Councils will be showcasing their innovative ideas at the LGA’s annual conference.
The LGA Annual Conference and Exhibition 2023, taking place in Bournemouth from 4-6 July, will see the return of our Innovation Zone – a vibrant and creative space where local authorities and wider partners of the sector showcase their new ideas for tackling the issues facing local government.
I’m delighted to be able to work on this exciting programme of events in my role as Chair of the Improvement and Innovation Board! Thanks go to Newton, which will be sponsoring the Innovation Zone again this year and bringing us a series of interesting sessions.
Last year’s zone was a great success and saw talks on the world’s first 5G-connected forest, featuring Eric, Nottinghamshire County Council’s robotic dog (pictured).
We also heard from former gang leader turned activist and poet Karl Lokko, who spoke about his journey to activism and uniting communities, and from Cheshire East on its work using behavioural insights to prevent male suicide.
This year’s Innovation Zone programme will give delegates the opportunity to hear from more than 40 councils from across the country (and even some international talks too).
Speakers will cover topics from climate change and housing to social care and workforce issues, exploring how their innovative solutions have helped tackle local challenges, and share learning that you can take back to your own council.
Highlights include Liverpool City Council’s talk on hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, the impact of the event and the importance of culture in telling an authentic story of place.
Speakers will discuss Liverpool’s innovative structure for culture and how to ensure legacy from major events is maintained.
Drawing on the success of last year’s panel session on climate change, we will be re-running this session with representatives from across the sector. Panellists will cover issues from building net zero homes and environmental justice to ways of measuring and reducing emissions.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s award-winning Digital Record Enabling and Management Support (DREaMS) team will present their game-changing digital maturity tool.
The team has worked with more than 850 care providers, helping them to become more digitally enabled, and providing tailored support to design appropriate technology, support and infrastructure that bring improvements to service users.
Watford Borough Council will discuss its ‘Reimagining Watford’ project, which focuses on a staff-centric approach to the development of its new values and behaviours.
This unique, council-wide programme was born out of a desire and need for Watford to rethink its approach around a major transformation project.
The Innovation Zone will also provide opportunities to hear about the LGA’s sector support offer and the value of sector-led improvement.
This includes sessions on the Cyber Assessment Framework for Local Government and the benefits of the LGA’s flagship graduate scheme – the National Graduate Development Programme.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn something new.
The Innovation Zone provides a chance to share ideas with others, to showcase success and gain learning that can have an impact in your own local authority.
The programme is now online and will be continually updated.
It will also be available on the LGA’s conference app, which you will be able to download nearer to conference time from the Apple App Store and Google Play by searching for ‘LGA Events’.
I look forward to seeing you in the zone in Bournemouth!
- See www.local.gov.uk/conference for more on the LGA’s annual conference and the Innovation Zone. If you have any questions about the zone, please email [email protected]