Annual Review 2007/2008

LARIA 2007– 2008

LOOKING BACK……… MOVING FORWARD

Established in 1974 as a Specially Authorised Society under the Friendly Societies Act, LARIA is an evolving association which is seeking to promote and support research and researchers involved principally in local government but increasingly within the wider public sector.

In this leaflet we set out to inform about what we are and what we aim to achieve.

Andy DavisFROM THE CHAIR

Welcome to the LARIA Annual Review for 2007/08. Our Review takes both a look back at some of the highlights of the past twelve months, and also gives a preview of what’s in store for LARIA and LARIA members over the year to come. We also outline the services on offer to members as a support service for researchers across the public sector.

Since taking over as LARIA Chair from Jill Tuffnell, I’ve been impressed with the breadth of activities the organisation gets involved in, having the opportunity to see many more of these first hand. So I’d like to thank everyone who gets involved in LARIA activities, in both a voluntary and paid capacity, for their time and efforts throughout the year.

Our Conference and Events programme has gone from strength to strength over the past year. The 2007 Conference at Lancaster was one of the most popular we have ever held, and our day events run throughout the year continued to be very well attended. Our BVPI Survey Seminars, run jointly with the Audit Commission, CLG and LGA, were of such significant interest that we held them in four locations throughout the country.

The past year also saw a new start for ‘LARIA in Scotland’. A group of researchers met in Edinburgh in July to restart the Group, and have subsequently organised further meetings and events of relevance for researchers in Scotland. It’s excellent to see such a high level of interest and momentum around public sector research in Scotland, which should set the scene for a rewarding twelve months ahead for the group.

We also spent some time raising the profile of LARIA at a couple of national conferences, including the annual gathering of local authority Chief Executives. Our aim here was to promote research in local government and the public sector to key decision makers, and highlight to them how they could make better and more informed use of our work.

Towards the ends of 2007 stakeholders from local and central government, academia and the Research Councils agreed the way forward for a re-born and expanded LARCI (Local Authority Research Council Initiative). This exciting initiative included the creation of a new strategic board for LARCI and the signing of a Concordat between key organisations, which includes LARIA.

And behind the scenes, a lot of work goes into producing LariaNews throughout the year and into maintaining the LARIA website as our key communications tools, both of these relying on contributions from our members. Turning to the year ahead, this promises to be just as interesting and challenging.

With a new round of Local Area Agreements looming, there is a requirement for research and intelligence to inform, influence, monitor and evaluate priorities, policy and decision making. Along similar lines, in Scotland our members have also been considering the research implications of the Single Outcome Agreements.

The data collection for the new National Indicators will commence, providing challenges in collecting data in areas we’ve not necessarily done so before. And in the Autumn we will have our first round of the new Place Survey to get involved in.

Further details on the Sub National Review of Economic Development and Regeneration are due to emerge, including how research and intelligence should be identifying and assessing economic challenges in local areas.

All of these will no doubt result in new forms of partnership working. The heightened interest in information management issues towards the end of 2007 will give much greater emphasis and higher profile to how we share and use data in new, and existing, partnership contexts.

And over the next twelve months LARIA will launch its revamped website, to provide improved opportunities for sharing news, views and information on the wide range of work our members get involved in.

Finally, we always need more help in enabling LARIA to continue to provide better services to our members. If you would like to get involved, please contact any Council member, who will be able to give you further details. It’s not only a great opportunity to meet researchers from elsewhere in the public sector, but is also a very worthwhile and useful development activity. So if you feel you can get involved,
then please do!

ANDY DAVIS
JANUARY 2008

ORGANISATION

CouncilLARIA is a membership organisation which elects a management body - the Council – to govern its affairs. The Council, currently comprising up to 22 Members of LARIA, oversees activities and meets four times a year. Any Member can stand for election to the LARIA Council at the AGM which takes place during the Annual Conference held in the Spring.

Most of the work of LARIA is carried out through a series of 5 Activity Groups and the devolved LARIA in Scotland Group. All members of LARIA are eligible and encouraged to join one or more of the Activity Groups. Each Group typically meets 3 or 4 times a year in various parts of the country:

  • Policy & Administration (restricted membership)
  • Member Development
  • Events
  • Marketing & Promotion
  • Newsletter
  • LARIA in Scotland (LiS)

MEMBERSHIP

There are three categories of membership:

Full members (£5 pa)
Associate members (Free of Charge)
Corporate members (£60 pa)

By the end of 2007 the total membership had reached around 1,130 comprising:

  • More than 200 corporate members;
  • Over 130 full members;
  • Approaching 600 associate members;
  • and a further 240 members named additionally under corporate membership.

All members receive a copy of LariaNews three times a year and significant discounts are given to corporate members at LARIA events. To become a member either contact the LARIA Administrator (see back page) or download a membership form from the LARIA website.

