New Local

New Local is an independent British think tank and local-government network, formerly known as the New Local Government Network. Established in 1996 and based in London, it brings together more than 60 councils and other organisations across England. Its network includes councils at different tiers and with varied political leadership, alongside corporate partners and other organisations interested in changing how public services are designed and delivered. The organisation combines membership, peer learning, research and advocacy. Members participate in peer-led events where they exchange practical experience and examine alternative approaches to local governance and public-service delivery. New Local’s research draws substantially on examples from its network, using local case studies to explore how councils and communities can respond to social, economic and institutional challenges. The central idea associated with New Local is community power. In this approach, residents and communities should have greater influence over the decisions, resources and services that affect their lives. The model favours more collaborative and decentralised relationships between communities, councils and public-service organisations, rather than relying exclusively on centralised administration or provider-led systems. New Local argues that people closest to a problem often possess important knowledge about its causes and possible solutions, and that public services can become more effective and sustainable when they recognise and use that knowledge. This thinking was set out most explicitly in the 2019 publication The Community Paradigm, which called for a substantial shift of power and resources towards people, places and communities. The organisation links this agenda to pressures including rising demand for public services, population ageing, constrained resources, declining confidence in democratic institutions and growing expectations that people should have more control over their everyday lives. Technology is also presented as a factor that can make new forms of participation and local coordination possible. New Local’s publication portfolio covers community commissioning, children’s services, inclusive local growth, mutual aid during the coronavirus pandemic, employment support for people facing complex disadvantage and the ideas of economist and political scientist Elinor Ostrom. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer brand, New Local functions as a mission-led policy, research and learning platform for councils, public-service professionals and organisations interested in community-led change.

New Local was founded in 1996 under the name New Local Government Network. It emerged as an independent organisation concerned with the role of local government and the practical improvement of public services in Britain. Its work developed around connecting councils, public-service practitioners and other organisations that wanted to test new approaches rather than simply reproduce established administrative models. The organisation’s network has included councils from across England, representing different tiers of local government and a range of political leaderships. This breadth has allowed New Local to operate as both a policy organisation and a practitioner network. Members exchange experience through peer-led events, while the organisation uses examples from participating councils and communities in its research and recommendations. The network model gives its publications a practical orientation: policy ideas are commonly illustrated through local experiments, service reforms and community initiatives. Over time, New Local’s work broadened from local-government innovation to a wider argument about the distribution of power in public services. Its analysis has addressed the pressures created by growing demand, population ageing and limited public resources, as well as concerns about declining trust in central government and democratic institutions. It has also considered how technology and changing public expectations could support more direct participation in decisions affecting everyday life. The organisation’s community-power agenda reached a major expression in 2019 with The Community Paradigm. That publication argued for moving power and resources towards people, places and communities, and for replacing more centralised, provider-led models with collaborative relationships among residents, councils and public-service institutions. New Local’s position is that communities often have valuable insight into local conditions and should be treated as active partners in shaping and delivering services. The organisation points to documented community-led initiatives in the United Kingdom and internationally as evidence that local groups can work alongside public services and local authorities to manage services and shared spaces. Its later and related publications have examined community commissioning, children’s services, inclusive local economic growth, mutual aid during the coronavirus pandemic and employment support for people facing complex disadvantage. The organisation has also promoted the relevance of Elinor Ostrom’s work to contemporary local governance, particularly the possibility of communities managing shared resources through cooperative arrangements. Leadership has included Dan Corry, who served as director from 2002 to 2005, as well as Simon Parker and Chris Leslie. Adam Lent is identified as chief executive. Lent’s previous roles include leadership of the RSA Action and Research Centre, economics and social-affairs work at the Trades Union Congress and research and innovation work at Ashoka. New Local remains an active independent organisation combining research, network activity and advocacy around local government, community power and public-service reform.

• 2019

  The Community Paradigm published

  [1]New Localen.wikipedia.org

  New Local published its major statement on community power, advocating a shift of public-service power and resources towards people, places and communities.

• 2005

  End of Dan Corry’s directorship

  [1]New Localen.wikipedia.org

  Dan Corry’s documented tenure as director ended.

• 2002

  Dan Corry becomes director

  [1]New Localen.wikipedia.org

  Dan Corry began a period as director that lasted until 2005.

• 1996

  Organisation founded

  [1]New Localen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation was established as the New Local Government Network, an independent British network focused on local government and public-service improvement.

An independent, evidence-led think tank and practitioner network advocating community power, decentralised governance and collaborative public-service reform.

• Policy publication · 2019

  The Community Paradigm

  A 2019 publication presenting New Local’s argument that public services need a more decentralised and collaborative model. It advocates transferring greater power and resources to communities and treating residents as active partners in shaping local outcomes. The work connects this proposal to rising demand, constrained resources, declining institutional trust and the practical knowledge held by people closest to local problems.

• Policy publication

  Community Commissioning: Shaping Public Services through People Power

  A publication focused on commissioning public services in ways that give communities a meaningful role in defining priorities and influencing delivery. It reflects New Local’s broader community-power position, in which public bodies work with residents and local organisations rather than treating communities solely as service users.

• Policy publication

  From Tiny Acorns: Communities Shaping the Future of Children’s Services

  A study of how communities can contribute to the development and delivery of children’s services. It forms part of New Local’s effort to document practical local examples and explore how community participation can complement formal public-service systems.

• Policy publication

  Cultivating Local Inclusive Growth: In Practice

  A publication examining inclusive local economic growth and the practical role of local institutions and communities in creating more broadly shared prosperity. Its focus is consistent with New Local’s interest in place-based approaches and locally informed policy.

• Research publication

  Communities vs. Coronavirus: The Rise of Mutual Aid

  A publication examining the growth of mutual-aid activity during the coronavirus pandemic. It highlights the capacity of communities to organise support and considers what this revealed about relationships between residents, voluntary groups and public services.

• Research publication

  Think Big, Act Small: Elinor Ostrom’s radical vision for community power

  A publication applying Elinor Ostrom’s ideas about collective action and shared-resource governance to the question of community power. It uses Ostrom’s work to support a more distributed understanding of how communities and public institutions can solve local problems.

• Policy publication

  This Isn’t Working: Reimagining employment support for people facing complex disadvantage

  A publication addressing employment support for people facing complex disadvantage. It questions conventional service arrangements and explores how support could be redesigned around the circumstances and capabilities of individuals and communities.

• 2019

  Adoption of the community-power agendaStrategy

  Background

  New Local’s research identified pressures on public services, including rising demand, demographic change, limited resources and declining confidence in central government. The organisation also argued that residents possess knowledge of local circumstances that formal systems may overlook.

  Action taken

  Through The Community Paradigm, New Local articulated a strategic case for shifting power and resources towards people, places and communities and for developing more collaborative, decentralised public services.

  Aftermath

  The community-power concept became the organising theme connecting New Local’s research, network activity and practical work on commissioning, children’s services, mutual aid and local growth.

  Source

1. 1New Localen.wikipedia.org