OurKingdom is running a short series of posts looking at various aspects of local government - you can read the series in full here.
Dominic Potter (London, Involve): There is currently a re-ordering of some of the relationships that are central to how we all live our everyday lives. In Stuart Weir's interesting piece on this site, the focus was on the relationship between central and local government. What we at Involve find really intriguing is the relationship between local government and citizens.
The technological revolution that marked the end of the 20th century is now reverberating through every facet of society, from the way we buy our shopping to the way our public services operate. Web 2.0 really has changed our daily lives. We now have access to a multiplicity of sources of information as well as the chance to create our own web content and develop online networks which spill over into our offline activities. The opportunities that this creates for individuals, groups and communities as well as for local authorities are almost limitless.
In this context, the structural changes in the central-local government relationship may need further efforts to make local government more flexible and responsive to the ever-changing needs of its communities. But central government is increasingly clear about the importance of people participating in the governance and services in their local areas. From the Lyons Inquiry and the 2006 local government White Paper to the Duty to Involve which will come into force in 2009, participation is being etched right across central government policy.
But what does this mean at the local level?
Anthony Brand rightly calls for strong leadership in local authorities, which may seem to contradict the idea of increasing participation and empowerment. But this is not the case, as Admiral James B. Stockdale famously stated: "great leaders gain authority by giving it away."
Local leaders face dealing with pressing everyday challenges which may require approaches that haven't yet been thought of: the ageing society; diffuse security risks and threats; the disaffection of some groups of young people; the rise of lifestyle related long-term health conditions. James Surowiecki argues that in such an unpredictable climate, drawing on collective wisdom is the surest way of consistently and effectively overcoming such intractable challenges.
Increasing participation and empowerment in local decision-making would therefore add to local authorities' ability to govern and to deliver services. From the Images for Change project in Walker to the work across the country of organisations such as Envision, there are a plethora of examples of how those people who are both mobilised and motivated to make a positive contribution to their localities, their communities or just their own lives can do so more effectively than local government, in isolation, ever could.
This indicates that there is enough wiggle-room for local authorities to tap into the knowledge and experience of their communities. Whether this takes the form of a 21st Century Town Meeting, Online Consultations or Participatory Budgeting, there are unprecedented opportunities for local government to use technological innovations alongside face-to-face interactions in order to genuinely and effectively re-order the relationship between local government and citizens.