PUBLICATIONS

Laria NewsLARIA’s main publication is LariaNews which is published three times a year. The main articles included in the 2007 issues were:

  • 2011 Census Updates on Questions, Output Geographies, Statistical Control Policy, Data Distribution, and 2007 Test
  • Involving the Public in the Lyons Enquiry
  • Ethnic Minority Populations and the Labour Market
  • Local Information System in Tower Hamlets
  • Composite Indicators as a Measure of Performance
  • Monitoring Change in Vitality in Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Fresh Look at Citizens’ Panels
  • Analysing Small Area Data and Trends in South Lanarkshire
  • Research-Backed Anti Smoking Service in Nottingham
  • Mystery Shopping in Wakefield - winner of Excellence in Research Award 2006
  • Road Safety Consultation in Cheshire
  • Exploring On-Line Research Methods
  • Web-Based Council Budget Consultation
  • Updating the Indices of Deprivation (England) 2004
  • Effects of Students in the Working Age Population in Nottinghamshire
  • Health Profiles for Local Authorities in England
  • Performance Management of Councils’ Waste Services
  • Neighbourhood Management Information System in Newham
  • Improving Services & Support for People with Dementia
  • Consultation Initiatives in Bristol
  • Understanding Socio-Political Influencers in the Community
  • New Way to Evaluate User Satisfaction Levels in Cambridgeshire CC
  • Report of the LARIA 2007 Conference at Lancaster University
  • Reports on LARIA One-Day Seminars
  • Research at Lancashire CC, Blackburn with Darwen BC& Scottish Borders Council.

In addition, each issue contains sections on Local Authority R & I News, Conference and Events reports, reports about other research organisations, book reviews, profiles on LARIA People and News from Elsewhere.

LARIA, in conjunction with the LGA, published a number of Research Reports into research in local government during 2005 which remain essential reading for local government researchers. The reports can be obtained from links from the LARIA website or from the LGA website www.lga.gov.uk/publications.asp

  • Knowledge is Power: the Need for Effective Research in Local Government. May 2005.
  • Local Authority Research Effectiveness: a Discussion Paper. March 2005.
  • Creating Effective Research in Local Government: a Toolkit. October 2005.

In 2006, a Guide on Managing Research in Local Government by a former LARIA Chair, Bryan Hall, became available for downloading from the LARIA website. (pdf 1.30Mb)

A Research Contacts list detailing research interests volunteered by Members, though unpublished, is available for Members to make use of in networking.

Further information on all LARIA Publications can be found on the LARIA website.

LARIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The main annual event organised by LARIA is the Annual Conference. In 2007 this was held at the University of Lancaster between 27th and 29th March. The theme of the Conference was ‘Going Local – the Community Dimension’, attracting an overall attendance of more than 200 delegates, speakers & exhibitors over the three days.

The venue for the Conference 2008 is the University of Nottingham, a venue which LARIA last visited in 2002. Taking place between 1st and 3rd of April the title ‘Places, Partnerships and Performance’ provides the underlying themes for presentations to be given by a range of speakers from the public, private and academic communities.

The venue for the Conference in 2009 had not been decided in early 2008 but a return visit to St. Catherine’s College, Oxford was one of the strong options.

EVENTS

AudienceIn 2007, LARIA continued to organise events for the local government research community and six one-day seminars took place:

  • Consultation – Some Novel & Imaginative Approaches: a joint LARIA/LGA Seminar, February 2007 London.
  • Migrant Workers –Local Authority Initiatives: a joint LARIA/LGA Seminar, May 2007 London.
  • Best Value User Survey Dissemination: a series of 4 seminars held in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds & London, September/October 2007, run in partnership with Audit Commission, LGA & CLG.

For 2008, the first events have been:

  • Researching Hard to Reach Groups: January 2008, Crewe
  • Single Outcome Agreements (Scotland) put on by LiS in January.

…… to be followed by other one day events likely to include a seminar on Population Issues.

LARIA events have been successful both in attracting delegates and from the feedback received. The partnership with the Local Government Association in the staging of some seminars continues to be very much appreciated.

WEBSITE

In addition to lots of information about LARIA, the events it holds, the publications it produces, research job vacancies and current Government consultations, there is a forum page where researchers can post and contribute to debates on issues of research interest.

This year 2008 sees the website undergo changes that should enhance its usefulness and accessibility to members and non-members alike. Plans to make a significant redevelopment were agreed in 2007 following detailed work undertaken by a LARIA ‘task & finish’ group and these are coming to fruition during 2008.

LARIA EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARDS

The winner of the 2006 Award presented at Conference was the Communications & Marketing Team at Wakefield Council for its Mystery Shopping Programme.

