…the Local Authority must create and manage growth in the local economy. ‘Over to you’ seems to be the message from the Coalition for local government leaders. What now, then? Is there an alternative to the drive for efficiency savings? An organization that focuses on efficiencies at the expense of everything else will not deliver the sustainable growth our neighbourhoods and boroughs need.
Knowledge has been democratised and commoditized over the last century. Universities are no longer the custodians of knowledge. First books (such as Penguin classics) and now the internet allow free or low cost access to all kinds of knowledge. Wiki, TED, Youtube Edu, opendata movements and crowd-sourcing (through social network sites) open up rapid access to much more information than was previously possible.
Lots, including how to reinvent the wheel. We mean that sincerely and in the most positive sense, having just seen a lecture by ‘creative engineer’ Gareth Jones. Gareth included in his inspirational slides a recently patented folding wheel designed by one of his students – it’s set to revolutionise folding wheelchairs.
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House attended last night’s Reform seminar on public sector reform, entitled, “A once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way that government works.”
With the Comprehensive Spending Review fast approaching there are no shortage of opinions on the future of the public sector in the UK. While the politicians appear to be convinced one way or the other, there is a sense of ambiguity among the public – perhaps reflecting, as Steve Richards, of the Independent, mentioned last night, the undoubtedly complex nature of the relationship between individuals, families and communities, and the state. The prospect and reality of the outcomes of the Spending Review will lead to shifting positions – for the political classes, and the public.
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