Local Councils Research Articles

Using Design Thinking to Create Sustainable Communities

This innovative practice paper discusses an example of a participatory design-led sustainability project. Using a Design Thinking approach to problem solving, the project brought together university staff and students and a Council around a local sustainability challenge. Design Thinking was applied as an interdisciplinary methodology with the objective to equip students with sustainability skills and competences, resulting in a replicable method for responding to local sustainability challenges. By empowering diverse participants to contribute equally and freely, our application of Design Thinking created positive spillover effects on students and staff sense of community. The focus of the Challenge was on the discovery and co-creation of ideas to solve a problem related to local public transport. The driving principle of the Challenge was that participants, also public transport users, could bring their own lived experience to the Challenge and therefore could co-create and put forward potential solutions with the support of a local Council, and sustainability and Design Thinking experts on campus. In the process of doing so, participants framed and reframed the challenge from different angles and perspectives, opening a co-creation dialogue about community needs on and off campus, and their role in contributing to sustainability locally.

Does a local Alcohol Health Champion programme have a measurable impact on health and crime outcomes? A natural experiment evaluation of Communities in Charge of Alcohol (CICA) based on triangulation of methods.

Drinking alcohol may cause harm to an individual's health and social relationships, while a drinking culture may harm societies as it may increase crime rates and make an area feel less safe. Local councils in Greater Manchester, UK, developed the Communities in Charge of Alcohol (CICA) intervention, in which volunteers were trained to give alcohol-related advice to the public and taught how to influence policies to restrict when, where and how alcohol is sold. As part of a larger study, the aim of the current project is to measure the impact of CICA on health and crime outcomes at the lower super output (LSOA) geographical aggregation. Quantitative evaluation using four time series analytic methods (stepped-wedge design, and comparisons to local controls, national controls and synthetic controls) with findings triangulated across these methods. A cost-benefit analysis was carried out alongside the effectiveness analysis. The general public in Greater Manchester, UK, between 2010 and 2020. The primary outcome of interest was alcohol-related hospital admissions. Secondary outcomes were accident and emergency (A&E) attendances, ambulance callouts, recorded crimes and anti-social behaviour incidents. Triangulation of the results did not indicate any consistent effect on area-level alcohol-related hospital admissions, A&E attendances, ambulance callouts, reported crimes or anti-social behaviour associated with the implementation of CICA. The primary stepped-wedge analysis indicated an increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions following the implementation of CICA of 13.4% (95% confidence interval -3.3%, +30.1%), which was consistent with analyses based on other methods with point estimates ranging from +3.4% to 16.4%. There is no evidence of a measurable impact of the Communities in Charge of Alcohol (CICA) programme on area-level health and crime outcomes in Greater Manchester, UK, within 3years of the programme start. The increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions was likely the result of other temporal trends rather than the CICA programme. Possible explanations include insufficient follow-up time, too few volunteers trained, volunteers being unwilling to get involved in licensing decisions or that the intervention has no direct impact on the selected outcomes.

Waterworks, municipal government and the environment in twentieth-century Britain

Abstract From the nineteenth century onwards, municipal authorities vested increasing amounts of power in experts, those who could provide specialist knowledge on areas outside the remit of local councillors. This, though, was attached with risk, as municipal resources could be wasted. This article takes the example of the Ure Valley waterworks project, a scheme developed by Leeds Corporation at the start of the twentieth century. What was deemed a necessary and straightforward project to alleviate future water shortages became embroiled in engineering difficulties and financial issues which resulted in only one of the five planned reservoirs being built. This case-study shines a light on the inner workings of local government, as well as the confluence between politics, economics and the urban–rural hinterland environment.

