Date: 2006

Researchers: Prof Chris Skelcher (c.k.skelcher@bham.ac.uk); Stephen Jeffares;  Mark Roberts

Partner: None

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Project aims

This study reported evidence of significant service innovations initiated by British local government in the past 40 years, indicating the conditions for their emergence, the extent of their dissemination and their level of impact.

Research design

We examined:

1. Seven examples of service innovation: reasons, diffusion and impact
2. One innovation where we explored the different approaches between individual local authorities
3. Factors that explain the capacity of local government to innovate

Findings

The main findings of the study were:

• Local government innovates across a wide range of services and processes that support services
• There are highly effective networks for innovation dissemination within local government, although these do not necessarily reach all councils
• Local government can innovate independently or with support from other partners, but sometimes faces indifference and on occasions open hostility
• Central government often adopts local government innovation

Outputs

A copy of the research report is available by clicking here.