District Councils Network

The District Councils Network (DCN) is a special interest group of the Local Government Association that represents District Councils across England. District Councils often find it difficult to effectively convey the significance of their contributions, especially considering that their services may sometimes be overshadowed by those provided by larger authorities such as County and Unitary authorities.  

To address this, the DCN engaged Cratus, to develop a unified and consistent set of ‘key messages.’  

These messages are intended to be used by both the DCN as a whole and its individual member councils. The DCN commissioned Cratus to develop a single set of consistent ‘key messages’ that could be used by both the DCN and their member councils to create compelling stories and articulate their messages consistently, but in their own way.  

We conducted a comprehensive series of both in-person and online workshops, engaging members and officers from both the DCN team and individual councils. The subsequent analysis of the workshop data allowed us to distil key messaging areas. 

The messages we developed are strategically centred around the core values of Districts and underscore the impactful work they do to support their communities, fostering exceptional places for both work and residence. 

Following the development of these refined messages, the DCN successfully launched a new website, which integrates the identified themes into its language and overall communication strategy. 

The aim is to empower District Councils to tell compelling stories and articulate their messages in a consistent manner while allowing for individual nuances that reflect the unique aspects of each council.