One of the first things any councillor should do to engage online with residents is to get a website of some sort. This will help people to find you, know what you are up to and to get in touch. One of the simplest, quickest, cheapest and most useful ways to set up a simple website is [...]

One of our new modules in the Modern Councillor catalogue is on the topic of the Localism Bill , which undertook to change the law to shift power away from central government and towards local people. The bill is still going through Parliament, but it will be an important piece of legislation, especially for local authorities and the [...]

Social Media offers many interesting possibilities for councillors to communicate and engage with those of their constituents who use Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Like the blended learning approach encouraged by Modern Councillor in which training is not only rolled out using e-learning modules but can be used to support classroom based training, councillors communication with [...]

NALC are holding three one day conferences this year, aimed at highlighting the important contribution of local councils to their communities.  The plenary and workshop programme will be repeated in three locations, to allow delegates from around the country to benefit from this exciting event. The events will be held on 15 June in Bristol, 19 July [...]

If you weren’t able to attend Modern Councillor’s first webinar on low-cost online learning for Elected Members, you can now catch-up below on the resources from the webinar. The webinar was  completed by, Dave Briggs , Learning Pool’s Community Evangelist, and  provided an overview of the Modern Councillor Service and how the online learning and community it provides can help [...]

With the elections of May 5 2011 now complete, Member Development Officers need to look at the most efficient and cost effective way to train these newly elected councillors. Modern Councillor is the online learning and support destination for councillors, people considering standing for election, or indeed anyone with a passion for local democracy. MDO Support Webinar Join us for our [...]

Modern Councillor is brought to you by  Learning Pool , the online learning community for the public sector. A great advantage of this is that we are able to share with Modern Councillor subscribers resources created by our customers around local democracy.  Learning Pool customer, LB Waltham Forest, has created an  online training course to support polling station staff and has [...]

On Thursday 5 May 2011, there will be a referendum on the voting system we use to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Learning Pool has created a free and comprehensive e-learning module all about the Alternative Vote in time for the referendum. A referendum asks us to vote yes or no to a proposal.  For this referendum, [...]

With the elections on May 5 just around the corner for both English and Scottish councils, join Dave Briggs on this free webinar to learn more about Learning Pool’s relaunched Modern Councillor service and how the online learning and community it provides can help support councillor training.   Dave is Learning Pool’s Community Evangelist, and is an expert in the [...]

Cllr Ayas Fallon-Khan shares how Brighton & Hove City Council have used Social Media to create a two-way conversation between council representatives and residents, make better use of staff resources and to help save costs. He also highlights the healthy debate which can come from openly engaging with the public using Social Media but how [...]

London borough councils Harrow and Brent partnered to assess their councillors’ development needs using the Political Skills Framework (PSF) using a suite of e-learning modules created by Learning Pool’s Authoring Tool. This is the first time this type of project has been undertaken by two councils working in partnership and using a nationally recognised framework. [...]

Social media is changing the world in which we work, socialise and govern. From Twitter to eBay, Facebook to YouTube, new tools are emerging every year that place the connecting power of the internet in the hands of every one of us. In this context, the expectations on councils to engage, work openly, be accountable [...]

NALC and CCN (County Council’s Network) have just released a new publication entitled Working Together for Communities . The publication highlights examples of joined up working between the tiers of local government. It emphasises the importance of collaboration if local councils are to meet the current economic, social, environmental, and political challenges. Councillor Michael Chater , Chairman of NALC describes below the [...]

21st Century Councillor recently published a report along with  TweetyHall, Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) and  Local Government Chronicle (LGC) looking at the lessons learnt from the 2010 general election  about the use of social media by politicians, parties and citizen activism. The report includes information on how social media can be used to improve local politics, gives [...]

The recent GovCamp York/Humber saw the first session held at the GovCamp events aimed specifically at elected members and their use of Social Media. Ken Eastwood , Assistant Director, Barnsley MBC, describes the reasons behind the session- “In thinking about the LocalGovCamp movement it struck me as really important to engage with elected members, in particular over [...]

David Wilcox has been doing a great job  documenting the discussions around the Big Society agenda, which according to the website, is

an organisation being set up by frustrated citizens for frustrated citizens, to help everyone achieve change in their local area. Our aim is to create a new relationship between Citizens and Government in which both are genuine partners [...]

Cllr Imran Lokhon has been an elected member with South Oxfordshire District Council since the age of 21. Learning Pool caught-up with  Imran, to find out- Why he stood for election at such a young age How he finds being a councillor What he thinks should be done to encourage younger generations to become involved with local democracy [...]

As many of you know, Learning Pool’s main office is located in Derry, Northern Ireland. We were delighted recently with the appointment of Councillor Colum Eastwood as the city’s Mayor. Derry has always been known for being one of the oldest remaining walled cities in Europe and Mayor Eastwood is now helping the city to [...]

The Improvement Service, which – according to its website – supports “Scottish Local Government and its partners to deliver better outcomes for communities”, has produced a guide for councillors on how to use blogs as tools for communications and engagement. It says:

Elected Members can put their own thoughts in writing and take it to the [...]