SOLACE CONFERENCE

  Here's a link to notes from the recent SOLACE conference    SOLACE 2010 conference notes

Exercise Watermark

Exercise Watermark is a national emergency planning exercise based on a flooding scenario. It will take place 4th - 11th March 2011. Lincolnshire will be a contributor to the exercise and we are getting ready for it. I have added a link to the Exercise Watermark web site.

skills and characteristics for the future

Rob Whiteman MD of Local Government Improvement and Development (LGID) Has been to both Norfolk and Lincolnshire delivering a message to elected members and officers on the skills and characteristics that individuals and organisations will need to lead in the new world of local government . Here are some of the points I made a note of from his presentation:

• Confident to act without being given direction

• Passionate about doing more for less ( this is not the era when skills of developing cases for more investment will be in great demand)

• Create time and space for innovation

• Passionate for listening to and being accountable to the public

• Influencing skills

• Market making and brokering

• Collaborating to succeed not competing

• More political leadership and less managerialist

• Staff with a “sunny disposition” – optimistic, “can do” attitude

• “walk the talk” around values

• Take a look in the mirror – organisations reflect the people who lead them

• Act quickly and do things that make appositive difference to the citizen

• Professionals “on tap” not “on top”

Beyond Sharing

Beyond sharing, post public sector reform and with the "Big Society" operating what will the new sustainable model of local government in district councils look like? What's the end game? Where are we aiming to get to? The LGID assembled a small group of district council chief executives to explore both how we are preparing for the immediate future but also the longer term. Here are some of the issues we touched on:

• Opportunities to generate income (including return on investment of funds)
• Creating a culture of innovation
• What is / will be the acceptable cost of democracy
• Creating "super" districts - by agreement , hostile takeovers
• How far can we / do we want to move towards self service on line - "Amazon Council"
• Workforce planning for this new vision for districts
• "Franchise Council "

The unattributed quote of the day " don't make your services too efficient if you want to outsource them as the private sector will not be interested" Amongst many present there was a real appetite to take on the private sector and not just hand over rich pickings.

The LGID are preparing a pamphlet, based upon interviews with us and covering some of the transformational things that are happening now, which they hope to publish shortly.

As always I'd like to hear views - please post your comments particularly on what you think district councils will be like in 10 years time.