CLIENT: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

PROJECT: night-time economy special advisor

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What were MAKE asked to do?

Acknowledged as the leading international specialist in understanding and managing the night-time economy (NTE), MAKE principal Alistair Turnham was appointed as UK Government Special Adviser on the NTE by the Minister for Communities & Local Government between 2008 and 2010. 

He was asked to help another government department, the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), to develop the ‘After Dark: Managing the Night-Time Economy’ theme for CLG’s own Beacon Scheme. The Beacon Scheme is acknowledged as the world’s leading scheme for recognising excellence in local public service delivery. 

Beacon Status signifies that amongst hundreds of public bodies, a local authority is the best in a specific area of service delivery and one that others can learn from. 

How did MAKE do it?

  • Work was undertaken with DCMS’ senior civil servants (and other departments including the Home Office, Transport and Health) to develop the criteria against which entrants to the scheme would be judged.

  • Of England’s 400+ local authorities 19 applied believing they were good enough to be Beacons. All shortlisted applicants were visited, presentations were given by the locations and rigorous scrutiny of applications was undertaken by MAKE.

  • Of the 19 entrants, four locations were considered to have demonstrated true excellence in managing the NTE: Brighton & Hove, Hinckley & Bosworth, the London Borough of Havering and Nottingham. They were Beacon winners because of their strong partnerships, clear leadership, effective delivery and evidenced outcomes around the NTE.

  • Other tasks undertaken by MAKE included writing ministerial speeches and advising government departments on joined up night-time policy development.

What happened next?

Since announcing the results, MAKE have delivered keynote presentations at learning exchange events, strategic advice to CLG and DCMS on how to maximise the dissemination and impact of the Beacon Scheme and contributed to a website and publication captured all the best practice.

What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?

Given MAKE’s unparallel knowledge of the night-time economy, we were able to work both at the highest ministerial policy level, but also to identify what practical schemes makes the difference locally.