Lincolnshire County Council was invited by the Government to outline how Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) could work in its area, proposing to replace existing county and district councils with a single unitary authority. To ensure the proposal reflected local needs, LCC commissioned Alma Economics to conduct an independent analysis of its stakeholder engagement.

Over a 10-week period, more than 2,300 responses were gathered from residents, council staff, businesses, voluntary organisations, and town/parish councils via online, postal, and telephone surveys. We analysed quantitative responses through structured data cleaning and frequency analysis, and conducted qualitative thematic analysis following Braun & Clarke (2006). This approach enabled us to identify key themes, compare perspectives across respondent groups, and contextualise findings by prevalence and intensity.

At the end of the project, we delivered an independent analytical report offering clear quantitative summaries, thematic insights, demographic segmentation, and equalities considerations. Our work provided robust evidence on stakeholder priorities, perceived benefits, concerns, and expectations for service delivery during transition.

The findings strengthened LCC’s business case, informed policy design, and supported strategic planning for reorganisation. By highlighting public sentiment and perceived risks, the analysis helped shape how future local government structures in Lincolnshire are developed, communicated, and implemented.

Find a news release discussing the findings of our work and the next steps here.