At Local Futures we continuously update our site and brief you on new developments and our latest work. You can be regularly updated on these changes by using your RSS reader.

Latest Local Futures work

Deprivation in 2007

Our briefing on the current geography of deprivation, using the latest IMD figures, has been covered in the SocietyGuardian. The research shows that the picture of relative deprivation has remained largely unchanged since 2004, with 30 of the 35 most deprived districts (roughly the most deprived 10 per cent of districts in England) remaining so today. Some background data outputs, including league tables and maps of ward deprivation, district deprivation and district inequality are also provided on the SocietyGuardian pages below.

'Government fails to redraw map of English deprivation'

'Liverpool is England's most deprived district'

Berkshire Strategy for Sustainable Economic Prosperity

The Local Futures Group is working with the six Berkshire unitary authorities to create a sub-regional Strategy for Sustainable Economic Prosperity. The project demonstrates local areas taking the lead in delivering the Sub National Review and its recommendations for wider partnership working, particularly regarding local economic development.

The first phase of the project culminated in the production of a State of the Sub-Region Report, which was launched at a major event in January 2008. Attended by members and partners from across Berkshire, the event highlighted the key strategic priority themes to be addressed, and agreed a work programme to refine and develop the strategy. This final phase will include futures and scenario development, and an extensive proofing exercise with each of the districts.

The State of the Sub-Region Report can be downloaded here [warning: large file size]

Please contact the Local Futures Group for further information on the project.

The State of the London Boroughs - Place-Shaping Tool-kit

A major report on the State of the London Boroughs has been launched as part of a 'place-shaping tool-kit' for the capital. Sponsored by Capital Ambition, the report is accompanied by 33 Borough Profiles, summarising the findings for each of the individual local authorities. The tool-kit contains other resources and is also designed to inform work on Sustainable Community Strategies and LAAs, as well as the wider place-shaping agenda.

Click here to download the full report; to find out more about the project, please visit the Capital Ambition website.

North West Visions

Local Futures is currently working on visions for Sustainable Community Strategies in Warrington and Stockport. The work has involved a comprehensive baseline analysis of local conditions and a programme of workshops involving key partner organisations. Futures and scenario building techniques have been used to help imagine alternative futures and shape compelling and believable visions. The work is also designed to inform other partnership and strategic activity.

For more information on our visions and strategy work, please contact the Local Futures Group.

Supporting Local Leadership

Local Futures is working with the Leadership Centre for Local Government on a regional programme of place-shaping seminars. Aimed at local political leaders, the seminars introduce members to the basic concepts of place shaping and work with them to apply the concepts to their own area.

Please contact us if you would like further details of our place-shaping work.

New on the website

Please click on the menu items on the second level to get more information on our new services. 

Introducing our Place Shaping Programme

A wider range of services for our Network members 

Local Knowledge service

In response to the Government's 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' White Paper and the emerging agenda around place shaping, Local Futures has launched a new Place Shaping Programme. Available on annual subscription it provides access to a range of services and resources - reports, workshops, online services - that have been brought together to support an area's place shaping activities. A subscription also provides access to a network of organisations that are committed to developing innovative approaches and best practice in this exciting new area of policy.

Subscribers to the Place Shaping Programme receive the following:

Local Futures Network: membership of the Network, accessing research, intelligence and resources and attending regular seminars.

Local Futures Audit: an analysis of their area, using one of our Local Futures Audit reports. These provide a comprehensive analysis of local conditions - economic, social, environmental - and provide the foundation stones for an area's place shaping activities.

Local Knowledge online: a corporate licence for accessing our Local Knowledge online service, providing all the data, toolkits and methodologies they need for understanding current conditions and anticipating future change.

Workshops: a programme of on-site workshops designed to create a shared understanding of current conditions and to anticipate future change.

Learning Network: the opportunity to attend regular meetings with other subscribers and to share best practice. 

In addition, subscribers receive a variety of help-line support, newsletters and other assistance to support the process of place shaping within their own areas.

For further information on the Local Futures Place Shaping Programme please contact us or email info@localfutures.com. 

Our new Local Knowledge service transforms our well established geographical intelligence system into a state of the art toolkit for driving forward Britain's place shaping agenda. It contains all the content, analytical tools and methodologies necessary for understanding current conditions and anticipating future change.

Benchmarking current conditions
In a fast changing global economy successful strategies need a clear understanding of local strengths and weaknesses. Drawing on an extensive database of published and proprietory indicators, Local Knowledge helps users to analyse regional and local performance. Critically, it provides all the content, tools and methodologies necessary to create comprehensive profiles of economic, social and environmental conditions - at a regional, sub-regional and local and neighbourhood level.

Anticipating future change
But successful strategies also need to anticipate future change and identify new opportunities and threats. In addition Local Knowledge now helps users to 'anticipate the future' by providing insights into 'drivers of change', incorporating analysis of some of the key trends and forces that will shape future prospects. It includes future scenarios, providing alternative views of long-term futures, that can be applied locally.

Local Futures Network
A subscription to Local Knowledge now also includes membership of our Local Futures Network, itself providing access to a range of research, resources and workshops designed to provide original insights into global-local change. Not least it provides access to a network of organisations committed to sharing experience and developing innovative approaches to developing local strategies and marketing.

If you would like to know more about our new Local Knowledge on-line service please contact us or email info@localfutures.com.

Our Local Futures Network, established in 2005, now has more than 100 members and has established itself as a unique learning network of organisations interested in global-local change. Formed originally as the Knowledge Economy Network, it has now adopted a much wider remit. While the knowledge economy remains a central theme, its coverage has been extended to cover other important 'drivers of change' that are likely to impact on the future of regions, cities and localities in Britain. Not least, its focus has been adapted to respond to the emerging 'place shaping' agenda.

As a result and in response to member comments, we have introduced a wider range of services for subscribers:

Our seminar programme will continue, but will explore a wider range of issues, covering economic, social, technological and environmental change.

Our web services have been enhanced and now include a wider range of intelligence and resources. These include policy and research documents, a library of local strategies, web links, our monthly barometers and a new 'future trends' service.

In addition to our regular newsletters, subscribers will receive online feeds of information of interest to our members. 

We will continue to develop and promote syndicated research programes of research of interest to our members.

If you would like to know more about the Local Futures Network please contact us or email info@localfutures.com

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