Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance: Power

Get a colour version of the poster hereGet a black and white version here Get the poster back (with info) here This poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a research project on democratising governance in local authorities.  The collaborative project focused on two cities: Glasgow and Sheffield. Our starting point was that we understood the deep democratic deficit of the local state and its governance, and how our local democracy is being captured or undercut by privatisation and commercialisation. Yet we also recognised that local authorities are also important sites of campaigning and community activism. We wanted... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance: No Cuts

Download a colour version of the poster hereDownload a black and white version here Download the poster back (info) hereThis poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a research project on democratising governance in local authorities.  The collaborative project focused on two cities: Glasgow and Sheffield. Our starting point was that we understood the deep democratic deficit of the local state and its governance, and how our local democracy is being captured or undercut by privatisation and commercialisation. Yet we also recognised that local authorities are also important sites of campaigning and community activism. We wanted to identify... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance : Care

Download a colour version of this poster here  Download a black and white version here Download the back of poster (info) here This poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a research project on democratising governance in local authorities.  The collaborative project focused on two cities: Glasgow and Sheffield. Our starting point was that we understood the deep democratic deficit of the local state and its governance, and how our local democracy is being captured or undercut by privatisation and commercialisation. Yet we also recognised that local authorities are also important sites of campaigning and community activism. We wanted... [continues]
Democratising Local Governance Posters
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance Posters

Legislative changes in the last decade have increased the power of central government over local authorities. Democratic controls (transparency, participation, accountability and so on) have been continuously eroded. Under a culture of cuts and lack of care, cities have become an important site for residents and communities to provide for one another and drive forward the changes they want to see. But the deep democratic deficits we are facing, and the continuing capture of the local state by private interests, have a direct and damaging impact on people’s ability to exercise individual and collective power in their local areas. Over... [continues]
orange protest sign that says "the power of the people is stronger than the people in power"
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Events

Cities in Action: Democratising Local Governance launch 27 April

Thursday 27 April  7-8.30pm Join us on Thursday for the launch of the findings from our project Democratising Local Governance!  Register now on Eventbrite.  Legislative changes in the last decade have increased the power of central government over local authorities. Democratic controls (transparency, participation, accountability and so on) have been continuously eroded. Under a culture of cuts and lack of care, cities have become an important site for residents and communities to provide for one another and drive forward the changes they want to see. But, the deep democratic deficits we are facing, and the continuing capture of the local... [continues]
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February newsletter: Audit delays, Grassroots democracy and more….

Dear friends, After a good Christmas break, the three of us and our various collaborators have been getting on with projects, plus co-op development and planning for the future.   Still waiting for Audit Reform This Spring we will be publishing our research into local audit and public interest, and how this arena could be improved, both in terms of upcoming legislation and more widely in cultures and mechanisms of accountability in local government.  The bigger picture isn’t good. There’s deepening frustration from all sectors - local government, auditors, regulators and MPs/Peers - over the continued absence of an Audit Reform... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Newsletters Uncategorized

Newsletter: Winter 2022/Annual Roundup

Dear friends of Research for Action, 2022 has been a year of major growth and change for us.We grew our work on public interest and audit, began a project with groups in Sheffield and Glasgow on democratising governance and deepened our work with the European Municipalist Network. We have developed as a worker co-op, adding a new member, Gloria Dawson, and a board member, Tim Joubert. We have also developed our mission, vision and values as well as the policies and procedures we need for our co-op to reflect our values, and we are proud of the progress we have made... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Newsletters Uncategorized

Newsletter: Autumn 2022

Dear newsletter readers,    We are very excited to say that we have just launched a report that showcases the work of various citizen auditors across England!  The publication, called ‘Citizen Auditors: investigating local government's accountability gap’ shows ways in which local groups and individuals are scrutinising their local authorities, challenging poor governance and decisions they believe are not in the public interest. It draws on the experiences of a network we have been coordinating this year. Citizen auditors are working on a wide range of issues relating to council spending, but also on challenging poor governance. We support each... [continues]
REPORT – Citizen Auditors: Investigating local government’s accountability gap
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Publications Uncategorized

REPORT – Citizen Auditors: Investigating local government’s accountability gap

Across the UK, concerned individuals and local groups are holding local government to account. Research for Action has been supporting this loose network to form closer ties, meet regularly to learn from one another, provide support and compare experiences and techniques.   This publication shows ways in which those local groups and individuals are scrutinising their local authorities, challenging poor governance and decisions they believe are not in the public interest. Citizen auditors are working on a wide range of issues relating to council spending, but also on challenging poor governance. In practice, the work involves attending council meetings and scrutinising... [continues]
Summer newsletter: new staff member & project updates 
Posted inCurrent Newsletters

Summer newsletter: new staff member & project updates 

  Dear friends and followers of Research for Action,  We hope you have been enjoying the summer this far and have been able to take some relaxing time off. Research for Action has grown by a staff member since you last heard from us. Gloria started working with us at the end of June as our brand new Advocacy and Communications Coordinator and we are very very excited to have her on board!  Gloria says:  Hi, I’m joining Research for Action to work on local audit reform. I’ve had a lot of experience in political organising, activist research and diverse... [continues]