As part of our regular series of training events for staff seconded from Japan, JLGC organised a visit to the Local Government Association (LGA). Colleagues were delighted to be invited to attend their National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) Policy Network Conference, which took place at the LGA headquarters, just 20 minutes walk from JLGC’s offices.
The conference featured a keynote speech by Sally Burlington, LGA Head of Policy, who discussed future policy issues. Panel discussions were also held, focusing on empowering communities, climate action, and career development.
In Japan, there are no programs that allow local government staff to participate for two years after graduating from university or postgraduate school. Internships are typically short experiences lasting only a few days to a week. Therefore, the opportunity to actively participate in policymaking and engage with people who possess a high level of interest and expertise in local government was truly eye-opening for JLGC colleagues. Most of the colleagues staff interacted with were in their 20s and 30s, which is an age group that is not yet extensively involved in policy-making meetings within local government in Japan.
One phrase that left a lasting impression was “Reset the national/local relationship. We aren’t a delivery arm of government.” This highlighted the importance of adopting bottom-up instead of top-down approaches when building vibrant communities. It served as a reminder that local government officials, being administrative bodies closer to residents than to central government, must accurately absorb the voices of residents and incorporate them into policy measures.
This became the focus of discussions and questions arose regarding how to effectively engage the population to achieve a bottom-up approach.
The lessons JLGC colleagues learned and the questions that emerged will be addressed in future training and work. JLGC extends our sincere gratitude to colleagues at the Local Government Association (LGA) and the National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) for their warm welcome and the valuable learning opportunity they provided, and a huge thanks to Ian Hughes, Director of Policy at the LGA for facilitating this opportunity.
