Publications

A new APSE research publication ‘Two Tribes? Exploring the future role of elected members’ has revealed sharp contrasts in attitudes between those in decision-making and 'backbench' roles.  This new research study describes the existence of 'two tribes' among local politicians - with opinions on matters including local government political structures and capacity to improve services split according to roles rather than political persuasion.

In a new research report ‘Better business: Councils shaping markets for public value’, which was commissioned by APSE and written by NLGN, the organisations argue that whilst local businesses can bring valuable social, environmental, and economic benefits to local places, some private sector markets are failing to meet social needs and creating negative outcomes relating to ill health, financial vulnerability, and poor educational attainment which are picked up by local public services. Whilst national governments have a clear role to play in fixing these, local intervention can be preferable, or complementary, to a wider national approach.

The report provides a range of positive recommendations to enable councils to nudge or ‘budge’ business towards more socially responsible products and business practices.

This latest APSE research ‘Ensuring Change: Building capacity in local government’ produced in association with Public Intelligence explores how, in spite of the current economic conditions, councils remain as the ‘engine room’ of their localities.

‘Ensuring Collaboration: One way ahead for public-private partnerships’ aims to stimulate further discussion over how elected members, local government officers and public service providers can work collectively to manage change and transformation in public-private partnerships.

A new report has been published by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), which demonstrates how councils can be effective local water stewards. 

APSE, in association with De Montfort University as part of the KTP programme, has produced a self-assessment toolkit to help health and well-being boards navigate their way through complex issues and find solutions that suit local circumstances. Following the transfer of responsibilities for public health under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, boards now face important strategic decisions. The toolkit has been designed to help them.

Local authority assets can play a major part in revitalising the UK's ailing town centres, but this is being overlooked in current national policy, according to a report published today by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE).

This report is based on research, undertaken in partnership between APSE and IPPR North, to explore ways in which local authorities can harness the best ideas of their workforce in order to use innovation to improve services.

Unprecedented financial problems coupled with demographic and environmental pressures call for a fundamental rethink of what the future role of local government should be and how effective services can be provided in the next decade and beyond.

In these times of austerity it is important that councils maximise sustainable benefits from their assets to ensure ‘value for money’, in all sense of the phrase, for local communities. This is why the concept of ‘resource efficiency’ becomes so critical.

As local authorities strive to address the impacts on their communities of the economic downturn and reductions in public spending, a debate is taking place about alternative visions of the future shape of local government itself.

A review of the role of co-operatives and mutuals in local public service provision. The interest in using co-ops and mutuals to deliver public services has never been greater – not least because of the Government’s commitment to creating a ‘Big Society’ through introducing a greater diversity of public service providers.

A criticism aimed at the public sector by its detractors is that it is monolithic, bureaucratic and incapable of change. This report sets out to challenge this myth by demonstrating that innovation and entrepreneurship is alive and well in local government and rather than being a rare commodity, it is flourishing in local authorities up and down the country.

A report commissioned by APSE Wales, through APSE’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership with De Montfort University, that considers some of the practical issues involved in sharing services across local authority boundaries.

With the economic recession having a devastating effect on communities, families and businesses and beginning to impact upon front-line local government services and the future prospects for public spending, the time is ripe to review many of the initiatives and developments that have been at the forefront of local government policy and legislation over the past few years.

APSE has been vociferous in highlighting ways to maximise the local economic benefit of public investment and promoting sustainable energy projects. This report is unique in bringing these two pressing agendas together and exploring the impact of renewable energy on local economies. At a time of austerity and recession, renewables and energy efficiency schemes represent a real opportunity to invest in local economic growth, with a government guaranteed funding mechanism.

The word ‘outsourcing’ is common parlance in both the public and private sectors, but the practice of ‘insourcing’ has received relatively little attention. APSE embarked upon its examination of the trend towards insourcing – or returning to delivery of services by in-house providers – before the effects of the global economic downturn were fully evident.

This research commissioned for UNISON gives the detailed evidence of major contracts being brought to an end and services coming back in-house, benefitting service users, workers, and council taxpayers alike. This report was written by APSE under a commission from UNISON and is free to download.