By Robert L. Cross and Robert J. Thomas.

Driving Results Through Social Networks shows executives and managers how to obtain substantial performance and innovation impact by better leveraging these traditionally invisible assets. For the past decade, Rob Cross and Robert J. Thomas have worked closely with executives from over a hundred top-level companies and government agencies. In this groundbreaking book, they describe in-depth how these leaders are using network thinking to increase revenues, lower costs, and accelerate innovation.

Read more on DRIVING RESULTS THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS: HOW TOP ORGANISATIONS LEVERAGE NETWORKS FOR PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH…

‘Valuing People Now – A Three Year Strategy for People with Learning Disabilities’ sets out a new vision for improving services for people with learning disabilities across health, housing, employment and community care services. But a leading charity supporting disabled people has questioned whether it will be delivered.

Read more on DELIVERY OF VALUING PEOPLE VISION QUESTIONED BY CHARITY…

Public services across the North East are delivering outcomes well below the English average, according to a report published by the Commission on Public Sector Reform in the North East.

The new report from the Commission, says that despite some notable improvements, the region has still not caught up with outcomes in other regions because it started out from a low base. Results in education show that in 1997, the North East was 7.6 per cent behind the national average for the number of pupils achieving 5 A*-C grades, but is now 0.9 per cent above it. Yet in health, while life expectancy rose for both men and women by three to four years between 1991 and 2007, people in the North East still live on average nearly one and a half years less than the national average, and more than two years less than people living in the South East.

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The ten year life of the New Deal for Communities Partnerships is drawing to a close and this document looks at how the partnerships are planning for the future. It describes the leaning gained and how far they have progressed in putting the succession strategies into place.

Read more on DELIVERING SUCCESSION STRATEGIES: LESSONS FROM THE NEW DEAL FOR COMMUNITIES…

Many councils have reduced staffing levels to cope with the economic downturn and others are set to do so. This is likely to further undermine trust in the leadership which a new survey has revealed is already at a low ebb.

Read more on STAFF CUT-BACKS SET TO WEAKEN TRUST IN MANAGEMENT…

The public sector is starting to embrace social networking following the success of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The latest example comes from Neighbo.com which provides a social networking service for residents and managers of social and private housing.

Read more on HOUSING LOGS ON TO SOCIAL NETWORKING…

Communities and Local Government have set out a baseline for evaluating the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative which funds twenty partnerships to increase levels of enterprise in deprived areas. The aims are to release the productivity and economic potential of the most deprived local areas and their inhabitants through enterprise and investment and boost local incomes and employment opportunities.

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Multiple-choice tests are more reliable than current SATs papers according to a paper published today by the Centre for Policy Studies. It claims that in the last six years repeated failures in exam marking have undermined the validity and reputation of external examinations.

Read more on CALL FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS TO REPLACE SATs SYSTEM…

Some councils and other burial ground operators have been accused of being heavy handed in the way they are dealing with memorials and headstones even when they are not a serious safety risk. New guidance has been published to make it clear that gravestones should be staked or lain down only as a last resort.

Read more on BURIAL GROUND OPERATORS ACCUSED OF HEAVY HANDED APPROACH TO SAFETY…

This programme is now available to view on egovtv.tv, the online television channel for public service modernisation. It describes how Staffordshire County Council are supporting older people, some of whom have dementia, to live independently in their own home with a new activity monitoring system from Just Checking.

Read more on SUPPORTING OLDER PEOPLE IN THE HOME…