Local Authorities and Governments

There are numerous benefits of the different types of civic engagement, which include increasing trust in the democratic process, fostering a sense of community and the opportunity to hold elected officials accountable for their actions.  However, the UK government found that levels of engagement in fact dropped between 2020/21 and 2021/22, when 41% and 34% of citizens respectively confirmed they had partaken in at least one form of civic engagement.  The good news is that councils have the opportunity to reverse this trend and improve their outreach to citizens. However, it is important to be strategic about seeking participation from...

One of the most powerful tools a government organisation has in its arsenal is the ability to interact with the people that it represents. Creating this two-way, consultative relationship can bring many benefits to local councils and municipalities. As the World Bank states: “Citizens play a critical role in advocating and helping to make public institutions more transparent, accountable, and effective, and contributing innovative solutions to complex development challenges.” Whereas once this engagement would take place solely in face-to-face, in-person situations, nowadays, a majority of interactions take place online. However, many government organisations have yet to take advantage of their...

Developing effective two-way communication with constituents is essential to the work of local government. The UK’s Local Government Association concluded that “local councillors are in the front line of neighbourhood and community engagement. Working with a wide range of individuals and organisations in the area, officers can help them to decide how best to respond.”  This article collects together some important citizen engagement examples to help you facilitate this aim. Keep reading to find out what the different types of citizen engagement are and the ways in which you can strengthen your relationship with the community and improve the quality...

When the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) explored the drivers of trust in public institutions around the world, it found, for example, that only 52% of Finnish citizens trusted their local government. For context, 61% of Finns said they trusted the national government. The authors of the report concluded that this discrepancy was primarily influenced by the levels of citizen engagement in local government.  The local government is responsible for many of the decisions that have the most noticeable effect on constituents. From refuse collection and planning to road maintenance and libraries, these are the aspects of life...

There are four forms of local government: counties, cities and towns, special districts and school districts. In the EU, for example, this is around 130,000 units of local government nationally. Local governments exist to solve problems, make decisions and drive improvements in the areas, districts or schools that they are responsible for. Just like a regular meeting for an organisation, regulations, rules and bylaws apply here, too. To ensure that these meetings run smoothly, the same concepts are crucial – prepare an agenda, create processes, follow all rules that apply to your organisation and/or district and keep meeting minutes. Due...