Co-production, which is a new way of thinking about public services and has the potential to deliver a major shift in the way health, education, policing and other services are provided, is gaining ground. The assertion that it will not work with vulnerable groups because members are unable to contribute, has now been challenged with evidence that it is working.
Read more on VULNERABLE GROUPS BENEFITING FROM CO-PRODUCTION…
Findings from a Virgin Media Business E-Politics Study found that the popularity of e-voting had doubled since the last election in 2005.
More than two in five of British internet users say e-voting would make them more likely to back a candidate at next week’s General Election with the number of voters backing a digitised ballot card system rising from 19 to 43 per cent since the last Parliamentary election.
By David Lancaster
The number of lone workers in the public sector is increasing rapidly and this growth is creating problems for their parent organizations. Staff working outside normal office hours and those who work away from their organisation’s base, are vulnerable to both verbal and physical abuse. The author describes how technology can support lone workers and offer protection.
Good customer insight provides a rich understanding of customers’ behaviour, experiences, beliefs, needs and desires. But councils need to sharpen up their act if they are going to use customer insight to cut costs and improve frontline services. This is the conclusion of a report from Communities and Local Government on the way customer insight was used in the Total Place pilot projects.
A survey by Lagan Technologies shows that the public want councils to put more services on line and 77 per cent approve of government investment in IT to improve their access to services. There is also a high level of discontent with the response callers receive when they contact councils at the moment.
This report sets out how it is planned to accelerate opportunities for mutuals to develop and flourish across key public services. Mutuals are organisations run or owned in the interests of its members.
Read more on MUTUAL BENEFIT: GIVING PEOPLE CONTROL OF PUBLIC SERVICES…
There is growing concern about the widening gap in health inequalities across England in 2010. This includes the inequalities in life expectancy, in illness and in health and wellbeing. Current measures to reduce the gap are not working. A report from the IDeA, ‘A glass half full’ describes how an asset approach is improving community health and well-being.
Read more on DEVELOPING A NEW APPROACH TO TACKLING HEALTH INEQUALITIES…
Arriva UK, a leading transport operator with routes across the country, has created a new management structure to bring its operations in line with public service boundaries.
Following extensive research, which involved a publicity campaign, the company concluded that that the Bus division needed to put its relationships with local authorities at the heart of a new-look local management structure. The division has now re-focused local operational management to put an increased emphasis on developing existing and new relationships with key local and transport authority customers and other stakeholders. The new structure includes dedicated management roles with responsibility for building local relationships with key stakeholders and customers in specific areas, which correspond with local authority boundaries.
Read more on ARRIVA UK RESTRUCTURES TO ALIGN WITH LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS…
Mental health is intrinsic to well-being. There is a clear association between well-being, good mental health and improved outcomes for people of all ages and social classes, across a number of domains. These include longevity, physical health, social connectedness, educational achievement, criminality, maintaining a home, employment status and productivity.
Read more on CONFIDENT COMMUNITIES, BRIGHTER FUTURES – A FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING WELL-BEING…
A project has been launched to fill the gap in local council election data. There is currently no central or open record of the results of local elections in the UK. It is not possible to look back at how people voted in local council elections over the past 10 years. Neither is it possible to compare turnout between different areas, and different periods. Although the Electoral Commission has responsibility for elections, it does not provide any information about results.
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