On a frosty January morning at Banbury train station, ten local government officers gathered around to hear what was to come over the next six months. LG Challenge 2019 had officially begun!
With a warm welcome, Cherwell District Council’s Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Rees introduced the task: “How can public services work together more effectively to deliver healthy places across Oxfordshire?” The contestants had 24 hours to develop an action plan – no easy feat.
In a characteristically packed first day, the teams started with a fast-paced speed dating session with local stakeholders, followed by an afternoon of site visits. A networking dinner in the evening provided time to speak to council officers and hear from LG Challenge 2014 winner Graeme Kane, now Chief Operating Officer at Cherwell DC. Feeling inspired (if not a little overwhelmed), the teams retreated to their hotel rooms to work into the night. The next morning, teams juggled early site visits and a chance to test ideas with the Oxfordshire Strategic Delivery Board including both councils’ leaders, with finalising their proposals ahead of the rapidly approaching deadline and presentations to judges.
Team Ignite were up first to present their ‘Change Makers’ idea - a team of people already active in the community who would use their existing knowledge of Oxfordshire to engage all sections of the community to become involved locally. In return the Change Makers would be able to access accreditations and training opportunities.
Team Thrive’s ‘Healthy Places are Everyone’s Business’ proposed that local businesses would get involved in the community and earn accreditations based on how they adopt Healthy Place practices. The community could be engage at little cost, with customers supporting enterprises that positively contributed to the community.
After careful deliberation, the judges declared Team Ignite the winners of the first 2019 challenge. Both ideas had impressed, but the strong pitch and more focused nature of Team Ignite’s approach made the difference.