Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 4d

I’m at the National Tenant Scrutiny Conference. @louisemholt.bsky.social is doing the intro 💃🕺

#tpasconf25

Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 5d

This one was on a wall near me that I’d looked at a couple of times. Found it now.

Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 10d

Quietly sitting on a wall by a main road hoping nobody will notice.

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 10d

Here is one hidden behind some ivy. Not any more….

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 10d

It’s when Silver is there waiting for them that you know it’s serious

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 11d

Ah, finally found the one on the church. This is slightly unusual as it features a bolt in the centre. The groove in the bolt gives you a horizontal line.

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 12d

This one has its own personal milestone*, tucked away close to a wall.

(*benchmarks and milestones - sounds like local government performance management)

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 12d

This one is an actual plate, on a house, near the ground.

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 12d

I've found three near me.

The first is on the wall of the village hall, behind the bin.

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 12d

From 1831 to the 1990s over 500,000 of these were made by the OS who, incidentally, had the power to enter homes etc to put them where they liked.

Anyhow, they are pretty much everywhere so you might find them near you.

Here is the fantastic OS interactive map: interactivemaps.uk/os-benchmark...

OS Benchmark Archive

interactivemaps.uk

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · 12d

I've discovered a new non-extreme, slow-sport that involves hunting down Ordnance Survey Benchmarks. It's like a laid back Pokémon Go I guess.

I case you don't know, OSBs are marks or plates placed on buildings, walls etc to show the elevation above sea level.

They often look like this...

A horizontal line carved into a wall with three lines fanning out downwards from its centre.

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · Sep 10

Hello, today I'm heading to Belfast for the UKAPA conference tomorrow - all things public administration with a nice academic / practitioner mix. Do say hello if you are going.

www.ukapa.org.uk/conference/u...

#ukapa25

@ukapa-1918.bsky.social

UKAPA 2025 Conference

UKAPA annual conference Ulster University~ Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Thursday 11 – Friday 12 September 2025 (& Doctoral Conference, Wednesday 10 September 2025)

www.ukapa.org.uk

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Reposted by Dr Dave McKenna

Ed Hammond @se13ed.bsky.social · Sep 4

"Questions at council" is something which has come up a few times recently in bits of work we've done for councils in England. Some thoughts... (1/)

Phil Rodgers @philrodgers.co.uk · Sep 3

Very disappointing to see that the County Council is planning to abolish the right of members of the public to ask a follow-up question once they have had an initial response to a question at a council meeting. cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/ccc_live/Mee... (item 3)

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · Aug 26

Got back from Greece last week 🇬🇷🏛️🏺🕺🕺🕺

Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · Jul 29

I mean, professors have been looking young for a while.

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Reposted by Dr Dave McKenna

Centre for Governance and Scrutiny @cfgs.bsky.social · Jul 21

Check out our featured case study of transition from committee to cabinet governance model, with a bountiful basket of top tips from #BrightonHoveCouncil. Essential reading for others looking to do this as it's packed with learning. #GovernanceChange #LocalGovScrutiny #ResidentFocused

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Reposted by Dr Dave McKenna

Citizen Participation @oliverescobar.bsky.social · Jul 17

🤔 What's the point of democratic innovation? Can it address crurrent crises and build democracies for the future?
💡In this new article @adrianbua.bsky.social and I argue that the field needs to strengthen its change-making orientation and capacity. Open access 👉🏼 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Democratic innovation for change: A participatory corrective to deliberative hegemony - Oliver Escobar, Adrian Bua, 2025

The world faces social, political, economic, and ecological crises, and there is doubt that democratic governance can cope. Democracies rely on a narrow set of ...

journals.sagepub.com

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Reposted by Dr Dave McKenna

New Local @wearenewlocal.bsky.social · Jul 16

“There is an emerging opportunity for councils to reimagine how democracy can be done better”.

Our Principal Practice Lead Liin Nur explains our ambitions for Waves – the biggest trial of digital democracy in the UK – and the solid foundations that the programme is built upon.

A digital approach to reimagining democracy - New Local

Last month, New Local announced its partnership with Demos on Waves – the largest trial of digital democracy in Britain to date. The Waves project aims to create a digital democratic process that can…

buff.ly

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · Jul 14

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · Jul 13

I’m having the calamari

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Reposted by Dr Dave McKenna

INLOGOV @inlogov.bsky.social · Jul 3

Looking forward to day 3 of #LGAConf25 - pop along to stand A24 to chat about our latest research, last chance entry to the levy-funded Senior Leader programme, and our policy proposals on citizen engagement. And pick up a 21C councillor coaster!

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Dr Dave McKenna @drdavemckenna.bsky.social · Jun 26

Do love a train thread 🚂

Julia Cushion @juliacushion.bsky.social · Jun 26

Morning! 🚂 Train nerds assemble- today I'm going from Berlin home to Leeds all by train, all in one day!

First train of the day, the 08:17 to Köln. I've only got 23 minutes to make my connection in Köln to Brussels so wish me luck! 🍀

Train is moving, time to get some coffee ☕️