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Design in the public sector programme

Delivered in partnership between the LGA and Design Council, the Design in Public Sector programme (DIPS) equips councils with design skills and methods to apply to their toughest local climate challenges and most ambitious aspiration or mission.

Climate change hub

Delivered in partnership between the LGA and Design Council, the Design in Public Sector programme (DIPS) equips councils with design skills and methods to apply to their toughest local climate challenges and most ambitious aspiration or mission.

The aims of the Design in the Public Sector Programme are to:

  • Build cross-sector partnerships that collaboratively explore climate challenges locally to generate demonstrator projects
  • Build design skills and capabilities within the council and across partners, to reduce the impact of climate change, through mitigation or adaptation
  • Deliver an accelerated learning experience for local authorities
  • Create new insights and evidence to generate solutions
  • Enable new ways of working with partners and stakeholders
  • Create a community of practice around climate action across the sector sharing best practice, insight and key learning
  • To use the evidence and insight generated around climate action to inform policy recommendations

We are working with the following councils on a number of innovative climate change projects:

  • City of London Corporation: Working with surrounding councils in the creation of a Riverside Strategy for raising the Thames flood defences
  • Ealing Council and Slough Borough Council: Supporting local businesses to understand and measure their carbon accounting
  • Kent County Council and Canterbury Council: Working together to produce a climate action plan 
  • Cheshire West and Chester Council: Working with residents to review and co-produce the Council’s Climate Emergency Response plan and facilitate continued resident engagement
  • Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils: Engaging with communities to get them involved in understanding the biodiversity in their local areas and working with them to identify supportive activity that they could lead or take part in
  • Plymouth City Council :Delivering a citywide network of mobility hubs, offering low or zero carbon transport options
  • Surrey County Council and LB Richmond upon Thames: Supporting a shift to a procurement process that incorporates environmental considerations and building in a circular economy
  • St Helens Council: Designing a Green Recovery Strategy and Action Plan with a focus on economic growth and environmental sustainability
  • Kendal Town Council and South Lakeland District Council: Working with the Kendal Climate Change Citizens Jury to action recommendations following their assembly on ‘What should Kendal do about Climate Change’

As their projects progress, we will update the webpage with further information and shared learning. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]