Administrative liability for non-implementation of local self-government bodies’ decisions

The scientific study is devoted to the problems of administrative responsibility for violating the requirements of the by-laws of local self-government bodies. Legislative acts and the list of administrative offenses regulating the powers of local self-government bodies are studied. The article examines the works of scholars who have studied the peculiarities of administrative liability for violation of parking rules, ensuring silence in cities, and waste management.It is stated that the binding nature of decisions of local councils and their executive committees is one of the guarantees of local self-government. Guarantees of local self-government are defined as a system of conditions that provide territorial communities with the exercise of the right to local self-government. Attention is drawn to the fact that local councils make decisions on the budget, housing, communal services, land relations, improvement, education, and health care, and regulate other legal ties. Failure to comply with many by-laws of local self-government bodies may entail administrative liability. Administrative offenses in budgetary, land, environmental relations, and settlement improvement are analyzed.
 Cases of qualification of by-laws violations of local self-government as administrative misdemeanors are determined. The objective side of the composition of these administrative offenses is described.
 The authority of local self-government bodies to bring offenders to administrative responsibility is clarified. Proposals for expanding the competence of administrative commissions and executive committees in bringing administrative responsibility are made. It is proposed to establish a list of violations of by-laws of local self-government bodies in the Law of Ukraine On Local Self-Government in Ukraine, for which administrative responsibility is provided for citizens and legal entities.

‘Because They Were Jews!’ The Postwar Artworks of David Friedmann as Eyewitness Testimonies

ABSTRACT This essay presents the work of David Friedman(n) (1893–1980), a renowned Berlin artist whose successful prewar career abruptly ended when Hitler came to power. He was banned from his profession, chased from his home, and his first wife and daughter were murdered. The Nazis looted his work and destroyed his promising career. Friedmann survived the Lodz ghetto and Auschwitz to paint again. First shown in Český Dub, Czechoslovakia on January 27, 1946, then in Western Bohemia, Prague, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, this cycle was one of the first exhibitions of Holocaust art in the world. Friedmann's exhibitions at former Sudetenland towns in Western Bohemia were utilized as a ‘denazification’ tool by local education councils. Announcements and posters invited Slav nationals to a celebratory opening and viewing of the exhibition – with compulsory attendance for ethnic-Germans over the age of fifteen years. Every visitor paid admission. Germans failing to appear did not receive their ration cards. Town officials gladly offered the necessary exhibition halls, for it was in their own interest to show to the Germans still living there, scenes from the ghetto and the concentration camps, by the hand of an artist as witness. When asked, David Friedmann explained his paintings to Sudeten Germans unwilling to believe their countrymen had perpetrated such atrocities against the Jews. Friedman translated his haunting memories into more than 100 works and titled his series, ‘Because They Were Jews!’ Personalized descriptions supplement his artwork creating a singularly detailed pictorial and written record of the Holocaust. Friedman continued to fight antisemitism and racial prejudice by educating the public with his Holocaust art exhibitions.

Web accessibility in Spanish city councils: a challenge for the democratic inclusion and well-being of citizens

Public institutions find an open window and greater transparency towards citizens in the digital sphere. So much so that the websites of local corporations can be considered an instrument of democratic inclusion and overall well-being. However, web accessibility continues to be a pending issue in order to encourage any person, regardless of their physical, mental or age capabilities, to interact without any kind of barrier. This paper analyses the web accessibility of 18 provincial capital city councils in Spain, comparing two periods to detect compliance with the requirements of adaptation to citizenship by applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The results show that accessibility to the websites of local corporations is still an unresolved issue. The commitment to web accessibility is not related to the size of cities or their budgetary level. It is necessary to undertake the appropriate improvements if they want, in their commitment to all citizens, to not leave out two key groups: people with functional diversity and the elderly. The contribution of this work goes beyond the need to use a type of analysis model to evaluate the democratisation of websites as digital public services and, consequently, it raises a series of practical implications relevant to the political decision-making bodies of local councils.

