Case studies

Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many innovative programmes councils are involved in.

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Open Up the Mic in Blackpool

Showtown worked with youth organisation HeadStart and professional comedians to deliver Open Up the Mic, a 12-week course supporting young people aged 10-15 to develop their resilience, performance skills and confidence.

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Oxford In-house sports and physical activity development

Oxford City Council’s awardwinning sport and physical activity team works with a broad range of partners, including an external provider which operates the city’s sport and leisure facilities. Targeted programmes, projects and events are helping to increase participation among key community groups.

Oxford Road, Reading: Re-imagining the High Street Through Your Stories

As a High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ), Reading Borough Council was awarded a £85,000 grant from Historic England to create and deliver community-led cultural activities on the high street over the next three years.

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Palmer Park library and Reading College partnership

Palmer Park library in East Reading supports a range of students, including learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities at nearby Reading College (run by Activate Learning) to gain, develop and improve customer service skills, offering a way of gaining skills in a real life environment, whilst ensuring that a public library service can still be sustainably provided.

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Parks responding to a crisis - Rugby Borough Council

While parks and open spaces became a place of refuge and respite for the general public during lockdown, parks staff at Rugby were focused on supporting the delivery of essential services.

Pathfinder projects

In April 2005, a number of local authorities in England embarked on a two-year pilot programme, jointly initiated by the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The aim was to highlight innovation, learning and transferability in using culture to support partnership working in the shared priority areas.

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Peckham Levels

Southwark Council identified and enabled the transformation of an underused multi-storey car park into a major cultural and creative hub and workspace. This case study forms part of the Value of culture - regeneration section of our online Culture Hub.

Physical Activity Referral Scheme (PARS)

The Active Westminster Physical Activity Referral Scheme (PARs) is delivered by Everyone Health in partnership with Westminster City Council’s leisure contractors Everyone Active, and was previously known as the Exercise Referral Scheme.

Pioneering Places

Pioneering Places was a partnership between cultural organisations and multiple councils across Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone and Ramsgate.

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Placemaking with poetry

Barnsley Museums adopted two unloved Listed red phone boxes in the town centre and transformed them into works of art telling stories of the town’s heritage with words by the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.

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