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Â鶹ÊÓƵ has joined a national network in a bid to share and enhance its innovative and collaborative approach of working with local people, businesses and organisations.

The Council has also been shortlisted for Locality's national Keep it Local award designed to celebrate local authorities which create strong local partnerships.

The Council has decided to join the run by national community network after the organisation heard about the South Tyneside Pledge.

The Pledge encourages South Tyneside organisations to focus on local activities and take practical steps such as local procurement, volunteering and recruitment, which can help the Borough to thrive. To date, more than 200 organisations have signed up.

Keep it Local is a movement of councils across England which have embraced six principles for working with local community organisations to deliver services that respond to needs and transform lives, reduce long-term pressure on the public sector and invest precious resources in the local economy.

The six Keep it Local principles which councils in the network are working towards are:

• Think about the whole system and not individual service silos
• Co-ordinate services at a neighbourhood level
• Increase local spend to invest in the local economy
• Focus on early intervention now to save costs tomorrow
• Commit to your community and proactively support local organsiations
• Commission services simply and collaboratively so they are "local by default"

Council Leader, Councillor Tracey Dixon, said: "We already harness the local potential that exists within our Borough by building strong partnerships, sharing power and maximising local strengths.

"By working collectively with organisations who have signed up to the Pledge to spend in, recruit from and support South Tyneside we are already bringing about positive change.

"As a member of this network, we believe we can work collaboratively with other councils to build on the work we have already done, learn from other places and do still more to unlock the potential of our Borough."

As a member of the Keep It Local network, the Council will be able to learn from and share best practice and seek advice from experts.

Chief Executive of Locality, Tony Armstrong, said, "We are delighted to welcome Â鶹ÊÓƵ into the Keep it Local Network, underscoring their commitment to building robust local partnerships and working on local procurement practices."

"Joining the Keep it Local Network will give Â鶹ÊÓƵ the opportunity to share best practices and insights with like-minded councils across the country. Councils who are determined to unlock the latent power in their neighbourhoods."

The South Tyneside Pledge has already had a range of positive impacts which have added at least £3million a year to the Borough's economy, including local organisations collaborating to boost business, supporting local voluntary groups and working with local young people.

Organisations, public and private, big, and small, can sign up at any time and become part of the Pledge South Tyneside network at .