Organisational Change and Political Will

Decentralization is a complicated and challenging process. If successful, it can help local authorities to work flexibly and responsively with their consumers and local community whilst also providing a context to counter the current fragmentation of local government. Decentralization, if accompanied by developed management, budgets and political decision-making, can both begin to empower local people and achieve a more efficient use of ever scarce resources. This study is an account of decentralization in action in one local authority. The report charts the changes in attitudes over the first 18 months on implementation. It gives an account of the process of organizational change, the development of a new culture and the key role of elected counsellors. Practical lessons to help inform decisions about the way forward are provided. Students and teachers interested in management and local democracy will find here a living example of rapid and dramatic changes in one local authority which has transformed its culture and, under an increasingly restricted financial regime, is succeeding in forging real links and alliances with local people.