The 21st century councillor research builds on the successful 21st century public servant project (2013) and the University of Birmingham Policy Commission (2011) into the Future of Local Public Services. These projects saw a significant amount of interest from practitioners, identifying the need to pay attention to the changing roles undertaken by people working in public services, and the associated support and development requirements.

Research questions

• What is the range of roles that the 21st Century Councillor is required to perform?
• What are the competencies and skills that councillors require to undertake these roles?
• What are the support and training requirements of these roles?

In this report we reflect on the roles that councillors are playing, or recognise that they will need to be playing, within their organisations and localities. We then explain why these roles are emerging as the key contributions for councillors. The final two sections explore councillor careers and development, to consider how councillors can be supported to perform these roles effectively.

The 21st Century Councillor