Richard Parsons examines whether the beacon council scheme is spreading best practice between local authorities across the country.

Now entering its fifth year, the beacon scheme is a flagship government policy for spreading best practice between local authorities.

It aims to identify what works in key areas of service delivery, covering not just structures but also working practices and cultures.

Beacon status is awarded to councils after a "rigorous assessment process", and on the advice to ministers of an independent advisory panel as recognition for excellence in a particular area. Those local authorities that gain recognition are then encouraged to share their experiences with other councils.

Each year ministers select service areas for which beacon status will be awarded. These initially covered subjects such as education, housing and social services, before expanding into other fields like planning, adoption and promoting racial equality. The most recent awards were made in areas including benefits administration, local public transport and housing renewal.

Having established which councils are operating best practice models, a range of options are in place to encourage the spread of information. The councils themselves and the local government Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) make information available, and host knowledge exchange conferences focusing on particular themes.

Beacon "open days" are held, allowing interested parties to meet the practitioners and see initiatives being carried out. Discussions between councillors and officials of different authorities are also encouraged, and the officers and members of some councils are accredited as "peers". Having established that they have the relevant skills to carry out the role, they can work on projects that help build capacity in local government through the sharing of knowledge and experience.

The government is also backing the scheme with extra cash. For the most recent, fifth round of the scheme, £3 million has been allocated for the promotion of good practice. "This will cover traditional dissemination activities and it will also be used to offer incentives to beacons to work directly with authorities in need of improvement," says the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The beacon scheme also helps to drive up practice in a number of ways beyond the direct sharing of knowledge. Councils that are trying to achieve beacon status often use it as a motivational tool for staff, with the clear goals and the prestige involved providing encouragement to adopt changes in working practices.

Beacon status also allows councils to benchmark their services against other authorities and learn from alternative approaches to service delivery. The process of application for beacon status, even if unsuccessful, can lead to improvements in processes and service delivery.

So is the scheme proving effective at delivering improvements on the ground? In the past, questions have been raised about whether the strategies adopted to encourage the sharing of knowledge have been as effective as they could be.

Lyndsay Rashman, senior research associate at Warwick Business School’s Local Government Centre, says that in the first year there were "teething troubles as the scheme was trying to find its feet". These were put down to a lack of understanding about theories of inter-organisational learning. "What we are starting to see now is that there are a wider range of methods in use and a more sophisticated understanding about how knowledge is transferred," she adds.

Research undertaken at the Local Government Centre has found that the scheme’s principles have generally been welcomed and successful beacon councils have found their experience to be worthwhile. Knowledge of the scheme has also helped more broadly with other aspects of modernisation, particularly Best Value, the study concluded.

Rashman adds that the beacon programme, "has the potential to build capacity within local government", with the award process helping to bring this to the fore. "The beacon scheme has two broad elements – one is the celebration of good practice, and the other is about the dissemination and sharing of that practice," she says. "And in order to attain beacon status, authorities have to demonstrate that they have the ability to share it."

And improvements have also been made as the scheme has developed. "Increasingly during the five years of the scheme, there has been a more sophisticated dissemination process developed by the IDeA in collaboration with local authorities," explains Rashman. "Our research did show that some of the more face-to-face methods like site visits and the informal networks that get built up through beacon contacts have been the more successful options. People want to see the processes that authorities have used."

Case studies have also examined the effectiveness of knowledge sharing schemes, with work done by the Warwick team indicating how best practice can be shared. A Halton Borough Council official, for example, attended an event held by beacon winner Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. The Halton community safety officer learned about Tameside’s experience in using temporary mobile buildings as a base for youth activities, including mistakes that had been made in developing the scheme and the role of senior managers and elected officials.

"The subsequent development of informal relationships with officers from both Tameside MBC and the police led to the provision of a briefing session for elected members in Halton," found the case study. "These relationships have enabled good practice to be transferred and improvements to be made on the original processes." The result was that incidents of youth annoyance in Halton fell from 5,751 to 4,734 over three years.

A separate study examined the ways in which Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council had learned from the education policies of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. Having been examining ways in which it could make rapid changes to policy while having maximum impact on relationships between the education service and local schools, Calderdale was represented at an event held by beacon council Blackburn with Darwen.

The Calderdale management team was able to discuss new ideas and see evidence of successful policies in practice. As a result, the pupil database was improved and the new Education Effectiveness Service was streamlined. This produced greater consistency and coherence across the service, increased accountability, integrated planning and an effective information database, concluded the Warwick Business School’s research. "Headteachers expressed more trust and confidence in the service, which appeared to be more focused, efficient and supportive. They report greater clarity and transparency in the relationship with the LEA and better understanding of what schools want," it added. "Attending the beacon events made dialogue and networking possible, [and] widened the knowledge base of officers by providing opportunities to explore and adapt other people's ideas."

The evidence so far suggests the beacon policy is having an impact on the ground. Further research looking at the longer term impact on frontline services has been commissioned. But with preparations being put in place for the sixth round of beacon awards, the scheme looks set to continue.