Policy in Practice

A few months ago I wrote to the various policy machines at the three big parties, I also called UKIP but their best suggestion was to search out their local candidate. None of the parties replied so I thought I would update my blog with the content; just a flavour of ideas...I'm not writing a report... Employment Service; getting people back to work We should be encouraging the public sector to work with clients instead of acting as a referral agency to private providers. Providers are extremely savvy at adjusting their aims when market environments changes, the new system is far superior in terms of delivering accountability but perhaps quality is sporadic. The third sector has been furthered from the discussion and the large providers are not actually assisting the ‘hardest to help’ despite claiming for them. Flexible target contracts to assist the hardest to help would be of huge benefit; the current system discourages this and a flexible contract would see morally ...

  An important part of sustaining an Olympic legacy is the role a facility plays; a strategy must have strong participants as well as a clear vision of engagement. In Birmingham we have suffered by ignoring our potential and being guilty of mismanaging our assets. Part of this problem has been a lack of encompassing strategy and natural resource use, this is something the city consistently misses and when one part of a community is supported another is encouraged to stutter.   Whether business, public or third sector, area regeneration and sustainability must co-exist in a wider policy context as well as in the immediate locality. These are some lessons learnt in Birmingham that could assist any future plans for our Olympic venues.  Ø   Minimize future losses by having Council employees encourage and monitor strategies/successes. On the other side don’t assume your Council can create and sustain a strategy; or even be supportive. Be communicative and inn...