This is an excellent resource on designing local democracy produced by the Local Government Community Development and Services Association of Australia Click here for the report on Redesigning Local Democracy
Why? It matters because it affects the value of what you created, what you learn, what you can re-use in the future, and how your team members (both internal and external) feel about working with...
An interesting example of participatory budgeting in Canada Bay, NSW http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/power-to-the-people-as-they-take-on-their-councils-budget-20120727-22z96.html
This article argues that we should be focusing more on nurturing talent and less on managing performance http://www.tlnt.com/2012/07/27/why-we-need-to-change-performance-management-to-talent-development/
The Localise office is in Maylands which has regenerated over recent times http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/news/14230495/rejuvenated-maylands-becomes-the-place-to-be/
Mark and Alison had the pleasure of hosting Mayor Len Brown for a morning's tour of some of Perth's notable urban development features.
Interesting report on localism from the New Local Government Network in the UK
Check out the new GovLoop guide to Workforce Planning
The Green Star Communities is a voluntary rating tool which provides best practice benchmarks and third-party verification of the sustainability of community and precinct-wide developments.