- A £2m investment will fund the next phase of the Office for Public Service Innovation until March 2027.
- The funding supports collaborative projects across local councils focused on improving children’s services and youth support.
- The initiative drives the Combined Authority’s wider ambition to become a national leader in public service innovation and deliver better taxpayer value.
A £2m investment in the next phase of Liverpool City Region’s pioneering Office for Public Service Innovation (OPSI) programme is set to accelerate efforts to transform services and improve the lives of residents.
The funding, from Combined Authority’s reserves, will support the next stage of OPSI’s work, helping councils and partners develop, test and scale innovative solutions to some of the region’s most complex social challenges.
OPSI brings together the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, local councils, public service providers, community organisations and the voluntary sector to redesign services around prevention, early intervention and better use of data.
Its aim is to improve residents’ lives while reducing pressure on overstretched public services. A key focus of the investment will be the continuation of OPSI Lab, the region’s innovation delivery programme.
Liverpool City Region’s four key OPSI Lab projects are:
- Knowsley – Focusing on children and families in foster care setting
- St Helens – Focusing on using AI to support social workers helping children with disabilities
- Halton – Focusing on children with Special Educational Needs
- City Region-wide Young People project – supporting young people at risk of becoming disengaged from education, employment or training.
Since launching earlier this year, OPSI Lab has been working with local authorities and public services to tackle challenges in children’s services, foster care, support for young people at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training (NEET), and the use of technology to improve frontline services.
The first phase has demonstrated how collaboration, data and community insight can help public services identify problems earlier, target support more effectively and develop new approaches grounded in evidence.
The £2m investment, agreed by the Combined Authority’s Cabinet, will fund specialist innovation support through to March 2027, enabling successful projects to move into testing, implementation and potential wider adoption across the City Region.
It will also strengthen OPSI’s wider learning network, helping organisations share best practice and build innovation capability across public services.
The investment further strengthens Liverpool City Region’s ambition to become a national leader in public service innovation, creating better outcomes for residents while delivering better value for taxpayers.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Cabinet Member for Public Innovation, said:
“The Liverpool City Region has always been at its best when it works together to find new ways of tackling challenges.
“This investment will help us build on the success of OPSI and turn innovative ideas into practical solutions that improve lives.
“By bringing together public services, communities and partners, we’re creating a model of collaboration that not only delivers better outcomes for residents but helps make every pound of public money work harder too.”
