NLGN launches new name – New Local

The New Local Government Network (NLGN) has rebranded as New Local and launched a new website.

According to the think tank, the new identity reflects its mission to work alongside the whole of local government, communities and the wider public sector to create empowered communities and stronger public services.

The new name was chosen following a wide consultation with network members, which revealed the gap between perception of NLGN as an organisation and how people felt about the NLGN brand and name.

‘Increasingly, our members tell us that their work is no longer about governing in the traditional sense,’ said chief executive, Dr Adam Lent.

‘Instead, they are transforming their areas by mobilising their local communities to address the biggest social challenges, and they are working in close collaboration with partners to deliver a shared vision of place.

‘We wanted to reflect this broader outlook in a new name and brand. NLGN felt too narrow for the work we and the whole local government sector are doing now,’ he added.

The think tank’s chair, Professor Donna Hall added: ‘As we have been reminded by Covid-19, there is enormous strength in the ‘local’ – and a huge opportunity to imagine what a ‘new local’ could look like.”

‘The name New Local is about looking towards the future: what is the ‘new local’ that we strive for? How do services collaborate every more closely with their communities? How can people regain a say over their lives, and the places where they live and work? What does a meaningful, human version of ‘building back better’ or even ‘taking back control’, look like?’

Photo Credit – Free-Photos (Pixabay)