So it seems the Government now has cold feet over its plans for a national network for local tv – the so called Channel 6. The plan was to have a national channel occupying a prime slot on the various EPGs’ with opt outs for local channels. In this way, or so the argument went, there could be sufficient advertising revenues and the project could be pump primed with £50 million of BBC money.

But despite 50 expressions of interest the word is that the national spine is unlikely to happen. That’s clearly going to disappoint a large number of people but is it really such a bad thing?

The reality is that there is no real business model for a national/local broadcast tv service. There just aren’t the numbers to make advertising work and it’s unlikely that there will be enough compelling content to allow for a subscription model. So yes you can subsidise  it through public funds – however you disguise this – but the business model itself just doesn’t add up.

But does that matter? Surely if this is in the public good then £50 million isn’t such a large amount of money to spend. But to me that’s missing the point. There is real opportunity for local innovation here. Not just in the business model but, far more importantly, in the provision of the tv services themselves. And if you seek to impose the wrong technical and business solution you’ll stifle that innovation.

The democratization of the means of video production and distribution through the internet means everybody can now be a broadcaster. And if you take a look at some of the work now being created you’ll also agree with me that is of an extremely high standard. But most important of all the community is both the broadcaster and the audience. And that means for the first time you get real community engagement without spending money.

Coming back this autumn from the International City and County Managers Association Conference in San Jose was a good opportunity to look at the challenges facing community leaders on both sides of the Atlantic.

WebsEdge/Government produced a series of programmes for both the ICMA and Britain’s LGA earlier in the summer. We interviewed a wide variety of politicians and community leaders and visited towns and cities throughout the two countries. There were clear similarities of approach to the problems caused by the global economic slowdown but there also some significant differences in emphasis.

In America it’s fair to say the harsh economic climate has been a reality longer as far as local government is concerned. Cities get a chunk of their funding from states and that has been cut back in recent years. So there’s a feeling that to some extent they have weathered the storm. They have made the necessary cuts to spending and are in better shape for the upturn when it comes. Whilst in England we’ve just had the Government’s Spending Review, which heralds substantial cutbacks to council grants. And whilst plans have been drawn up there is a distinct feeling of unease in town halls throughout the country.

The big worry in the United States is unemployment. At 9.5 % of the population it has remained stubbornly high. That has a profound effect on city government – both from a financial and a community cohesion point of view. So the focus now is on creating jobs.

As with many other facets of the relationship between the two countries there is more that unites us than divides us! There is a big emphasis in both the UK and US on professional management in town halls. If we can recruit, train and motivate the best minds into local service we’ll do the best we can for our citizens.

There’s also a focus on community. It goes under different names, ‘total place’ ‘big society’ and many others. But the sense is the same. If we coordinate the efforts of the entire public and voluntary sectors we can eliminate waste and provide better and more efficient services. What started out as a response to financial hardship has become a clarion call for better services and community engagement. And you never know, it may just work!

May is really hotting up for all of us at WebsEdge. We started off with our local government employee of the year awards. The aim here is to find those council workers who go over and above the call of duty in delivering excellent services. We’ve gone round the country making videos of the 41 finalists and now it’s down to the public vote. View the finalists videos on www.localgovernmentchannel.com.

And you know, something extraordinary has happened. On the first day we had over 5,000 votes and we expect over a quarter of a million before this thing ends. And this is in a field where apathy normally reigns. Local Government the world over has a poor reputation and people often don’t bother to vote in local elections. But if you make the stories real – and about people – voters engage.

We also started a new television service for secondary school teachers. Again, this was very well received. It seems examples of best practice, when told well, are really interesting to professionals. View the videos on www.nahttv.com.

And a bunch of us have spent the last week in Detroit. We’ve been looking at the whole issue of regeneration and how we can bring our inner cities to life. What have we found? That whilst regeneration means billions of pounds are spent on new buildings it only really happens when it extends to peoples lives. And again, it’s those people stories which really count. View the stories on regenerating brownfiled areas at www.icmatv.com.

Most exciting of all four of our colleagues are setting off for South Africa this weekend. They have a couple of jobs to do. We’re covering a major international event in Malawi. But we’re also stopping by our friends in Illinge in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. We’re really excited about that and can’t wait to see how they’re getting on.

So it’s quite a month and we’re not halfway through yet! But what ties all these activities together? You know it’s interesting. These events are global. But in each case we’re talking about community engagement and what makes a difference in people’s lives. And we’re just delighted to be able to play a small role in all of that.