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Iain Roxburgh to Head Research Consortium of Local Authorities

Originally Published 02 May 2003

Coventry City Council's former Chief Executive Iain Roxburgh has been appointed to lead a consortium of 25 local authorities who have been working together with the University of Warwick for the past decade to pool research into issues facing local government.

The Local Authorities Research Consortium is based in the Local Government Centre at Warwick Business School. Iain will be leading Warwick's research team and supporting and developing the work of the Consortium, initially until the end of the year. He will be building on a decade of work that has successfully combined world class academic input with the expertise of elected councillors and council officers and led to many innovations in public policy.

The Consortium's early work on the implications of the ageing population has already led directly to the development of the Government's Better Government for Older People programme and the its work on leadership and organisational development has contributed to the current emphasis on developing leadership skills of elected members and officers in local government.

The Consortium?s current research themes include an examination of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, how local authorities work with Local Strategic Partnerships, and the scrutiny aspects of political management. Its research programme is shaped member authorities.

In the last 2 years, Iain Roxburgh has been Advisor to the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit on LSP development, led the IDeA performance support team for Doncaster MBC, and provided interim management support to the NLGN for whom he has also just completed a major study on cross-boundary working by local authorities. He has been associated with the Local Government Centre and the Warwick Consortium since its inception. He also teaches at Warwick Business School on the Institute of Governance and Public Management's Diploma in Public Leadership and Management course.

Iain Roxburgh said: "I'm really excited by the challenge of further developing the work of the Warwick Consortium. It is an important resource for our member authorities as internal pressures squeeze out their consideration of societal issues. The Consortium enables councils to reconnect with these wider issues, helped by our international links."

Chair of the Consortium and Leader of Manchester City Council, Councillor Richard Leese said: "Local Authorities like my own need opportunities to reflect and think about the fundamental issues we face. I find the most important benefit of Warwick Consortium membership is the way it provides these opportunities within a challenging environment. I very much welcome Iain's appointment and his commitment to deepening the involvement of member authorities in the work of the Consortium."

For further information please contact:

Iain Roxburgh Tel: 07971 780616 or 024 76 670933

Mike Geddes (Acting Director, Local Government Centre)
Tel: 024 76 522312

Iain Roxburgh
Iain Roxburgh