In early April 2014 the Open Democracy Project published an interesting and informative article on Newcastle’s long running UDecide programme.
Alison Lamb from Newcastle City Council was interviewed by Participation Now researcher Hilde C. Stephansen.
A short extract is given below.
"the benefits that we always cite in Newcastle are about increasing confidence and trust between public service providers and citizens. We look at the transparency of the decision making, and we look for the creativity, because putting citizens and service providers together to look at issues and interventions through a different lens has generated some really innovative ideas in terms of bids.
These are the main benefits for us: much better working relationships emerge between service providers and citizens; there is more trust and accountability.
And sustainability as well, I think. Increasingly, as the local authorities’ budgets diminish, communities are recognising their skills and coming together to do more for themselves. That includes defining what their needs are, not just what the interventions are."
- Read the full interview on the Open Democracy website
- Find out more from Newcastle City Council’s UDecide website
Photo linked from the Open Democracy website