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Around the world, local government has a long history of pioneering new ideas which work and of which, the sector should be rightly proud. From public health to waste management, economic regeneration schemes to integrated children's services, many innovations that are now part of our everyday lives started out as a seed of an idea that was incubated and grown by local government. And a recent report by the Audit Commission suggests that this innovatory zeal continues. It found that more than half of all councils say they are involved in ‘a great deal' of innovation, and that this activity is not confined to high-performing councils alone. This is good news, as innovation and innovative capacity have never been more important, as evidenced by two key trends. First, people's expectations of what government is for are changing. And second, as expectations of the role of government is changing, so too are patterns of demand for public services. As lifestyle and demographic changes begin to bite, the percentage of GDP made up of public service expenditure will rise. Within 20 years, health, education and care will overtake more traditional sectors such as the automotive and financial service industries in terms of their impact on the economic prosperity of the country. Taken together, these changing expectations and demands are likely to require that councils do things differently, as well as doing them better. In this context, while recent improvements should be celebrated, the question also needs to be asked – how ready as a sector is local government to face the challenges of tomorrow, as well as meeting today's demands? The answer to this is uncertain. Despite a long history of innovation, the capacity of the sector remains patchy. Too often, innovations have come about thanks to the dedication of individuals. Too often, they occur in spite of, rather than because of, a system that rewards compliance over experimentation. This will not be good enough for the future. There are three key challenges that councils must now work to address together. First, more needs to be understood about how to take innovations that work from the margins to the mainstream. Like many other parts of the public sector, local government has a good track record in sponsoring pilots and pathfinders, but often stumbles at the point of taking these ideas to scale. There is much to be learned from the worlds of business and the private sector about the potential of learning networks, knowledge management and the Internet in supporting this focus on translating pockets of great practice into norms and routines across all councils. Second, like central government departments, councils need to update their understanding about what kinds of innovation matter. Seizing the challenge of 21st century government means being willing to conceive innovation not only in technical or operational terms, but also in social terms. Innovation needs to become far more than a means of meeting a target or designing the cost out of a process. Truly effective innovations will be those that find new ways of meeting existing needs and responding to those that are currently unmet. They will also be those that harness the energies and motivations of the public themselves in helping to define and solve their own problems. Here, there is much to be learned from the best of the third sector organisations. Unlike local government, where too often, pressures conspire to move councils into solution mode prematurely, the best third sector organisations invest real-time and energy understanding and often redefining the problem. This kind of activity breeds innovations that are centred around people and outcomes rather than pre-existing services. Third, the sector needs to work together to decide where innovative activity is most needed. A council which was innovating on every front, simultaneously, would be a disaster. Too much disruption is confusing, distracting and ultimately, ineffective. Innovation is about unleashing ideas and creativity, but it is not the same as chaos. We need to create ways of focusing innovation around some of the toughest challenges that local government as a sector faces – in order to make the most of people's time, energy and creativity. Sophia Parker is a consultant for the Innovation Forum, and an associate at the think tank Demos.

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HEALTH

Things can only get better

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