Reforming services: the example of refugee support

Joe Brady, Head of Protection & Integration at the Scottish Refugee Council, explains an organisational change process that led to a sharper focus on assets. He explains how service redesign was achieved through developing principles and trying and testing new approaches to learn what works in tackling issues of refugee integration and exclusion. This has included using Christie Principles and integrating evidence to action.

A democratic future for community planning?

Guest blogger Calum Irving, Chief Executive of Voluntary Action Scotland, explains how his organisation has been working on a new vision for third sector interfaces to build the third sector’s relationship with community planning.

Think YES? How to deliver transformational change in relationships between staff, managers and local people

What would you do if the head of your organisation suddenly told you to change your working practice and ‘Think Yes’ in everything you do? Well, that's precisely what happened to housing officers working for Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) when their new chief executive piloted an approach to leadership that fundamentally altered relationships between staff, their managers and their tenant and resident customers. 

In this blog Claire Bynner and Ken Gibb describe the experiences and impact of this leadership programme from the point of view of staff at GHA, who shared the story of Think Yes at a What Works Scotland Roundtable event at Glasgow University on 15th June.

Local Government Finance

James Mitchell, Professor of Public Policy in the Academy of Government at the University of Edinburgh, summarises a recent presentation he delivered to CoSLA on local government finance.

What Works Centre for Wellbeing: Call out for stakeholder engagement

Guest blogger Hannah Wheatley from the Wellbeing Team within the New Economics Foundation introduces the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, recently launched by the What Works Network as a government-funded initiative aiming to enable a range of stakeholders to access evidence on wellbeing.