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.
If you have a case study you'd like to share here, please get in
touch. Please use our case
study template when submitting a case study.
This case study forms part of the publication, Bespoke support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, an evaluation on the impact consequence for local authorities and councils of delivering bespoke support to autistic people and people with a learning disability, including people who have been detained under the Mental Health Act (or at risk of being detained).
Research published in The Lancet in 2018 (Morgan et al) found that there is an elevated risk of suicide in older people who self-harm, yet older people do not always get access to specialist care. This case study was done jointly with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and forms part of our suicide prevention resource.
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding (SHDF) provided an opportunity for Milton Keynes City Council to develop a methodology for energy efficiency upgrades that would be scalable whilst utilising a street-level approach with Mears Group plc.
Ealing council's COVID-19 Vaccine Working Group made important decisions through analysing data on vaccine uptake in the borough to engage communities from low socio-economic groups and ethnic minority backgrounds.
Cornwall Council have been using the Cornwall Development and Decision Wheel (CDDW) for cabinet decisions since September 2019. The CDDW is based on Doughnut Economics. It has been used to illustrate the positive and negative impacts of the decision being proposed in an easily accessible form that draws decision-makers to key issues that may require further debate, mitigation or even cancellation. Three years into using the CDDW, we have revisited them to understand what Cornwall Council have learnt from embedding it in Cabinet and other decisions and the impact it has had.
Cheltenham Borough Council has deployed its Climate Impact Assessment Tool within internal decision making processes to ensure new projects and policies are aligned with the Council's commitment to climate action. The tool is designed to enable officers and decision-makers to easily evaluate the environmental and social impacts of projects and policies from the very start of decision-making and project development processes. This 'from day one' approach results in more robust, climate-friendly projects and earlier opportunities to mitigate and improve the social and climate impacts of the Council's projects.
Art UK’s unprecedented photography and digitisation project has resulted in the UK’s collection of over 14,000 public sculptures and monuments being freely available to view and search online for the first time ever.
Gloucestershire County Council has taken a dynamic and innovative approach to recruitment and retention of social workers which has driven increased stability in the workforce to achieve better outcomes for children, young people and their families.
Wiltshire Council has committed to being a carbon neutral organisation by 2030, such a bold ambition required an equally bold Climate Strategy. A key part of the strategy was ensuring the community weren’t just passengers but were involved in driving policy. To ensure they brought the community with them, the Council developed an engagement strategy to reach a broad demographic, with a focus on those not engaged in the climate agenda. The strategy saw them publish a Climate Strategy Discussion document, then engage the community through webinars, consultations, an electronic survey and face to face events with residents, schools and disability groups, all supported by coverage from all major local media.
Warwick District Council have been awarded funding as part of a ‘Project Group’ programme to develop and deliver their rural community engagement programme. The first stage has seen them develop and deliver a training programme on community engagement practices with local community groups, key officers and Members. They are now in phase two of the programme, which will see them take this same programme and deliver it to rural communities.