PLC Public Sector reports:
The Association of Council Secretaries & Solicitors’ recent two-day conference in Stratford-upon-Avon was a lively and well-attended event.
John Benington, Emeritus Professor of Public Management and Policy at Warwick Business School gave an interesting and thought-provoking opening talk. Quoting from “The Tempest”, “This isle is full of strange noises“, he spoke of the profound changes faced by local government in the context of environmental, political, economic, social, technological and organisational issues.
Professor Benington talked of the role played by local government in creatively using their powers and influence to promote the general well-being of communities and citizens (“place-shaping”) and the need to take action to protect areas from recession (“place-shielding”). He also referred to the challenges faced by local government and its professionals in:
- Creating a safe and challenging “holding” environment.
- Having good bureaucracy and maintaining fair procedures.
- Anticipating future challenges and opportunities for localities.
- Building effective coalitions and collaborations and sharing knowledge beyond local boundaries.
- Advocating powerfully on behalf of communities and negotiating across all sectors.
- Arbitrating between competing local interests.
- Listening and learning and being accessible and visible.
The message Professor Benington conveyed was that local authorities have an important and proactive role to play in promoting active debate within their communities to deal with the challenges ahead.