Agriculture land resources protection through strategic environmental assessment: Case study in Parigi Moutong, Central Sulawesi-Indonesia

Linking development activities with the conservation of food land resources has become a very important issue in sustainable development. However, the facts show that the damage or loss of food land resources continues even at an increasing rate. This trend is further exacerbated by policies on land conversion and over-exploitation of natural resources, as well as the absence of information on the importance of the land. Consequently, there will be changes in the ecosystem and the optimal function of the land. Protection of food and land resources must start with policy-making and be followed by development program planning. The problem of this research is how the conversion of agricultural land into residential areas and shrimp pond areas in Parigi Moutong Regency, describes how the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as an instrument of protection of agricultural land resources in Parigi Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi. Agricultural land resources are one of the important aspects of the food security program that should be considered in SEA. The development of urban centers or expansion of settlements and large-scale land clearing for plantations or mining often harm food land resources. Therefore, development plans and programs must be properly designed through prediction, evaluation, and mitigation of possible negative impacts. This research found that the involvement of stakeholders such as; local government, council members, academics, businesses, and NGOs as well as the community can generate some issues and strategies related to the loss or damage of agricultural land resources due to development activities and design alternative recommendations for improvement in Parigi Moutong District.

지방의회 공무국외연수제도의 개선방안 연구

In This study, we sought to examine the current status of local council public service overseas training with a focus on laws and regulations and suggest improvement measures to ensure integrity and reliability.
 First, in the preliminary stage, effectiveness must be secured by strengthening the pre-deliberation process in the preliminary stage. The ratio of civilian members must be at least 60% to ensure fairness and integrity in the review. In addition, prior study is necessary for practical overseas training in public affairs. Second, at the implementation stage, the basic principles and behavior matters to be observed by local council members during overseas training for public service should be stipulated in ordinances so that they can fully understand the purpose during the overseas training for public service. Third, in the follow-up stage, the review committee conducts an evaluation of the result report, and in the case of an unfair or seriously poor business trip result report (including lack of schedule compliance and accounting fraud), it must be stipulated that the chairman can request disciplinary action from the ethics special committee. In addition, lawmakers who have been on overseas official business trips must ensure fairness and integrity by informing local residents and the National Assembly of the results report within a certain period of time through official events Fourth, as another measure, it is necessary for local councils to enact and operate regulations on overseas training for civil servants stipulated by rules or ordinances in order to ensure responsibility and integrity for overseas training for civil servants.

HOUSE ARREST AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO PRISON SENTENCE IN MODERN GEORGIAN LAW (Evolution and Transformation)

This article is about house arrest, one of the types of non-custodial punishment in modern Georgian law, where the legal problems of using this benefit, provided by the law, are discussed, which is based on a deep analysis of practice and research of a number of scientific works. The importance of the topic was determined by the unfavorable state of the domestic legislation, the existence of a non-homogenous practice on the part of the court in relation to the “revision” of the decisions made by the local councils of the special penitentiary service, the incalculability of statistical data, as well as the great practical importance of the said topic in the process of both law-making and law enforcement, due to the paucity of modern Georgian legal literature regarding this concept. The aim of this article is to clarify the legal nature and the extent of house arrest, not only on the example of Georgia, but also on the example of some foreign countries, which will make the process of scientific research of the legal problems, of replacing the remaining sentence with house arrest, even more interesting and diverse. In addition, the article also aims to analyze the errors made in the applied practice and to develop scientifically based recommendations to eliminate the gaps in the rules regulating house arrest. The results of the theoretical/empirical research allow legal analysis to be made on the introduction/establishment of non-custodial punishment, which was previously unfamiliar to our country; to what extent the aforementioned legislative innovation was justified and what can be done for its further refinement/perfection, which is ultimately aimed to prohibit the usage of non-homogenous practice, regarding the use of the mentioned legal mechanism, on the part of both the decision-making body and the court. Historical, formal-logical, dogmatic, formal-legal, comparative-legal, descriptive and systematic methods were used to study the problem, posed in a separate chapter of the article. Furthermore, the data of legal statistics was used to study and generalize the practice of local councils, as well as the court, and the final part is devoted to the conclusive decrees obtained as a result of the study and scientific processing of the raised issues.

