Local Government Channel

Challenge 1: Sent to Coventry

16/02/2010

Coventry City Council Challenge - Watch it here!

Challenge 1: Sent to Coventry

Being sent to Coventry is often a phrase associated with a person being ostracised and ignored.  Usually the shunned person in question is conspicuously present but can’t be seen or heard. Although the term is said to have originated in the 17th century, fast forward to 2010 and it seems that in  parts of the city it’s the ballot box that’s being sent to Coventry. Voter apathy in Coventry is at an all time high and while swathes of the population may be voting for Strictly Come Dancing or X Factor, many people are ignoring the X at their polling stations. So why aren’t some members of the electorate voting? Well, that was up to our 10 Local Government Contestants to find out and to come up with some workable solutions to impress the Leaders of Coventry Council and LGA Chief Executive John Ransford. I did ask Coventry City Council if they’d thought about offering the electorate cash bribes, holidays, or the chance to record a song with Simon Cowell but unfortunately these weren’t the sort of ideas they were looking for and explains why the LGA have selected 10 more capable contestants with a breadth of local government experience to come up with some achievable solutions.

So picture the scene as the tenacious ten entered a conference room in a salubrious hotel on the outskirts of town. Until Coventry, they’d never met before but if they’d done their homework they’d have watched all the contestants videos on the Local Government Channel, paused them, rewound them and looked for subliminal messages to seize an advantage and sniff out the competition. 

My initial reaction as they walked into the room was how young, youthfully attired and fresh-faced they all looked; a refreshing change from the stereo-type of a be-suited, civil servant. I could tell there would be some serious competition to find the next generation of Local Government talent.

Once the challenge had been set by the LGA and the leaders of Coventry City Council the contestants were split into two teams.  Without mentioning names one team decamped to the hotel bar to do some late night ‘brainstorming’. By this stage both teams had nominated their team leaders - David Brown, from Mansfield District Council and Nahid Alaei, from Lambeth Council - and invented a collective moniker for themselves. Team One opted for The Red Stripes and Team Two christened themselves The Anarchic Stars. I have no idea what the inspiration for the Stars and Stripes team names are but I will make it my mission to find out during the next challenge.

As the film shows, the Anarchic Stars suffered their first setback when the contestants  went out to the wards  to speak to the non voters of Coventry. Although focus groups had been arranged for both teams, only one person turned up to be quizzed by the Anarchic Stars. The lack of participants should have been  an opportunity for the team members to show leadership, creativity and the ability to think on their feet but Claire Holloway from the LGA, whose job it is to observe  the team, wasn’t convinced that the contestants reacted as promptly to the situation as they could have.


The Red Stripes had a full house in their focus groups and seemed much more organised throughout their campaign. The Anarchic Stars by comparison were chaotic and disorganised so it was perhaps surprising that they won the first challenge. But they did give the more dynamic of the two presentations and as one of the judges commented during the deliberation process, ‘out of chaos often comes creativity’. According to our panel of experts, the Anarchic Stars had the more interesting and novel ideas which is perhaps why the Local Government Challenge is so exciting. It isn’t a competition about being organised, making profits for Alan Sugar or thinking inside the box.  It’s a challenge which seeks to test the contestants ingenuity, creativity, team working, leadership  and individual skills that could make all the difference to how our councils are run.

Being privy to the teams’ ideas, plotting, planning and strategizing over the next few months means  I’m in a good position to spot some of the competitiveness,  conflict and negotiation that will  emerge over the next few challenges. From my vantage position, it’s clear, like in most teams, that there are the dominating personalities, the negotiators, the creative thinkers and the quiet sleeping lions waiting to roar up and impress us all.  But which of the ten will most impress the judges? I’m as keen as anyone to find out, but with four more challenges to go and everything to play for,  I won’t be rushing to the bookies just yet.

Tracey O'Halloran
Local Government Challenge Host

Producer, WebsEdge

 

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