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  • Lead Member Wigan Council
  • Participating Members Brent Council, Bury Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Edinburgh City Council, Glasgow City Council, Kirklees Council, Manchester City Council, Mutual Ventures, Newcastle City Council, Oldham Council, Plymouth City Council, Telford and Wrekin Council, Wigan Council
  • Year 2024
  • Type Policy Labs

Principles met

  • Co-production

    We will develop systems that enable citizens to be equal partners in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.

  • Innovation

    We will embrace innovation in how we work with local communities to drive positive change.

  • Learning

    We will capture and ‘expand’ the experience and learning from individual projects and approaches in order to encourage broader application of co-operative principles within individual member Councils and across the Network.

  • New models of meeting priority needs

    In exploring new ways of meeting the priority needs of our communities we will encourage models, such as co-operatives and mutuals, which give greater influence and voice to staff and users. in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.

About the project

The world of AI is moving incredibly quickly with an attitude of “go fast and break things”. This creates a serious dilemma for public service leaders. They cannot simply licence the wide-spread adoption of a technology that cannot explain itself and is often biased.

AI is a potential challenge to the principles of democratic engagement and social partnership embodied by cooperative councils. But neither can councils afford to ignore the potential productivity, engagement and analytical benefits.

Following the Mutual Ventures and Newcastle City Council workshop at the CCIN conference in Sunderland last year, this policy lab will work with eight member councils to discuss the moral and ethical opportunities and challenges which AI poses for public services and to publish a guidance framework (based on co-operative values and principles) as well as case studies of good practice. Through these outputs and a series of webinars, all CCIN members will benefit.

For further information contact the project lead:

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