The Raven's Blog

How do we deliver true social and economic value for the community?

18.09.17: Five years on from the introduction of the Social Value Act, Alison Ramsey, frameworks co-ordinator at Scape Procure, reflects on the key questions that prompted the legislation’s introduction. The Social Value Act was an important la...

Making the public pound count

29.08.17: Rt Hon Hazel Blears, chair of Social Investment Business and a leading member of the National Advisory Board for Global Impact Investment, discusses the importance of achieving social, economic and environmental impact through procurement. ...

Is weekend working dragging you down? You’re not alone

24.08.17: Carl Fillery, chief executive of Boundless, says public sector overtime could be damaging if employees can’t take control.  Boundless recently conducted a study comparing weekend working habits in the public and private sector, w...

Delivering social value in public sector procurement

07.08.17: Theresa Grant, CEO of Trafford Council, explains how local authorities in the Greater Manchester area are making every penny of public spend provide that little bit more value for money. ‘Prisoners in Forest Bank Prison in Salford are bei...

Is ‘good enough for government’ good enough for us?

28.07.17: Catch22’s new chief reform officer, Pamela Dow, who used to be the Ministry of Justice’s director of strategy, gives her perspective on what can be done to improve the way public services are designed and delivered.  A good...

Making UK cities inclusive and welcoming for newcomers

24.07.17: We all know the difficulties associated with moving to a new town – not knowing your way around, having to integrate into the community and meeting new people. But for those moving to the UK from abroad this process can be even harder...

Councillors celebrated in Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2017

19.06.17: A number of local government leaders and figures have been named in the Queen’s 2017 Birthday Honours list. The list recognises the achievements of people across a number of different sectors by handing out awards for services to thei...

Sadiq Khan: London stands united against terror

05.06.17: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has today vowed that the capital will stand united after the terrorist incident on Saturday evening that killed seven people and injured many more. In a statement yesterday, he also announced that a vigil would be...

A watershed moment in British democracy

02.05.17: The upcoming mayoral elections represent a watershed moment in the history of British democracy, reports PSE’s Luana Salles.  On 4 May, voters across six regions will take to the polls to decide who should captain their public se...

Engaging voters ahead of May’s elections

24.04.17: Emma Hartley, head of campaigns at the Electoral Commission, discusses the importance of a collaborative approach to engage voters ahead of this year’s elections.  It’s vital that voters can easily participate in every type...

Why opening up procurement matters to the UK public sector

22.03.17: Rob Levene, managing director of Bloom, explains why opening up procurement is important to the UK public sector.  Procuring products and services by the UK public sector is big business. The central government procurement budget is es...

Greenlight given for £1.5m GM Arts and Heritage funding

16.03.17: Around £1.5m worth of funds will be put towards transformative Arts and Heritage projects in Greater Manchester, as it was announced that the region had been selected as a national pilot area for Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund...

Centre for Cities CEO to step down after six years at helm

13.03.17: Alexandra Jones will step down after six years as the chief executive of Centre for Cities to move to the government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as director of Industrial Strategy. It was also confi...

CCS to launch largest public sector water framework agreement in the UK

02.03.17: From 1 April, most business and public sector organisations will be able to choose which company supplies their water. Crown Commercial Service is bringing the largest public sector water framework agreement to the UK market. Working alongside f...

And justice for all

23.02.17: Nothing less than a ‘whole-place’ pooling of public service budgets and devolution of criminal justice system powers to local level can create the conditions for community transformation, argue former communities secretary Hazel Blea...