LG Challenge 2018 - The results

Over the first six months of this year, 10 contestants have been criss-crossing the country to compete in a series of real-life challenges, spanning frontline, financial, creative and leadership services and issues. At stake is the prize of a £10,000 Bruce-Lockhart scholarship to spend on their own project in their local authority.

These rising stars of local government once again proved themselves to be highly competent, driven, and professional both in their day jobs and the challenges they faced during the competition.

The ninth LG Challenge kicked off on a glacial Wednesday morning in early February with a challenge hosted by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The contestants were split into two teams and given just 24 hours to develop an action plan to help disabled residents find and keep employment, and benefit from the new opportunities offered by the growth of the borough.

The following day each team faced a 15-minute grilling on the financials of their business plans, their understanding of the issues behind the challenge set and their adherence to the council's core 'No one left behind' philosophy. Team Ambition's innovative '5% Pledge' – proposing a mix of incentives and marketing designed to persuade local businesses to fill at least 5 per cent of their workforce with disabled people – impressed the judges the most, and the first victory was theirs.

Challenge two saw our contestants heading to Staffordshire County Council, where they learnt about the council's innovative approach to motivating older residents to support their own health and wellbeing and remain independent. Their task was to come up with proposals to encourage the use of digital technology as a tool in helping residents maintain their wellbeing. 

After two days of hard work, both teams impressed the judges with their presentations. Team Ambition's radical proposal gambled on the judges' appetite for true innovation. Bet on Your Goals – an arms-length partnership with a local bookmaker, encouraging residents to bet on their health goals in return for incentives from local companies and sports organisations – gained them the prize and a commendation for bravery.

With Team Ambition leading 2-0, the contestants headed to Wiltshire Council for challenge three. Their mission: to decide which further services Wiltshire Council should devolve to their area boards and to convince the judges why.

After two days of research and interviews, the teams handed in their costed business cases and presented their ideas to the judges. Up first were Team Vision with their inventively-titled 'Devolved Neighbourhood Action (DNA)' – a community-based model of support for people with mental health issues or who are feeling the effects of loneliness or isolation.

In contrast, Team Ambition's proposal – 'Community Assemblies: what matters to everyone?' – put greater emphasis on changing structures and governance, increasing the pool of engaged local people, replacing the area boards with more inclusive local assemblies and connecting more widely with the network of existing groups. This time it was a win for Team Vision.

For the penultimate challenge four, the contestants headed north to Huddersfield and Kirklees Council – a unique borough that, while not lacking in pride or character in its individual towns and rural areas, has struggled with its overall identity since its creation 44 years ago. This was the nub of the challenge – to develop a vibrant cultural offer that helps establish a clear identity for Kirklees as a whole.

Team Ambition's innovative approach took the history of Kirklees as its starting point. Despite notable demographic variances, the team identified aspects of the area that united all residents. In contrast, Team Vision proposed an 'I Am Kirklees' brand, and a partnership with local businesses and event organisers offering a range of opportunities and incentives to local people though an I Am Kirklees card. The judges were keen to highlight how impressed they were by both teams, but in the end the creativity of Team Ambition won them their third victory.

The final challenge took place in Carlisle, hosted by Cumbria County Council. The sheer size and rural and remote nature of much of the county – along with its lack of broadband connection in parts – means that the digital agenda is still developing. The challenge for our contestants was to consider how to balance the council's face-to-face offer with a Digital First approach.



Demonstrating their customary flair for a snappy title, Team Ambition's 'Digital Leg Up' programme would empower frontline staff to support, encourage and develop the skills of their customers to access services digitally. Meanwhile Team Vision, whose Equity cards must surely be in the post, entertained the judges with a series of sketches to demonstrate how their 'Thriving Cumbria' would give local communities the confidence to easily access a new joined-up digital offer. The judges considered Team Ambition's proposal more practical to deliver, but awarded an extra bonus point to Team Vision for sheer entertainment value.

Following the five challenges, and a quick final tie-break, the 10 contestants have been whittled down to four finalists – Amanda Askham from Cambridgeshire County Council; Ellen Care from the London Borough of Bexley; Kartar Singh from Wiltshire Council; and Hannah Lucey from Kent County Council.

The quartet will be at the LGA's annual conference in Birmingham (3-5 July) to sell their proposals for the £10,000 Bruce Lockhart scholarship to conference delegates and to a panel of judges from the LGA, Kent and Essex County Councils, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Municipal Journal.

Conference delegates can meet the finalists and hear about their proposals at stands E1, E2, E3 and E4, or in the LGA Hub on Tuesday 3 July at 6pm for our 'meet the finalists' session. The winner will be announced at the LG Challenge reception on 4 July from 6pm at the LGA Hub.

The LGA would like to thank all the contestants – our four finalists plus Usman Mirza (Tower Hamlets), Nikki Middleton (Luton), Daniel Gooch (Swale), Natalie Morissey (Staffordshire), Peter Sebastian (MHCLG) and Richard James (Shropshire) – for their hard work, enthusiasm and commitment over the past six months. And we would particularly like to thank the members and officers at the