It’s been described as “astonishing”, “incredible” and “phenomenal.” But perhaps the best word for the 84.5% turnout in the Scottish independence referendum is “historic”. The figure was a record for any election or plebiscite held in the UK since the […]
By Stephen Lochore ‘Big data’ is big news! Along with its close relative ‘open data’, it’s part of the latest thinking about how managing information can help bring about better services. The rough idea is to use new technology and […]
By Stephen Lochore and Morwen Johnson As the consequences of Thursday’s referendum result continue to reverberate across the UK, we look at what the indyref tells us about political engagement and public policy in 2014. The public will vote, when […]
Alex Thomas The Knowledge Exchange is advertising for a Data Scientist as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Salford. The role will examine the applicability of data mining techniques […]
by James Carson How are housing associations and their tenants preparing for Universal Credit? It’s one of the big questions at the heart of the coalition government’s reform of the benefits system. Until recently, the answer was unclear, but we’re […]
by Laura Dobie The SURF 2014 Conference, which took place yesterday, was a lively event which explored regeneration in Scotland from a range of perspectives, including the economy, social justice, and land ownership. Following on from last year’s SURF Regeneration […]
by Brelda Baum The UK Government recently announced plans to build up to 50,000 new homes on 20 brownfield sites across London and plans to achieve this by creating 20 new housing zones in London (with a further 10 new housing […]
By Alex Addyman England needs to provide between 200,000 and 250,000 homes each year to meet the current housing shortage. The role of local authorities in meeting this shortfall was recognised in the Autumn Statement and has been progressed through […]
by Rebecca Riley In this local election 4,200 seats are up for grabs, including all London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 74 second tier district authorities, 20 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts. The expectation has been that Labour would […]
by Stephen Lochore I recently posted about how local authorities can support their communities, and in particular local community groups, at a time when their ability to directly deliver local services is diminishing. My post touched on the danger of […]