The LGA is relaunching its annual challenge to find the sector’s top executive talent
The Local Government Challenge is an annual competition that tests the leadership skills of the next generation of top executives and celebrates the amazing talent in the sector.
Over six months, 10 local government officers undertake five real-life challenges at councils, culminating in a final event at the LGA’s annual conference in Bournemouth, in which four finalists pitch their own project proposals to delegates and a judging panel.
The winner takes away the prestigious Bruce-Lockhart Scholarship, worth up to £10,000, to realise their proposal back at their home council.
Our current cohort began the competition at the start of 2020, completing two of the five challenges.
The first challenge took place in February, at Surrey County Council, where the contestants developed a business case to help mitigate the effects of climate change through land use and consumer habits, as part of Surrey’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050.
In March, we set off to Pembrokeshire County Council for our second challenge and the first ever in Wales. The contestants developed a plan to support post-16 learners to ensure that “every learner achieves more than they thought possible”.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to pause the programme. We’re now excited to announce that we will be restarting the programme, with five new challenges beginning in February 2023.
After a recent recruitment campaign, members of our existing cohort who have been able to remain on Local Government Challenge have been joined by two new officers (see panel below for all the participants).
Our 2023 cast of talented officers covers regions including the East of England, Greater London, North West, South East, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.
The programme celebrates and showcases the talent we have in local government, and encourages applications from officers who will share their diverse range of capabilities and expertise in the challenges and with the wider sector.
So, it’s not just officers who get something out of the Local Government Challenge; our host councils receive valuable consultancy by developing a challenge specific to a real-life local issue, drawing on the expertise of 10 council officers who work together on innovative solutions and offer fresh perspectives.
The Bruce-Lockhart Scholarship has kindly been supported by Essex and Kent County Councils since the inception of the Local Government Challenge in 2009, in memory of Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, a former Leader of Kent County Council and a former Chairman of the LGA.
Top talent
The 2023 challengers are:
- Sydney Alexander, Policy and Innovation Officer at the London Borough of Islington
- Leanda Cable, Lead Specialist Prosperity at Maldon District Council
- Hannah Futter, Assistant Chief Executive at the London Borough of Waltham Forest
- Zoe Galvin, Programme Officer Kent Communities Programme and Co-Chair of Aspire at Kent County Council
- Rose Hampton, Senior Marketing and Communications Officer at Staffordshire County Council
- Jack Kennedy, Head of Economy and Growth at Surrey County Council
- Joe Kinsella, Project Manager at Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
- Felicity Lynch, Watch Manager at Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service
- Hani Milburn-Cox, Programme Manager – Local Government Reorganisation at Cumbria County Council
- Lewis Sheldrake, Lead Commissioner – Innovation and Personalisation at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.