By David StrausWorking with others to solve problems and make decisions is often stressful, frustrating, and inefficient. In How to Make Collaboration Work, David Straus, a pioneer in the field of group problem solving, introduces five principles of collaboration that have been proven successful time and again in nearly every conceivable setting. Straus draws on his thirty years of personal and professional experience to show how these principles have been applied by organizations as diverse as Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston Public Schools, Kaiser Permanente, the city of Denver, and many others. How to Make Collaboration Work shows how collaboration can become a joy rather than a chore-a kind of chemical reaction that releases far more energy than it consumes.
Plans to reward imaginative schemes to transform parks and public spaces have been unveiled by the government. The Regeneration Minister, Yvette Cooper, said the project would see 89 million pounds being shared between 27 programmes across England to improve the state of parks and public spaces.Councils can express interest in the scheme through their regional government office. The successful programmes, which will be selected in the autumn, will be responsible for driving up current standards as well as focusing on new, well designed parks and public spaces. They must also ensure that management and maintenance of the parks continues in the future.
Read more on OLDHAM PARK PAVES WAY FOR PROJECT TO TRANSFORM PUBLIC SPACES…
The Local Government Association is planning to make more effective use of council leaders to put its case to government. The association also intends to give more priority to gathering and promoting evidence of local government’s positive impact on public services.The measures have been announced in response to the latest audit of the LGA’s impact in Westminster and Whitehall. It highlighted the association’s use of too small a number of leading politicians and the weakness of its evidence base to support the “moral case” for local democratic government.
Read more on COUNCIL LEADERS GET GREATER ROLE IN ‘AGENDA SETTING’ LGA…