Case studies

‘Our Future, Our Bootle’ is Sefton Council’s Area Action Plan (AAP) for Bootle which will set out a clear vision for the town for the next two decades and beyond. The plan will act as a catalyst for further investment in the town, creating more opportunities for local people and businesses. It will also help to secure the homes that people need and want, help address the challenge of climate change, provide good quality open spaces and facilities, seek local environmental improvements as well as securing job opportunities.

As part of the LGA’s Economic Growth Advisers programme Kada Research were commissioned to assess Burnley’s current digital connectivity and what networks, skills and technologies might best support digital growth across the borough. It involved a desk-based review, insights from elsewhere and a business telephone survey with 109 local firms. It culminated in a five-point digital action plan that, when implemented, would place Burnley well to exploit new digital opportunities.

Hartlepool Council’s Economic Growth Team are responsible for directly growing the Hartlepool economy by supporting new and existing businesses. In addition, the team manage the council’s creative industries managed workspace facility ‘The BIS’ which was developed to specifically address the needs of the growing creative sector in Hartlepool. A research study was commissioned to map out a route to enhance and grow opportunities in the creative economy which would add to the ambitions for the BIS to become ‘the home of creativity’ in Hartlepool.

Nottingham City Council have undertaken a survey of the vacancies in the city centre to support its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to develop a long-term vision to diversify its offer to attract more people to live, work and visit the city. The report has highlighted new options that can fill these vacancies to reflect a more diverse city centre. These include creating a night-time economy, as well as new leisure activities whilst increasing the public realm space in the city centre and aligning it to its new vision for its Broadmarsh centre.

There has been a growing interest in ‘civic crowdfunding’ for local authorities. This project sought to work through the options available to councils to raise additional funds for climate work whilst engaging with and involving the community, and potentially increasing community wealth. Through a series of workshops, issues and barriers were investigated in order to produce a tool to aid decision making and prepare the council for delivering alternative finance mechanisms.

Net Zero Now is a one-year project from Cambridge Carbon Footprint which was awarded £15,000 by South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Zero Carbon Communities (ZCC) grant scheme. The Net Zero Now project designed and delivered free training for community action on climate change. It trained 12 individuals to become local ambassadors for climate change. These individuals are now working on initiatives ranging from village hall sustainability, toy and book swaps, bike repair schemes and eco-festivals. The resources developed through the project have been transformed into a free online training course and will help to deliver future in-person and online courses.

The BookTrust’s Storytime Prize aims to build confidence and enjoyment in sharing books with children and encourage visits to the library, by inviting families to explore and vote for their national Storytime prizewinning book.

The Start Well Wheel is a tool for parents/carers to track all appointments and key milestones in their child’s life.

In September 2020 the Home Office agreed to use the disused Napier Barracks in Folkestone to house asylum seekers who had presented in Kent, often having crossed the Channel in dinghies.

In response to rising rates of hate crime, and a desire to make communities more resilient, Nottingham City Council sought to tackle prejudice by equipping people with the skills and confidence to effectively respond to it.