The 2007 winner is the Borough of Poole for their childcentred approach to analysing children’s and young people’s needs. The judges felt the analysis demonstrated an excellent use of secondary data drawn from a number of partner organisations in the Borough.

As the standard of entries was so high the judges highly commended the London Borough of Waltham Forest for their Young Voice Online Panel. In addition the judges commended Bristol City Council for their Bristol Parks project, and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council for the Anchor and Birchall design experiment.

The award is again being sponsored by CACI Limited, a leading provider of marketing solutions and information systems. As well as paying for a place at the LARIA Annual Conference 2008 for Poole Council, up to £2,000 worth of CACI data will be provided for use by the Borough. The winner will present their research at the LARIA Conference in Nottingham and along with the other submissions commended will receive a certificate at the Conference.

Thanks to all the authorities who took the time and effort to submit projects for the award. It was very encouraging, once again, to receive such a good response and to see the range of good quality research that is taking place and making a difference across the country.

For further information on the award scheme or the above projects please contact Mike Walker by email at mike.walker@css.lancscc.gov.uk

LARIA IN SCOTLAND (LiS)

LiSNorth of the Border, LARIA in Scotland (LiS) continues in its aim to promote and represent the interests of LARIA’s Scottish members and to identify and tackle the challenges that face public sector research in Scotland.

Last year we identified one particular key challenge for the year ahead: to revitalise the LiS Steering Group. To this end all Scottish LARIA members were invited to a meeting (held in Edinburgh in July) with the aim of identifying the issues facing Scottish public sector researchers, to look at what LARIA in Scotland could do to support and promote public sector research in Scotland and to ‘kick-start’ a new LiS Steering Group to take these issues forward.

The meeting was a success. With more than 20 members attending, it identified a significant list of issues and concerns and generated a useful raft of potential actions and activities to tackle these issues. It also generated a substantial list of potential volunteers to become involved in a revitalised Steering Group – and this potential was realised when some 14 members attended the first Steering Group meeting following the July event.

This first meeting made some key strides forward in several areas. A new chair was elected at a meeting held in September – Paul Davison, of Stirling Council. A small team was set up to help progress the planned review of statutory requirements for public sector research in Scotland. LARIA’s links to the Improvement Service’s initiative to develop an electronic Community of Practice for Scottish researchers were further developed and a sub-committee was established to develop an events programme for LiS.

The first event to mark the start of the new group was a well attended seminar on 9 January 2008, designed to bring as wide a group of researchers together as possible. This looked at information and research issues relating to the Scottish Government’s new ‘Single Outcome Agreement’ approach to funding councils in Scotland and monitoring their performance.

Looking forward, the Steering Group is consulting widely within the research community to firm up on ideas and suggestions for future seminars and networking events and is looking at innovative ways of using new technology to communicate with and support public sector researchers and to facilitate the organisation and management of Steering Group business.

For further information about LARIA in Scotland, contact Paul Davison davisonp@stirling.gov.uk Tel: 01786 443327

ALGIS IN LARIA

The Affiliation of Local Government Information Specialists (ALGIS) is an autonomous group affiliated to LARIA. It represents the interests and concerns of information specialists working with local government information. The Group organises events and visits and publishes three Newsletters a year. It exists to provide support and opportunities to network for those working with or interested in local government information.

In 2007 ALGIS contributed to the publication of the Guidelines for official publications in local authorities ( www.nfer.ac.uk/LAPublishing ). The Chair of ALGIS is a member of the LARIA Council. Membership (£20 a year) entitles members to attend visits and seminars and to receive the Newsletter. They also receive three issues of LariaNews a year and details of LARIA events and publications.

As well as the 2008 AGM, at which there will be speakers on managing information in the digital age and a visit to a Nottingham University Library, other visits are planned.

For further information about ALGIS contact: David Smith Library Information and Culture Service, Conwy CBC Tel: 01492 576288 Fax: 01492 592713 david.smith@conwy.gov.uk

LARIA OFFICERS

The LARIA Administrator is:

Doris Besford
Tel: 01925 723539 admin@laria.gov.uk
1 Henderson Close, Great Sankey, Warrington WA5 3JJ

The LARIA Events Organiser is:

Sarah Byrne
Tel: 01904 611953 sarah@mosaiceventsltd.com
Mosaic Events Ltd., Fishergate Business Centre, 35 Hospital Fields Rd. Fulford, York YO10 4DZ

The LARIA Promotion Co-ordinator is:

Bob Cuthill
Tel: 01792 208907 rcuthill@globalnet.co.uk
35 Gwerneinon Road, Sketty, Swansea SA2 8EN

Details of all other LARIA Council members can be found on the LARIA website or in LariaNews.

If you want to find out more about LARIA, please explore www.laria.gov.uk or contact the LARIA Administrator, Doris Besford (details above).

Return to top