WHAT WAS IT ALL ABOUT?

Effective research can make an important contribution to local government planning, service improvement, review and evaluation. How effectively does your authority manage, deliver and use research? Would you like to do better? This seminar will consider a Toolkit that is designed to help local authorities become more "research-minded" and to develop their research capabilities. Informed by a recent study examining the state of research in local government, the Toolkit addresses the key dimensions of research effectiveness, offers practical suggestions of ways of improving your research capability and provides practical illustrations of what can be achieved drawn from a range of authorities that exemplify various aspects of good practice. The Toolkit has been produced by Janie Percy-Smith (independent Researcher) and Alison Darlow (Policy Research Institute, Leeds Metropolitan University) as part of a piece of research commissioned by LARIA and the Local Government Association.

The seminar will provide participants with an opportunity to find out what's in the Toolkit and to discuss how they might apply it in practice.