Localism

Localism is the term used by central government to describe the shift of power away from the state to individuals, communities and local organisations.

The following pages provide information about Localism and how you can get more involved where you live.

The government believes that by making sure people are better informed and more involved in the decisions that affect their area, the better placed they will be to tackle issues themselves and rely less on others.

You may want to get support for your community project, take up local involvement opportunities, understand more about the implications of the government's Localism Act for your community, or find useful contacts for other organisations that can help.

At Norfolk County Council, we understand the importance of communities being able to tackle issues locally and will support Localism through working with communities to help them get on with things themselves.

Community resources

The following resources are useful for encouraging and supporting localism in your area.

• Guide to involving people when services are commissioned (PDF, 244 KB) (designed and provided or bought) - This guide was developed by a co-production team of community representatives and Norfolk County Council staff and is now in regular use. It could be helpful to other organisations and to members of communities who are getting more involved in decision-making
• Norfolk Directory - The Norfolk Directory provides details of services, clubs and activities available across Norfolk from a range of providers and organisations, which is constantly being updated and added to. If you provide services, clubs or activities, you can register with this site, and then apply to add or manage your own listings.

How we are supporting localism

We recognise that local people want to better understand the work and decisions affecting their area and be more involved in what happens.

We are helping to build and maintain strong, sustainable and caring communities by working with partners and supporting community ownership of local priorities, particularly those best tackled through local community action.

Localism is being used as a practical tool for achieving our main aims for Norfolk and we are applying it in specific services where we are faced with making budget reductions or other changes.

We believe that for Localism to be successful, three foundation blocks must be in place:

• Transparency - our commitment to openness. We know that it is important for people to understand what we do, what we spend and how we are achieving value for money
• Working with communities - helping communities to play a more active role. This can be achieved by building their skills and capacity to deliver their own solutions
• Devolution - enabling communities to play a bigger part. This can be achieved by allowing communities to take on responsibility for local services and community assets