Community Governance students are required to undertake various pieces of coursework including a dissertation for those who are completing a degree.
Here is a selection of dissertations which present the author’s research and findings in a specific area of parish and town council work:
Should local councils have a statutory duty to provide play areas and whether local councils would be well placed to deliver such a duty? Sarah Louise Foote FSLCC
A review of the emotional resilience of local council clerks, and the challenges to their resilience, Linda Ranger FSLCC
The Impact of Unitary Authority Creation on Town and Parish Councils, Adam Keppel-Green FSLCC
Who is really in charge? An examination of the role of the parish clerk in decision-making at parish council meetings, Annie Child PSLCC
A review of lack of community engagement in local council activity in England: Focusing on the hard to reach, Kelly Holland
An evaluation of the effectiveness of neighbourhood planning in England, Lisa Courtney FSLCC
Diverse voices? Are local councils in England attracting councillors with non-visible disabilities? Daphne Dunning PSLCC
Is there a need to improve relationships between local councils and the local businesses they represent? David Mears FSLCC
Should the whole of England be parished? Ruth Mullett
An examination of youth councils as a tool for engaging with young people in a representative democracy Julie Shirley PSLCC, 2023
The purpose of local councils in England. Sheridan Jacklin-Edward FSLCC, 2022
Management Report on Performance Appraisal/Management in First Tier councils. Cas Leo, 2022
Has populism changed local council politics? Belina Boyer FSLCC, 2020
Do feelings of isolation and loneliness impact on the work and the health of the lone working local council clerk? Penelope Clapham PSLCC, 2020
Compulsory Training for Clerks in Local Councils Kelly Holland, 2020
The Influence our Emotions and/or Reason/Facts within the Decision-Making Process Cally Morris FSLCC, 2020
Other coursework includes specific essays which are completed as part of the other Community Governance Qualifications. Here is an example:
Trowbridge is Well Equipped for Community Governance Juliet Weimar 2022
A useful resource booklet introducing the process of project management with examples taken from the experiences of local councils, has been put together by Elisabeth Skinner MBE FSLCC & University of Gloucestershire for SLCC (with significant contribution also made by Richard Walden, former Town Clerk of Dunstable Town Council). It takes you through a five-stage process from the first three stages (increasingly detailed planning) to the delivery of the project and ways of bringing the project to a close.
Earn CPD Points!
Reading sector information including dissertations carry the following points:
– Reading a whole textbook – 4 points
– Reading all six editions of The Clerk or 4 editions of LCR – 3 points
– Researching Government policy on community rights – 4 points
– Reading a set of publications in preparing for a neighbourhood plan – 6 points
– Reading a Community Governance dissertation – 2 points
– Reading a book from the Book List – 4 points
See ‘Professional Development & members’ for more information on collecting and recording CPD or applying for Principal or Fellow membership.
