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LGA - London councils to work with design experts to tackle tough social issues

Homelessness, homecare and help for looked after children are just a few of the challenges London councils will be addressing over the coming months when the Design in the Public Sector programme launches in the capital.

The 16-week programme, delivered in a partnership between the Local Government Association (LGA) and Design Council, will support six local authorities in London to come up with workable solutions to high priority issues affecting their local communities.

Design experts will work with local leaders and stakeholders to explore evidence and reframe key local challenges. They join 48 other local authorities in England who have already benefited from the programme and delivered improvements and solutions to tough social challenges including managing demand for health and social care, addressing public health issues such as obesity, and improving community cohesion.

The Design in the Public Sector programme, which launched in 2014, was set up to increase the knowledge and use of strategic design skills in local authority public services and to expose local teams to new ways of working to enable them to do something practical to meet their challenges in a relatively short period of time.

Cllr William Nunn, Chairman of the LGA's Improvement and Innovation Board, said:

"We recognise that there is a growing movement of design thinking and innovation in public services and the LGA is keen to equip more councils with the necessary tools and knowledge. As councils' finances continue to get squeezed, we want to enable them to come up with radically different solutions to challenges faced so they can continue to provide excellent services to their communities."

Rona Tanfield from Chelmsford City Council, who took part in the programme last year, said:

"The programme has helped Chelmsford City Council to develop solutions to improve the overall traffic position around schools. As every school and nearby resident and parent knows, the problem of parking around schools, and the safety issues that arise from it is an ongoing and contentious issue.  The programme has helped us to collaboratively explore this issue of traffic around schools in new ways and has improved partner working and had a really positive impact on the community's' attitudes and behaviour towards school parking."

Clare Storey from Coventry City Council also took part in the programme. She said:

"The programme taught us how to apply design thinking to ensure that people have the right information, advice and support that enables them to live well and independently for longer. Learning how to use tools to better understand our customers experience enabled us to come up with a design led recommendation for change. By simply introducing calling cards we can ensure our customers get to the right person quickly. We have also redesigned our online information offer to ensure that customers can find out about the support available in Coventry. We now use a variety of the tools, for example the problem statement and the service safari, to approach service design here at Coventry."

Westminster City Council, one of the six councils taking part this month is hoping to redesign services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Clare Chamberlain, Director of Children's Services for Westminster, said she was excited to get started:

"We are really pleased to be invited to take part in this programme to explore how we can rethink our local offer for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and their families. There are some great examples of innovation and a huge commitment locally but we know there is more to do to respond to rising demand and changing needs. The programme provides a real opportunity for us to work collaboratively with parents and local providers to explore how we can better use technology, physical space and co-delivery with families to develop more integrated and inclusive experiences for young people and families."

The London programme officially started on 16 March 2017 and will conclude in July 2017.

Notes

Case studies of how the programme has helped local authorities outside of London can be found here.

The councils taking part and the issues they will be working on are:

1. London Borough of Redbridge: Reducing temporary accommodation and homelessness

2. Westminster City Council: Redesign of services for children with special educational needs and disabilities

3. Islington Council: Identifying and testing new pathways to support adults facing multiple disadvantages 

4. Brent Council: Reducing demand for 'Looked After Children' placements

5. Brent Council: Redesigning the planning system.

6. Hackney Council: Improving support for tenants in the Private Rented Sector

7. London Borough of Haringey: Redesigning the model of support for young care leavers

8. London Borough of Haringey: Improving homecare to maximise independence of service users and reduce demand through integration of heath, care and community provision

About Design Council

Design Council is a charity and is recognised as a leading authority on the use of strategic design. We use design as a strategic tool to tackle major societal challenges, drive economic growth and innovation, and improve the quality of the built environment. Our approach is people-centred and enables the delivery of positive social, environmental and economic change. We address all aspects of design including product, service, user experience and design in the built environment. We are the UK government's adviser on design.

Design in Public Sector

Design offers an innovative way to develop solutions, services and policies. It places a relentless focus on real people's needs, reducing risk and increasing efficiency through continual testing and improvement. Design Council has worked extensively with UK public bodies on frontline services and complex policy challenges, from skills training to innovation challenges.

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