Entering the localgov bubble
What is it with British governments and bubbles? You’ll have heard about the Westminster bubble — a silo of politicians and policy makers seemingly incapable of communicating with or indeed living in the real world — but have you heard of the ‘localgov’ bubble? No? Well you wouldn’t have because I just made it up.
As a fairly fresh post grad with little prior knowledge of local government it is clear since joining The Satori Lab, a public sector transformation specialist, that getting into this world isn’t going to be quite so straight forward.
Here are two quick examples why I’ve found it to be a bit bubbly. I’m sure you’ll have your own. Perhaps that’s a post for another day.
Reason 1 — Language. The first problem upon encountering the localgov world is that to the untrained ear those inside it seem to talk in a peculiar language. Heavy on the jargon, everything seems to be based around frameworks, models and guiding principles.
Reason 2— Confusing terminology. What do the words local government, local authority, local council and public service have in common? The answer — everything and nothing. What I soon realised is that in the localgov space interpretations vary depending on who you are and what you do.
Piercing through
Confused by my experience, I’ve put together 3 simple tips that I’ve found helpful when trying to understand this space. I’m hoping it might help newcomers like me to become bubble poppers rather than blowers:
- Do your research
It’s a big jargony world out there. So you need some clear routes in. I’d suggest you start by reading the history of local gov. It’s a quick and useful background and thankfully not too mundane, like most gov history pieces.
Practical step: Read this conversation I had with local government expert, Ben Proctor. It will help you to get a better understanding of what the heck local government is, where it differs to central government and where different bits of local government fit.
2. Know your area
Unfortunately, local gov is not a one size fits all world. This means every local government works differently. This is quite confusing when you’re learning. I suggest you stick to an area you know. This might be your local council or a local housing authority. Get to grips with how it functions, that way you’ll have a better grounding when working with other organisations.
Practical step: Use the Gov.uk’s local council finder here to find yours.
3. Get out there
A highly social species, local gov folk love to get together. I’ve attended a number of gov events and it’s a good way to learn about the main challenges facing the sector and the issues facing people at ground level.
Practical step: I’d suggest following @UKGovCamp as this lot tend to either run or know about most localgov events going on around the UK. I’d also suggest setting up Google Alerts (this will show you how) to alert you to new posts/events as and when they are posted.
1% complete
It’s still very early days in my localgov adventure and there are still vast caverns I’m yet to explore.
What I’d take comfort from is if anyone else in localgov felt the same when they started out? Can anyone explain why this complexity is a good idea? So many questions, so little time.
Thanks for reading my first ever blog post.
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