Councils learn from Japanese

Two of Japan’s leading local authority figures will be answering questions on how councils can best respond to prolonged economic downturn, as part of an international learning exchange organised by the Local Government Group.

Local government in Japan has undergone revolutionary change in the past 20 years following the collapse of the country’s economy in 1990. Heavy budget cuts, less central government control and enforced mergers resulted.

In the week commencing 17 January town hall decision makers in England can take part in the Efficiency Exchange’s Japanese Q&A.

The Efficiency Exchange is an online community bringing together a range of professional skills across organisational boundaries. It has been operating since February 2009 and has more than 2,000 members.

Noboru Fujishima, director of the Japan Local Government Centre, and his deputy, Yuji Akaike, will be available to answer direct questions on how Japanese councils responded to changes brought about by economic downturn. They will be talking about what worked, what didn’t and how things could have been done differently.

The week-long event will take place online at www.communities.idea.gov.uk. Councillors and council workers are invited to log on and pose questions. Answers will be given within 12 hours.

Councillor David Parsons chairman of the Local Government Association Improvement Board said: “Council budgets in England are facing unprecedented cuts in response to the economic downturn. Local authorities are going to have to change the way they deliver services, in some cases radically. We are not the first country to go through this process and there is a lot we can learn from local government in other parts of the world, particularly those who have already had to transform the way they operate.

“Councils in Japan have already had to respond to reduced budgets, greater autonomy and the need to deliver services for less. There’s a lot we can learn from them about coping in tough economic times. I encourage council decision makers to take the opportunity to question their Japanese counterparts to find out what worked, what didn’t and what could have been done better. I’m sure it will be a terrific learning experience.”

To pose a question or learn more about the Japanese Q&A visit: http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/c/436525/forum/thread.do?backlink=ref...