Working in a Modern Democracy report, November 2024
We’re delighted to share our first ‘Working in a Modern Democracy’ report with our ADSO community and with our wider democracy family.
Our Modern Democracy programme is exploring how digital tools and culture, along with new approaches to citizen engagement and other issues, are changing our local democracy. This report shares our learning from our ADSO members about what it’s like to work in today’s local democracy, and what we need to do to adapt for the future.
Our Modern Democracy programme is very much about us looking to the future together. We want to make sure that our members have a strong voice in where we go next, and that we address the challenges and opportunities they face.
We also want to work with others in the wider sector to understand how our local democracy is changing, and to discover how we can best work together to strengthen our democracy.
If you’re an ADSO member, we hope this report reflects your experiences and gives you hope and encouragement for the future.
If you’re part of an organisation in our wider democracy sector, or you’re interested in the future of our local democracy, we hope this report gives you an insight into the experiences and aspirations of people who work in democratic roles in councils and other organisations.
Download our report
Working in a Modern Democracy, November 2024
extension: pdf
About our Modern Democracy programme
Our local democracy is changing. We’re exploring how digital tools and culture, along with new approaches to citizen engagement and other issues, are changing our local democracy. We want to hear your views, experiences, questions, ideas and concerns, so we can understand what this means for the future of our democracy, and in particular for the people who work in local democracy roles in our councils.
We know that we’re exploring these issues at a challenging time for our councils. Today’s local democracy is happening in the context of financial challenges for local government, and urgent challenges for our citizens and our environment. We also know that changes in local and national political landscapes will impact on our local democracy. This is all the more reason for us being ready to listen and to innovate.
What we’re exploring
Some of the things we’re exploring are:
- How is our local democracy changing and what might be different in the next five years?
- How are digital tools and culture already changing our local democracy?
- What are citizen expectations for democracy in our networked society?
- What are the opportunities for reshaping local governance and decision-making, using new approaches to citizen engagement?
- How can we make the best use of new technologies whilst not giving up our democratic space?
- What is the role of data and AI in local decision-making?
- What skills do people who work in a modern democracy have, and what skills do people need to develop, to support citizens and councillors well?
- How can councils keep pace with digitalisation and other challenges for local democracy, in a way that’s relevant in their local context, whilst maintaining transparency and accountability?
Who we are
ADSO is the Association of Democratic Services Officers. We support people working in local democracy roles in councils and other organisations, through training, forums, events, information and advice. We’re a growing community of over 1,500 members across 320 councils in England and Wales.
A group of our members have volunteered to be part of our Project Team, to support people to share their views.
The programme is led by Carl Whistlecraft, ADSO Non-Executive Director and Diane Sims, ADSO Director of Communications.
Why we’re doing this
At ADSO we want to learn how we can best support and empower people who are working in democracy teams in councils. We want people to feel confident working in a digital age, and to become enablers of change in our councils. This includes being able to support councillors to embrace digital tools and culture, and being able to involve citizens in local decisions, using participatory tools and approaches.
What will the role of a democratic services officer look like in five years time? And what can ADSO do to help everyone with this shared journey?
Who can get involved
Everyone is welcome to get involved. If you’re someone who works in a Democracy team in a council or you work in another local democracy role, if you’re a citizen or a councillor, if you’re part of any organisation working to strengthen our democracy, or if you have something to share with us on this subject, we’d like to hear from you.
How to get involved
Our programme opened on 18th June 2024. We are developing the programme in phases. You can find the current links for taking part in our research and conversations here, when each option becomes available. You can also contact us now to register your interest.
For ADSO members:
- Members shared their views from June to September 2024, through a series of workshop discussions, by taking part in sessions at regional meetings, and by completing our online questionnaire. You can explore what we’ve learned so far in our November 2024 report.
- ADSO Conference 2024 participants can join in our ‘Working in a Modern Democracy’ workshop on day two of the conference, Tuesday 26 November 2024.
- We’ll keep in touch with you about the next steps.
For partner organisations:
We welcome involvement from organisations who are working on issues of local democracy and citizen engagement.
- Get in touch to discuss how we can work together
- Take part in a research interview
- Look out for our online questionnaire
For citizens and councillors:
- Look out for our online questionnaire
Contact us
If you’d like to find out more about this programme, or if you would like to get involved in our research interviews, please get in touch:
Carl Whistlecraft
carl.whistlecraft@adso.co.uk
Diane Sims
diane.sims@adso.co.uk