Local Work
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Raising aspirations and tackling deprivation in King's Lynn: Lessons from 'Learning Catalysts'
In this latest edition of Local Work, Sarah Glenn, Economic Development Projects Officer with the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, describes the development of an approach to understand and raise aspirations through the Learning Catalysts project which began in January 2006.
Recovering from recession: a view from the Northwest
In this latest edition of Local Work, John Corish, Economic Development Officer for 4NW (the Regional Leaders Board for the Northwest of England), focuses on responses to the recent recession and that of the early 1990s, offering a personal view of the lessons for the Northwest of England to ensure we enable a sustainable economic recovery this time around.
Resilient Retail?
Two influential themes run through the general media coverage and more specialist analysis of the economic downturn in Britain. The first theme focuses on the uneven impact of a downturn; that the recession is having very different repercussions in different parts of the country. The second theme relates to town centres; that economic recession is generating specific problems for town and city centres across the country.
Fairtrade towns: The local response to a global issue
By Linsey Humphries - The UK has often been referred to as a ‘leader’ of the Fairtrade Movement due to the opportunities available for consumers to choose Fairtrade products, with over 4,500 Fairtrade certified products currently being available. The growing use of Fairtrade has been boosted by the introduction and expansion of the Fairtrade Towns Movement, which is based upon boroughs, zones, villages, towns, counties, cities and islands meeting set goals that work to increase levels of understanding and sales of Fairtrade products as a means of highlighting the commitment of a community to the Fair Trade Movement.
Creating greater innovation in public services: challenges and opportunities
The impacts of the recession and global financial crisis have been unprecedented. As a result public spending will be cut aggressively in the coming years, no matter which party is in government, with less resource likely at a time when more is needed to be achieved. How this translates to local government remains to be seen, however it is seems safe to assume that conditions for economic development and regeneration practitioners are likely to become more challenging. The need, therefore, to create new innovative methods and processes will become ever more imperative and to achieve this, a shift in culture of many existing practices will be needed.
Manchester Independent Economic Review: lessons for informing better policy decision making
By Rupert Greenhalgh, Senior Consultant, CLES, and Adrian Nolan, Senior Research Consultant, CLES. This latest edition of Local Work examines and critiques the findings and recommendations of the MIER.
Community Land Trusts
By Jessica Smith, Policy Researcher, CLES. Community Land Trusts (CLTs) bring together the principle of protecting land for community benefit with the more recently emerging agenda of asset transfer, and are essentially a mechanism for the democratic ownership of land or buildings by local communities. CLTs offer an innovative model for tackling many of the social agendas that affect both rural and urban communities; from helping to tackle housing shortages, to promoting active citizenship and community empowerment.
Community Health Champions: One of the keys to unlocking the health inequalities challenge?
By Roz Davies, Programme Director, Altogether Better Programme, NHS Yorkshire and The Humber - This Local Work highlights a practical approach to reducing health inequalities through community empowerment where national, regional and local partners are working together to develop an approach to community empowerment in health and well-being which is systematic and integrated into the core business of reducing health inequalities.
The future role of local government in strengthening local economies
By Tom Shakespeare, Research Fellow at Localis, and Jessica Smith, Policy Researcher at CLES. On 4th February 2009, CLES and Localis hosted a joint event with the aim of discussing what the role of local authorities and their partners should be in driving local economies and achieving resilient local areas and economies. This paper outlines the key issues raised during the debate.
Strengthening Local Enterprise
By Paul Davies, the Chair of the Executive Board of Alliance for Enterprise, the LEGI programme for Bolsover, Ashfield and Mansfield Districts - February 2009 In 2001 a body of research was carried out by the Civic Trust and New Economics Foundation (nef) into the success factors in local economic regeneration. It examined regeneration programmes within the UK and looked at successful models from around the world. Its conclusions began an exciting programme of work which had the potential to reshape local economic growth. The programmes of locally driven enterprise growth that have emerged have established best practice models capable of replication on a wide scale.
CLES Commendations 2010
Three projects received commendations at this year's CLES Summit - Grow (Hull); The Star Inn (Salford) and East Lindsey Active (Lincolnshire).
Full details
Local Economic Assessment Network
CLES has launched its national Local Economic Assessment Network.
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Wellbeing Evaluation
Norwich LEGI
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HCA Placemaking Practice Review Panel
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