Donna Hall
Donna Hall CBE is chair of the New Local Government Network and Bolton NHS Foundation Trust
Building a New Local
NLGN has changed its name to New Local. Professor Donna Hall says the network will have the same objectives, but they will be expanded to welcome a wider range of sectors. But there will be ‘no watering down of the focus on local government’.
People matter more than places
Until we stop obsessing about the process of place and begin to reconnect meaningfully with people where they live, we won’t change anything, says Donna Hall.
Riding the second wave
Donna Hall says local government has never been so loved as people realise the power of community, the power of neighbourhood and above all, the power of local
Let’s remake the state
The state is a centralised, broken mess, says Professor Donna Hall. Instead of getting the public behind a common enemy, we should be harnessing public anger to reimagine local public services.
The power of local systems to save lives
The money announced for testing, tracking and tracing is welcome, but it will be pretty thinly spread across local government, argues Professor Donna Hall. Councils need to be properly funded to do this properly.
Designing our collective future normal
We have been given a 'precious liminal space' at the moment writes Donna Hall - and we need to 'use it well to deliver a renaissance in democracy, communities and local economies'.
A powerful light at the end of the tunnel
These are the most challenging times most of us have lived through, says Donna Hall – and ‘we can choose to close down or swim towards the light of a new community power at the precious heart of our public services’.
The vitally important triangle
Donna Hall says the main role of the council chief executive is ‘always triangulation, every single time’ – making sure what is being agreed ‘is the right stuff and actually happens on the ground in integrated frontline teams’
More weirdos wanted!
You don’t have to be brilliant at digital, algorithms or a weirdo to see that naked self-preservation and worrying about rocking the boat too dramatically is what is behind the failure to deliver local public service reform, observes Donna Hall.
Council chief executive or chief anthropologist?
Professor Donna Hall asks: Why not be a true anthropologist leader in search of the essence of what makes humans human?
Mending a shattered society
Local government must be the glue that mends the broken bonds of our communities, writes Donna Hall.
Joining the new power dots
Donna Hall explains that ‘permanently wiring new power’ into the way the organisation and system do business takes time and is difficult, but it is the only way it will work for the long-term.
Setting the right playing field
Donna Hall assesses the value of strong belief systems against the all too common trend to measure progress in a mechanical manner, and says the public sector can benefit from an adaptable take on the former
Communities know best
The New Local Government Network has been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to its call for a social movement of public servants and communities, writes Donna Hall
It’s our time to step up
Donna Hall asks what local government and other public services can do to ‘glue society back together in our localities’ in the ‘complete absence of national social policy’.
Don’t be afraid to jump in the deep end
Donna Hall maintains that if we are serious about bringing about positive change we need to work out how our own behaviours influence the culture of an organisation or a team.
We need a public policy rewrite to fix social mobility
Donna Hall says the real burning issue at the heart of the social mobility debate is the need to fundamentally reboot the economy alongside local economies and develop a more effective national skills strategy.
A new social contract – the Community Paradigm
The time is right for a new vision for the future of our communities, according to Donna Hall – a paradigm shift in thinking that is as revolutionary and fundamental as Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s social contract.
A council’s culture eats its strategies for breakfast, dinner and tea
Rip up all those wordy strategies that hardly anyone even reads. They just don’t work, says Donna Hall. She describes a better way for council chief executives and leaders to spend their time.
Unlocking the power of people
Donna Hall says Greater Manchester’s radical new place-based model is bringing together teams to help support each family and each person in their area.