Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our
communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many innovative programmes councils are involved
in.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk work with Suffolk County Council to support the efforts happening in their region to meet the skills agenda. When required they build on this work to develop, or fund initiatives, such as The Mix, which helps young people to develop life skills. Or, through their Careeriosity event, which offer careers advice and guidance to adults, helping them to gain employment.
From Winter 2021 to Spring 2022, Cheshire East Libraries undertook a review of Storytime session provision across all libraries in the authority. The return to in-person activities post COVID-19 made this an excellent time to look at Storytime sessions.
Enfield Council have worked in collaboration with Kensa Contracting and Engie to deliver England’s largest shared ground loop array heat pump programme replacing electric heating, all in under one year and whilst the flats remained inhabited. The project serves 400 flats in eight tower blocks in Enfield was named District Heating Project of The Year at the 25th annual H&V News Awards in 2019.
Baby Babble is a programme for parents/carers and their babies. It aims to support early language and communication using stories, rhymes, baby signing and sensory experiences.
Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) have an informal structure for joint working on fire risk to high-rise residential buildings, based on effective communication and information sharing. Liverpool has over 200 blocks over 18 metres high, including purpose-built student and private residential blocks.
Bradford Libraries Rhyme Challenge started in 2017 from an idea originating from BookTrust, the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. The challenge is simple. Parents and children are asked to five rhymes together to receive a certificate. In Bradford, the library service produces the challenge and encourages take up with child care settings, toddler groups and libraries across the district. Rhymes are chosen in collaboration with early years groups and then packs are designed, printed and distributed usually from September to March.
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham made proactive calls to residents at summons stage for council tax arrears to see if they could set up a payment plan or needed support in February 2021. This increased the numbers of payment plans set up and residents appreciated the approach.