Power and Controversy: A Study of Material Challenges in the U.S. Public Libraries

Librarians and a small group of community representatives are responsible for public library governance in the U.S. Librarians and a board of trustees appointed by a local government collaborate to make key decisions for public libraries, while other members of the community have less influence over the governance of public libraries with limited methods, such as letters and public comments in board meetings. However, what should community members and library staff do if there are conflicting opinions about public library services within their community? Sometimes these kinds of dissents initiate a public controversy that involves a series of disagreement events among actors in public spaces. Each actor, such as boards of trustees, library staff, local government officials, community members, and patrons, participates in a controversy with asymmetrical power, which eventually affects the development and end of controversy. This case study investigates material challenges, which have been the most controversial issue in current U.S. public library history, in order to examine public library governance through controversies in which various actors exercise their power. A series of material challenges in a public library system in Louisiana are being examined based on their board minutes, local council minutes, news articles, social media posts, along with interviews with key actors. This study contributes to the understanding of public library governance and material controversies embedded in communities that shape public libraries.

"Keeping the Program Going": Technology Use by Community Organizations to Support the Social Connectedness of Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Social programs run by community organizations provide an important outlet for social connectedness among older adults. However, these programs were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. In this study, we aimed to understand how community organizations used digital technologies to continue running social programs online for older adults during COVID-19. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 staff members from local councils, libraries, community groups and care providers. We found that the use of technology benefited organizations by revealing new program delivery opportunities, and by strengthening their social bonds with older adults. However, organizations experienced challenges when transitioning social programs online. Some organizations lacked financial and human resources to support online programs; staff needed to upskill themselves and put significant effort into transferring older adults online; and it was difficult to replicate in-person experiences in online settings. Staff developed ad-hoc strategies to help older adults participate by providing extra guidance and training to increase digital literacy, and by offering accessible technical support. We discuss the significance of continuing online social programs beyond the pandemic and the importance of scaffolding to enable the online participation of older people in social programs. We outline design considerations for technology-mediated social programs run by community organizations.

Recent developments in immigration patterns. A case study in the province of Malaga (Spain)

Foreign population play an important role in the Axarquía in the province of Malaga, Spain, where in some municipalities they account for over 40% of residents. Many of them have very small populations, and have come to depend on immigration to maintain population levels. In this context, the objective of our research is to assess the impact that both Brexit and COVID-19 pandemic have had on immigration into these areas. We show how Brexit has led to an increase in the number of britons registered with their Local Councils, in part due to the post-Brexit need to do so; and how the limitations in mobility resulting from the pandemic led to a reduction in immigration into the area to just a few arrivals from nearby areas. We end by showing that just a year later, the migratory movements into the Axarquía had returned to normal levels.

The Role of Gender in the Realisation of Apologies in Local Council Meetings: A Variational Pragmatic Approach in British and New Zealand English

Abstract This variational pragmatic study investigates the realisation of apologies in local council meetings in New Zealand and Britain. Specifically, it aims to establish to what extent the macro-social factors gender and region influence the choice and combination of apology strategies. The data are drawn from two multi-modal corpora, The Corpus of Australian and New Zealand Spoken English (CoANZSE) and The Corpus of British Isles Spoken English (CoBISE). Our findings reveal general shared trends both across the two regional varieties and the two gender groups. Apologies are mostly realised by sorry forms and speakers prefer to use just one single apology strategy. Nevertheless, within these general trends, some distinct gender patterns are manifest. Overall, though, our findings indicate that the influence of gender and region on the realisation of apologies is limited. The communicative setting of council meetings seems to exert a bigger impact on the apology behaviour of the councillors.

Factors that influence evidence-informed meso-level regional primary health care planning: a qualitative examination and conceptual framework

