Case study:

Local government accelerator

Solving public sector service challenges using private sector innovation.

The challenge

As part of Oxfordshire County Council, we will launch our accelerator programme in April 2025—the first local government accelerator in the UK.

The commercial space and public sector organisations such as the NHS have used this approach for some time, but never in local government.

The proposition is simple: Accelerate innovation in local government. Identify the challenges faced by local government and the outcomes that need to be achieved, and use entrepreneurial innovation to find solutions. 

In the accelerator programme's first year, we focus on the social and health care sectors.

The solution

We are coordinating the rollout of the local government accelerator in three different phases of activity by:

  • providing consultative support to ensure the programme works
  • ensuring measurement and governance are in place

Phase 1: Identifying the challenge – this will involve engaging with local authority stakeholders and identifying the opportunities and challenges we want to solve

Phase 2: Recruiting the entrepreneurs

Phase 3: Developing the solution

The results

Watch this space for the results.

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