LG Challenge 2026: The final

Michael Barrett: The Local Government Challenge is an annual competition and leadership development programme for 10 local government officers to take part in five real-life challenges across the country. The challenges are really exciting, immersive events focusing on real-life issues. So, when the cohort are on site they are meeting subject-matter experts, meeting councillors, residents, going out into the community finding out what’s going on locally, to gather lots of information that they can present back to the council with their fresh ideas and perspectives. 

Virginia Ponton: The Local Government Challenge is a leadership development programme for officers but it also works as almost a free consultancy mechanism for councils. For officers on the programme, it’s a really unique opportunity to work in a very diverse team - learning skills, learning your own leadership development style, push people out of their comfort zone, build confidence and form a really meaningful network that they can rely on in the future. 

Harrison Giles: I wanted to grow in myself, in my skills, in my leadership but I think also just to see different councils, see different parts of the country. That’s why I applied and I’ve got all of that and more.

Shannon Kennedy: I really just kind of wanted to expand my horizons and get myself out of my comfort zone, see if I could bring best practice back to Wirral from other authorities.

Victoria Lewis: It’s given me the opportunity to like stand on my own two feet. We’ve been in a new situation every time, we’ve had to back ourselves, we’ve had to challenge ourselves and put ourselves in situations that we haven’t done before. 

Nadia Hussain: I thought if I get involved in this, I’m hoping kind of increase that confidence level and that’s exactly what’s its done. 

Virginia Ponton: The cohort on the programme go through a range of different competencies that we score them against and they develop on their time in the programme. They get a chance to captain each challenge which really helps to unearth their leadership style and they build a lot of confidence on the programme.

Shannon Kennedy: So it think local governments are facing more and more challenges year on year. It’s really important for me to learn how I could take best practice from other councils and come back to my council, back to my own role. Make sure that I’m having the biggest impact for our residents in Wirral that I can.

Harrison Giles: I wanted to learn more about being a leader. My most insightful takeaway from this challenge is just what real leadership is. 

Victoria Lewis: By the time we get to the fifth challenge, we’re thinking about the nuances at play, how to pitch something so that it lands with that specific audience. And I feel like that showed the journey from the start to the end. 

Nadia Hussain: As a manager, I feel like this has been a huge experience for me. Also, the strategic thinking, I think that’s been massive. It’s something that I’ve been working on but I’ve been able to do really well through this programme. 

Michael Barrett: Once the cohort have completed their five challenges, we whittle the cohort down to four finalists. And this year, they’re here in Bournemouth at LGA’s Annual Conference presenting their project proposals to delegates and a senior panel in the hope of winning a scholarship. 

Virginia Ponton: The scholarship for the programme enables the finalists to put everything into practice – all of the learning and experiences they’ve gained from everybody on the programme and from all of the host councils. They have a year to do that in an area of work that they’re passionate about. 

Harrison Giles: It’s been the most amazing experience I’ve done professionally for sure. 

Shannon Kennedy: Not only have I kind of broadened my horizons at each challenge, but I’ve now got this incredible network of people. 

Nadia Hussain: It’s a life-changing experience. It changes you professionally and personally and I think everybody should take part in the LGA Challenge.

Victoria Lewis: I feel like the past five challenges have really set us up well to deal with adversity, deal with people questioning why we’re doing something or how it might work. So hopefully that process has set me up to be able to deliver the outcome that I want with this scholarship. 

Michael Barrett: The LG Challenge does take people out of their comfort zone, but it’s a really rare and unique opportunity to take part in a leadership programme that’s on a national level, that we’re really proud of as it goes into its fifteenth year.   

Each year, hundreds of victim-survivors fleeing domestic abuse in Norfolk housed within temporary accommodation (TA) are safe – but unsupported. This pilot closes this gap, by delivering support to victim-survivors to improve recovery outcomes, encourage independence and reduce the possibility of repeat crisis. To take this model one step further than just Norfolk, the scholarship will be used to commission the Norfolk Office of Data & Analytics to develop a national toolkit aimed at enabling other local authorities across England to replicate the model to address the nationwide challenge of supporting victim-survivors of domestic abuse.

Bright Beginnings is a family-centred early intervention programme that ensures children aged 0–5 receive meaningful support from the moment concerns about their development are identified, rather than waiting for a formal diagnosis. By providing practical, evidence-informed resources for families and practitioners, the programme bridges the gap between early concern and specialist assessment, empowering parents, building practitioner confidence and giving children the best possible start through play-based learning and early support. Grounded in research and aligned with local and national priorities, Bright Beginnings aims to reduce inequalities in access to support, strengthen outcomes for children and families, and create a sustainable model that can be embedded across Bradford and replicated nationally, ensuring every child has the opportunity for a brighter beginning.

CLEAR (Capture, Log, Evaluate, Act, Review) is designed to equip schools, partnerships, and local authorities with the tools needed to effectively record, analyse, and respond to hate and identity-based incidents within educational settings. At present, schools are managing such incidents largely with limited agency input, with no consistent or formal reporting mechanism in place until behaviours escalate to a critical level. This reactive approach limits early intervention and obscures the true scale of issues within our school communities. As a Local Authority committed to tackling hate crime and fostering community cohesion, it is essential that we have a clear understanding of what is happening within our school environments. Currently, no such database of intelligence exists. CLEAR seeks to address this gap by enabling early identification, informed responses, and a more coordinated approach to prevention and support.

NextGen Local Government is a programme aimed at tackling the sector’s ageing workforce and ongoing recruitment challenges, through creating a stronger pipeline of NextGen talent. The programme has three strands:

• Attracting the next generation through reviewing and refreshing current recruitment campaigns.  
• Empowering the next generation through offering “win-win” paid internships. 
• Shaping the future through an ambassador programme with ongoing mentoring.