BackgroundEvidence-informed primary health care (PHC) planning in decentralised, meso-level regional organisations has received little research attention. In this paper we examine the factors that influence planning within this environment, and present a conceptual framework.MethodsWe employed mixed methods: case studies of five Australian Primary Health Networks (PHNs), involving 29 primary interviews and secondary analysis of 38 prior interviews; and analysis of planning documents from all 31 PHNs. The analysis was informed by a WHO framework of evidence-informed policy-making, and institutional theory.ResultsInfluential actors included federal and state/territory governments, Local Health Networks, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, local councils, public hospitals, community health services, and providers of allied health, mental health and aged care services. The federal government was most influential, constraining PHNs’ planning scope, time and funding. Other external factors included: the health service landscape; local socio-demographic and geographic characteristics; (neoliberal) ideology; interests and politics; national policy settings and reforms; and system reorganisation. Internal factors included: organisational structure; culture, values and ideology; various capacity factors; planning processes; transition history; and experience. The additional regional layer of context adds to the complexity of planning.ConclusionsLike national health policy-making, meso-level PHC planning occurs in a complex environment, but with additional regional factors and influences. We have developed a conceptual framework of the meso-level PHC planning environment, which can be employed by similar regional organisations to elucidate influential factors, and develop strategies and tools to promote transparent, evidence-informed PHC planning for better health outcomes.

The Influence of Social Factors on the Performance of Elected Leaders to the Council: A Case of Lira District Local Government Councilors

Purpose: The study assessed the influence of social factors on the performance of local government councilors in Lira District Council. Specifically, the study assessed the influence of selected social factors (gender, age and education attainment) on the performance of local councilors.
 Methodology: A case study design was used, and 28 respondents were sampled using both purposive and simple random sampling techniques from which questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics (version 23) to generate descriptive and inferential statistics which are presented in tables, percentages, and frequencies.
 Findings: Findings reveal a strong and positive relationship between education attainment and the performance of councilors (r=0.719, p<0.01); and a positive and strong relationship between age and the performance of councilors (r=0.625, p<0.05). However, the study revealed a weak and positive relationship between gender differences and the performance of councilors (r=0.061, p<0.05).
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Given that social factors yielded an Adjusted R2 of 0.13.5, we conclude that education attainment and the age of councilors are significantly correlated to the performance of local councilors. From the study, it is encouraged that a policy aimed to regulate the minimum education requirement be set to a post-primary level now that the Local governments act does not stipulate any educational qualifications for one to become a local councilor. This study is relevant to policy makers, in Uganda as well as those advocating for better local government performance, to formulate policies that aim to address the dynamics of local governance in the country.

Assessing the Impact of 20 mph Speed Limits on Vehicle Speeds in Rural Areas: The Case of the Scottish Borders

This paper aims at delivering new empirical evidence as to the effectiveness of 20 mph speed limits in rural areas. For this purpose, speed and traffic data were drawn from the area of the Scottish Borders, UK, where the local Council led the rollout of a 20 mph speed limit trial in 97 villages and towns from October 2020. This intervention is considered as one of the first of its kind in the UK and overseas, as it was carried out on a large scale, in predominantly rural areas. To evaluate the impact of the 20 mph speed limit on vehicle speeds, we conducted a “before–after” quantitative analysis using traffic and speed data collected in different waves before and after the intervention. The descriptive analysis showed that both mean and 85th percentile speeds reduced directly after the introduction of the 20 mph speed limit (by 3.1 mph and 3.2 mph, respectively), and that such speed reductions were largely maintained even up to eight months after the onset of the intervention. The largest speed reductions were observed in locations with high-speed patterns before the intervention, and especially in those having mean speeds greater than 25 mph before the intervention. Both non-parametric and parametric statistical tests, which were conducted using approximately five million speed observations, showed that the observed speed changes were statistically significant for the vast majority of cases. Linear regression models were also estimated confirming the significant impact of the 20 mph limit on vehicle speeds, while controlling for the influence of traffic volume. Overall, the findings of this study will likely assist in filling an evidence gap regarding the effectiveness of 20 mph speed limits in rural settlements. They can also provide encouragement to those local authorities in the UK and abroad that are currently actively examining the possibility of setting the 20 mph as the default limit in built-up areas.

The theoretical and practical difficulties of evaluating a community-based 'whole systems' obesity prevention intervention: a research team's critical reflection.

