Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our
communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many innovative programmes councils are involved
in.
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The Energetic Lifestyles project explored young people’s perspectives, in establishing an improved understanding of the perceptions and barriers to energy efficient behaviours among young people and ethnically diverse communities.
In our webinar ‘Climate change: what next for local authorities?’, Manchester City Council set out the communications work it is undertaking to help make Manchester a zero carbon city by 2038.
South Cambridgeshire District Council set up the Zero Carbon Communities (ZCC) Grant scheme to harness local action and enthusiasm, build local community networks and to enable this through a consistent and sustainable funding approach.
Youth Voice is a project taking place in East Suffolk, in the East of England. The initiative forms part of East Suffolk Council’s enabling communities strategy, and is run by the Communities Team.
When Storm Desmond hit the North of England in 2015 it flooded around 100 properties in Wyre. Senior Communications Officer Stephanie Collinson explains how the council delivered much needed communications support to a community in crisis.
As part of wider efforts to improve frontline services for customers, Wrexham’s County Borough Council’s customer service and digital teams worked together to tackle the challenge of helping local people remember their bin collection days. Digital projects officer Huw Ap Dewi explains how collaboration and technology helped make a difference for local people.
Worcestershire County Council declared a climate emergency in July 2021. Under the council’s Sustainability Policy, the council has committed to not only reducing their own operational carbon footprint but also to support businesses and other Worcestershire organisations to improve their environmental performance too.
Worcestershire County Council saw a need to develop improved foresight relating to demands on its health and welfare services in response to the pandemic.
Summary
Worcester City Council turned to its neighbours to learn from the best practice that existed locally. It has now introduced the role of private sector liaison officer to help rebuild its rent deposit guarantee scheme in addition to other initiatives.
In January 2023, Active Wirral, facing soaring energy costs and a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030, initiated a comprehensive energy efficiency project. Through delivering a range of interventions, the project exceeded its targets, avoiding £231K in costs and saving 335 tonnes CO2e, equivalent to driving around the globe 10 times in an SUV. Lessons learned included the importance of planned preventative maintenance, engaging operational staff, showcasing quick returns on investment, leveraging diverse expertise, and utilising automated project management tools. The initiative's success has prompted plans for a second round of interventions across the Council's assets.