LabNotes

In February, Gregor Rae, Chairman and CEO of BusinessLab, gave an inaugural lecture to the International MBA student cohort at the University of Aberdeen. "The Art of the Pitch" is the first of two modules intended to help students improve and finesse their presentations to potential investors and employers. The second module is entitled "The Science of the Pitch".

The future is in Newcastle

Technology Watch website lauds the Microsoft Corporation - ActiveAge presentation at the Gerontological Society of America's annual conference in New Orleans, and cites Newcastle upon Tyne as 'the future' in terms of ageing.

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ActiveAge

The ActiveAge team has started another wave of research into robotics, which will provide the theme for the next ActiveAge publication. A Newcastle partner meeting has also been scheduled for the 26th of January, when plans for the 2011 ActiveAge Summit will be finalised.

Renewables

The BusinessLab research team has been looking into the growing renewable energy sector. The team is particularly interested in the markets and business models that are developing within this area - and the strategies and processes that are being deployed to capitalise on the opportunities.

More Agents for Swansea

The City and County of Swansea Council are training up a new cohort of Signature Agents. A total of 36 new Agents are being trained to deploy the Family Learning Signature with families across the city.

Home Signatures The Community Signature

The Community Signature

The Community Signature is a diagnostic tool used to measure community capacity in order to improve services and outcomes for communities.  It was developed as part of an extensive BusinessLab research programme and has since been used to support regeneration and development projects across the UK.

The Community Signature engages community groups and residents at all levels,  and identifies how public sector resources can be targeted most effectively, reducing inefficiencies and redundant processes and leveraging the support of others to deliver appropriate services.

Public service providers are increasingly focussed on delivering more effective local public services through better targeting, integration and reduced duplication between partners.  To support this agenda, the Community Signature provides robust data on local needs and priorities, identifying areas of strength and barriers which must be overcome if the communities are to benefit from new forms of service delivery.

Signature data helps local authorities and community partnerships to focus and prioritise what they can deliver and what the community can do for itself. Understanding their own capacity can help empower communities to develop the skills, structures and support they need to make positive changes.

The Community Signature should be used to help service providers, stakeholders and communities understand:

  • What are the underlying strengths and assets which already exist in the community and can be leveraged?
  • What are the barriers that need to be overcome and how can these be prioritised?
  • Are current services and resources being used to maximum effect and delivering value for money?
  • What needs to be done differently?
  • Which partners should lead and where can they work together to avoid duplication or confusion?
  • What are the community’s needs and priorities and what changes can they lead themselves?

The Community Signature is currently being used by local authorities and third sector organisations across the UK, supporting them to redesign services and partnerships, develop and effective community engagement strategy, leverage budgets and resources and improve multi-stakeholder delivery.

Contact Us to find out more about running a Community Signature programme.