This article critically discusses the purpose, pragmatics and politics of conducting commissioned evaluations on behalf of public sector organisations by drawing on the experience of evaluating a community-based 'whole systems' obesity prevention intervention for an English local council. The study presented in this article incorporated two approaches: an evaluability assessment that interrogated the theoretical and practical difficulties of evaluating the intervention in a non-political way, and a retrospective analysis using Soft Systems Methodology that interrogated the more political difficulties of conducting such an evaluation in the 'real world'. The information and insights that enabled these reflections came from over 3 years of working closely with the programme team, attending and participating in stakeholder events and meetings, presenting to the Council's Scrutiny Committee meetings, four interviews with the programme manager, and multiple face-to-face group meetings, email exchanges and telephone conversations. The study reveals and analyses three key inter-related challenges that arose during the evaluation of the 'whole systems' obesity prevention intervention: the programme's evaluability, the evaluation purpose, and the nature, role and quality of evidence. The evaluability assessment was important for defining the programme's theoretical and practical evaluability, and the retrospective analysis using Soft Systems Methodology enabled a greater understanding of the political tensions that existed. Key learning points related to the challenges that arose during this evaluation have broad applicability.

Raising Rarity: Creating meaningful and sustainable conservation outcomes through community-based outreach.

A priority in plant conservation science is the identification of species at risk of extinction, allowing for conservation efforts to be focused on those that are most critically endangered to prevent their loss. A 2023 revision of threatened plants in Victoria found that 1,557 species remain under direct threat of extinction, despite conservation work being undertaken across the state to safeguard both individual species and plant communities. Although conservation efforts are fundamental to the protection of our flora, the persistently high number of threatened species illustrates a need to reimagine the way in which we approach conservation. Central to this is a need to engage more people across a broader cross-section of the community so that they can contribute to initiatives that effectively reduce the number of species at risk.Raising Rarity is a community-based outreach programme run by Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV). It is designed to actively engage distinct sectors of the Victorian community in local plant conservation. The programme acknowledges that although the expertise provided by RBGV in areas that include conservation horticulture, seed ecology, population genetics, outreach and education is critical to plant conservation efforts, the engagement and involvement of the broader community is fundamental to creating sustainable plant conservation solutions. Raising Rarity achieves this by working with volunteers, school groups, regional botanic gardens, local councils and members of the nursery industry to grow and display rare and threatened Victorian plants in accessible horticultural settings. The initiative aims to increase public knowledge, awareness and hands-on involvement in plant conservation.There are four key components to the Raising Rarity programme: (1) school outreach; (2)local government outreach; (3) botanic gardens outreach in an initiative called Care for the Rare; and (4) commercialisation of an RBGV rare plant collection. This article provides an overview of each of these components and outlines future objectives for the Raising Rarity programme.

Representation and Forest Conservation: Evidence from India’s Scheduled Areas

How does political representation affect conservation? We argue that the mixed evidence in the literature may be driven by institutional arrangements that provide authority to marginalized communities, but do not make adequate arrangements to truly boost their voice in resource management. We study a 1996 law that created local government councils with mandated representation for India’s Scheduled Tribes (ST), a community of one hundred million. Using difference-in-differences designs, we find that the dramatic increase in ST representation led to a substantial increase in tree cover and a reduction in deforestation. We present suggestive evidence that representation enabled marginalized communities to better pursue their interests, which, unlike commercial operations such as mining, are compatible with forest conservation. While conservation policy tends to stress environmentally focused institutions, we suggest more attention be given to umbrella institutions, such as political representation, which can address conservation and development for marginalized communities in tandem.

Chinese aid and corruption in African local governments

AbstractDoes foreign aid reshape citizen views on governments? How does Chinese aid relate to corruption perception in African local governments? Studying 33 African countries from 2000 to 2014 (175 590 respondents), Chinese aid heightens perceived corruption in local councillors and officials. Corruption scandals likely contribute to negative views of both China and local governance. Control variables like World Bank aid and Confucius Institutes disprove alternate theories. Heterogeneous effects demonstrate that China's aid is unwelcome among low‐skilled individuals who feel threatened by its expansion, magnifying corruption perception. This suggests that Chinese aid's unfavourable image fosters scepticism among African citizens and undermines collaborating local governments.