The three challenges of community leadership

Abstract

The ongoing reform of UK local government emphasises the development of local authorities as ‘community leaders’. Both the definition of the term, and local government's fitness for the role are, however, contested. Previous research suggests that to fulfil this role local government will have to meet three challenges: engage citizens in the determination of community priorities, provide strategic leadership and develop the collaborative potential of other local agencies. Drawing on case study evidence gathered in six local authorities in England, this paper finds that while local authorities can report some successes in strategic leadership, the development of community engagement and collaborative advantage present more of a challenge.

Acknowledgements

This paper draws on data collected for research which was funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The views expressed are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent those of the Office.