By Lyndsay Rashman and Zoe RadnorThe authors examine the different approaches to improving local government services through the reforms of the past 25 years which reveal a progressive understanding of organizational change and learning. The contexts, changes and sharing of good practice in local government during this period are discussed in general and through an analysis of the Beacon Council Scheme. The scheme has many achievements to celebrate. Its progress, however, depends on the generic need in public service change to develop an holistic framework which embraces all forms of learning, improvement, innovation and change so that sustainable long-term value can be gained for all stakeholders.

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Greater Manchester is to get a record one hundred million pounds to improve recycling and stop the growth in waste, in what is likely to be the most valuable waste disposal contract award in Europe. The money is for a private finance initiative to upgrade waste management services for the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, which covers almost a million homes in Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford as well as the City of Manchester.The area produces 1.5 million tonnes of rubbish each year and in 2002-3 only a little over a tenth of it was recycled or composted. The new project is expected to take that figure to more than 50 per cent by 2020 and divert more than 32 million tonnes of municipal waste away from landfill sites.

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The Government is being warned today that without an urgent change of course in the implementation of policies for sustainable communities, the countryside, urban regeneration and the quality of life of countless people is set to suffer lasting damage.The warning comes from Neil Sinden, the policy director of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, with the launch of the CPRE’s critique of the Government’s Sustainable Communities Plan. The publication coincides with the start of the Government’s Delivering Sustainable Communities Summit in Manchester.

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Better Access To e-Government

By Lucy Brown

With the current flurry of activity, as councils work towards the 2005 deadline, it’s easy to think that e-Government is a new phenomenon. In fact, the drive to modernise public services and improve citizen access is far from recent. The big question is, given all the enthusiasm, activity, and money spend, has there been real progress?

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More than three-quarters of project managers haven no confidence in the ability of the Government to deliver a large project, like biometric identity cards, on time and to budget. That is one of the main findings of research carried out for the Business Performance & Project Management event due to take place in London in early March.The study also shows that 67 per cent of managers feel the widespread coverage in the media of high profile project failures is not an unfair portrayal of the reality.

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The government has unveiled plans to lower the age at which people can stand for election from 21 to 18. It follows the recommendations made by the Electoral Commission last year. No steps will be taken at this stage to reduce the voting age.The Commission was established to look at ways to encourage public involvement in the democratic process. The Elections Minister, Christopher Leslie, said giving younger people the right to participate fully in elections could only encourage them to learn more about the democratic process and to use their right to vote.

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A new downloadable guide designed to help local authorities deal with procurement plans and waste contracts has been launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The procurement plan provides a link between councils’ Municipal Waste Management Strategies and the contract toolkit, to assist authorities in implementing their strategies.The toolkit has been drawn up to guide a local council through this process and to help highlight risks, identify issues and signpost essential information from Government and from professional institutions to help in drafting contracts.The Waste Implementation Programme will provide a range of support measures and good practice advice for councils, covering areas such as procurement, strategy-making, kerbside recycling, waste collection from high-density housing estates, civic amenity sites and collecting bulky goods. It also provides information about new technology and will help to motivate the sector to make decisions and changes through procurement and specialist waste management advice. The toolkit has been developed by Enviros Consulting.

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Nine schemes have been named as the finalists in the search for England’s most inspirational transformation of a community space. The nine projects have each won regional awards in the ‘A Picture of Change’ competition and each has won a thousand pounds with a chance of a further five thousand as the national winner.The new competition has been established to identify local groups who have made a momentous difference in making their neighbourhood cleaner, safer and greener. The national winner will be named at the Delivering Sustainable Communities Summit in Manchester, on February 1st.Announcing the finalists, ODPM minister Phil Hope said each of the nine was a great example of how the community could make a difference to a neighbourhood and the lives of the people who lived there. “Across England,we received over 400 entries for the competition, which is evidence of the enthusiasm that people have for taking action and driving change,” he said. The standard of entries was so high that they will all be showcased on cleanersafergreener.gov.uk.

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By Cherie R. Brown and George J. MazzaBased on the National Coalition Building Institute’s popular leadership development program, Leading Diverse Communities gives community, campus, nonprofit, and business leaders the tools they need to embrace diversity and encourage their stakeholders to do the same. The book is filled with practical guidance on how to achieve results and provides a simple, skill-oriented guidebook for busy leaders. Leading Diverse Communities distils the National Coalition Building Institute’s wisdom into thirty-two concise leadership principles. Each principle is illuminated with theory and a related example, activity, and worksheet that can help develop the skills required to put a particular principle into practice.

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The Better Practice in Management Development guide has been produced to assist local authorities in their middle management development processes. It is aimed at decision makers and those who influence decisions made about middle managers. Based on extensive research, it provides ideas on developing strategy and tactics for middle managers as well as cost effective approaches to development. It raises questions that local authorities need to address and provides a coherent approach to middle management development that will meet real needs.Published by the Employers’ Organisation for Local Government. 35 pounds. http://www.lgemployers.gov.uk/publications/fullpublications/management_development.html

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