A peer network hosted by the Local Government Association.
The LG Horizons Network is a peer network hosted by the LGA for senior council officers working on the long-term future of local government. It is a space to step back from operational pressures and think seriously about what the sector needs to look like in five, ten and twenty years' time - and to build the strategic foresight skills to get there.
Whether you are already embedding futures methods in your council or just beginning to think about what long-term planning could look like, the Network offers a supportive, practical environment to connect, collaborate and learn.
What we do
- Build capability. Sessions give members methods, frameworks and tools they can take back to their council — futures thinking, scenario planning, horizon scanning and strategic foresight.
- Share practice. Members bring real experience of applying futures methods in their councils - what has worked, what has not, and what other authorities can learn from.
- Connect to wider reform. The Network is plugged into the LG Horizons programme's flagship work, including LG2040, the Cabinet Office's Test, Learn & Grow programme, and the Government Office for Science Futures Network. Members get early sight of emerging thinking and the chance to shape it.
- Hear from the wider field. We bring in futurists, academics, central government, international practitioners and others working at the edge of foresight and futures practice to share methods and perspectives members would not otherwise encounter.
Why join
The Network is built around what members should be able to do differently after engaging with it. Members will:
- Apply core futures techniques — drivers of change, scenarios, three horizons - to live council decisions, without needing specialist facilitation
- Stress-test existing strategies and corporate plans across multiple plausible futures, rather than treating futures work as a separate exercise
- Frame and communicate futures work in ways that bring finance colleagues, members and partner organisations along - translating it into language that lands with budget-holders and place-based partners
- Embed long-term thinking into routine planning rhythms, reducing reliance on a single in-house champion and building institutional resilience
- Connect with senior peers across the sector tackling similar long-term challenges and help shape the LGA's policy and improvement offer on the future of local government.