Improvement Service

LARIA in Scotland is holding its annual conference in October 2009 and is calling for presentations and posters for inclusion. The conference will feature a series of 15 minute presentations on research conducted across the public sector, as well as poster presentations of research. This document gives details of how to submit your research to be considered for inclusion within the conference.

This review commissioned  by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Audit Commission and the Local Government Association, identifies how national and regional partners can more effectively support local partner research and analysis for decision-making. The report includes recommendations for national, regional, and local organisations for strengthening support for local partners.

This template is designed to capture information about research and analytical activity undertaken across Scottish local government.  This information will then be shared through bulletins and on the IS website. 

A list of research and analytical activities currently taking place across Scottish local government, or completed within the last 18 months. The list provides a short description of the research aims and methods along with contact details for the person leading the research and, where possible, a link to the final output. The aim is to provide those working in policy, research and analysis with details of research taking place in other councils in order to improve awareness of work undertaken throughout Scotland and support the sharing of good practice and encourage collaboration.

A study of how research is organised and used within Welsh local authorities with recommendations for improvements.

We use this in Fife to work through the key questions in planning a research or evaluation project, to help clients in developing a brief for research, and as a checklist for planning a piece of research.

This is an Action Research Resource Pack. It was developed for community researchers and practitioners wanting to know more about Action Research Methodology and how it can be used in practice.  Developed by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Local Government Association Analysis and Research bulletin (LGAARB) is the regular one stop publication that keeps you informed about key issues and developments in research impacting on local government. The bulletin brings together the work of the LGA, the work of the local government group and relevant publications from the wider research community. The information in LGAARB is grouped under themed areas and our aim is to provide,  high quality horizon scanning, analysis and research in one place. The bulletin is produced on the 28th of each month.

The local government association research bulletin (LGARB) is the regular one stop publication that keeps you informed about key issues and developments in research impacting on local government. The bulletin brings together the work of the LGA, the work of the local government central bodies and relevant publications from the wider research community. The information in LGARB is grouped under themed areas and our aim is to provide, on behalf of the LGA and local government central bodies, high quality horizon scanning, analysis and research in one place. The bulletin is produced on the 28th of each month.

This document provides details research and analytical activity currently undertaken by local authorities in Scotland. It is based on information provided by local authorities themselves, collected in October 2007. We would like to thank all of the local authorities who have participated in this exercise and we hope this update proves useful and informative. Dependent on feedback we hope to produce  research update on a regular basis so we would welcome comments and suggestions for improvement. If you were not given the opportunity to contribute to the data capture exercise but would wish to do so in the future please let us know - listen@improvementservice.org.uk (mailto:listen@improvementservice.org.uk)

From Julie Wilson, Assistant Chief Statistician, Scottish Government, following up Single Outcome Agreement event 9th Jan 2008 "A cut down excel version of our Sources and Outputs Database - which we compiled across the SG Statistician Group so we knew what was available and for our own National Statistics Accreditation and other audit type functions. This version, which we shared with the IS for their work on local indicators, was produced a while back now and so is in the process of being updated. We have given the Statistician Group till end of March to complete their updates - as this will tie in nicely with the new Statistics Board coming into being on 1 April, and with your own interests for SOAs. I can send you and update once it is complete. I also hope it will just be of general interest to your members - and that this will increase the use and hence usefulness of this information in Local Government circles. All outputs are published on the web site in our High Level Summary of Statistics."

Winter 2007/08 Newsletter This quarterly newsletter is used to raise awareness of research, funded by the Research Councils, of interest and practical use to those working with and within local government. The newsletter also includes details of opportunities to become involved in Research Council programme development and collaborative ventures, and flags-up collaborative funding opportunities. Details of research and events from other organisations relevant to LARCI are also included. In this issue: Raising standards across our schools Practical Research for education Getting to grips with assessment Education Mangement Information Exchange (EMIE) Living Arrangement, Health and wellbeing: A European Perspective? International Longevity Centre (ILC-UK) Mayor's State of London's Children Report 2007 Centre for charitable giving and philanthropy - successful bids announced Bridging the gap between higher education and the public Guide to local authority surveys of children and young people's well-being Bio-processing Research Industry Club Developing New Ways of Repairing Bone Healthcare Waste Research Project Assessing the viability of urban housing development The Past, Present and Future of Flexible Housing Centre on Migration Policy and Society (COMPAS) Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities Statutory Guidance: Draft for Consultation Estimating the scale and impact of migration at local levels Climate change Sustainable technologies Towards sustainable energy Waste Packaging Research Spin out success beckons Climate Change: a survey of local authorities Urban River Corridors and Sustainable Living Agendas (URSULA) NERC fund urgency grant to survey the exceptional bloom of jellyfish off the coast of N. Ireland Performance Management of Councils' Waste Services - Theory and Practice Accessibility and User Needs in Transport A 3D look at the world beneath our feet New radon data from the British Geological Survey and Health Protection Agency Collaborative funding Events Focus on...LARCI Focus on...local government Focus on...the Research Councils Useful links Collaboration Opportunities Your Ideas

This is a combined PDF of all presentations given at the Single Outcome Agreement event at Linlithgow on 9th January 2008. All presentations are merged into document for ease of downloading.  Order of presentations: 1. A Single Outcome Agreement: The Overview, Bob Christie, Outcomes Programme Manager, Improvement Service. 2. Health Improvement in W. Lothian: Planning Well" - Jane Kellock, Health Improvement Manager, West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership 3. Single Outcome Agreement - Opportunities and Challenges from the Perspective of Policies for Children and Young People. Jim Stephen, Organisations and Quality, Children, Young People, Social Care, Scottish Government 4. Developing outcome agreements in the partnership setting - is a problem shared a problem squared? or "The outcomes approach to community care". Chris Bruce, Lead on Community Care Outcomes, Partnership Improvement and Outcomes Division, Scottish Government 5. Working Together to Provide the Best Information for Single Outcome Agreements: Mrs Julie Wilson, Deputy Chief Statistician, Office of the Chief Statistician, Scottish Government

This monthly publication is produced by Local Government Analysis and Research at the Local Government Association. The bulletin keeps you informed of key issues and developments in research, impacting on, or of interest to, local government. The information in the bulletin is grouped within themed areas which include: employment, pay and workforce trends, transport, housing, education and children's services, environment, health, social care, crime, local government and international issues.

Laria in Scotland steering group members were provided with a list of activities which it was anticipated they would sometimes be involved in.  They were asked to record problems they currently have undertaking these activities and to indicate things that help them to perform these different activities (labelled "positive" below).  The raw data from this exercise is recorded in this document and it is hoped will  help Laria in Scotland identify how it can best support the research and analytical community,  highlight potential events and activities.