for the sector and links researchers and practitioners through networks and communities of practise.
5. LARCI is sponsored by a consortium including the Research Councils, the Audit Commission, Communities and Local Government, the Improvement and Development Agency, the Local Government Association and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)