By David Allen The continual seeking out of new ways to improve performance combined with the demand for evidence based policy and practice are driving a demand for more research in local government. The author examines the difficulty of getting the right focus for the research when the problem holder may be unsure or even unaware of the nub of the problem. He suggests an approach for getting a better focus.
The local e-democracy project, one of 22 national projects initiated and funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, is being rolled-out for general use following successful piloting by 21 local councils across the country.Evaluation of the project by the Oxford Internet Institute and the Edinburgh based Napier University show that local e-Democracy National Project pilots, ranging from the community based to council initiated, can build an on-going interest in local democracy.
The NHS plans in 2008 to reduce the time patients wait for an operation to 18 weeks from GP referral to hospital admission. Responsibility for managing waiting times will be transferred from hospitals to primary care trusts. This radical change raises many issues and the NHS wants the views of stakeholder organizations on shaping the new plans.Traditionally individual hospitals have been responsible for achieving targets to improve access and reduce waiting times, but some parts of the journey from referral, such as in-patient waits and out-patient waits and waits for diagnostics, have not been measured. By December 2008, the whole patient journey will be managed and measured as one. For the first time, primary care trusts will be responsible for ensuring all of the local health providers move patients as quickly as possible through the different stages towards treatment.
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