The London Centre of Excellence recently merged with London's improvement body - Capital Ambition - and London Connects, to form London's Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (IEP). The new organisation retains the name Capital Ambition, and is responsible for all former LCE projects.

A website is being created for the new Capital Ambition, but in the meantime this site continues to be updated with all the latest information on this project, as well as important legacy documents.

Friday 17 October sees the launch of a new toolkit -the Workplace Wizard - that could revolutionise the way councils in the UK organise their workplaces.

It is an easy-to-use online resource to help councils working on large-scale accommodation projects, and provides a comprehensive guide in areas such as:

• Workforce and space planning
• Planning guidance
• Communication
• Data management
• External consultancy

It provides useful case studies, along with a guide to the steps required to complete a project successfully, a comprehensive 'how to' guide and useful links

It can be used at any time during the lifecycle of a project, and can even help reassess existing projects to ensure key benefits are not missed.

It supports better decision-making by enabling people to identify the most effective approach; and to work more effectively with their colleagues across local government.

The Workplace Wizard provides all the information required in one easy-to-access central resource. It is interactive, helps users identify cross-cutting areas of work and share savings. It can be used by anyone within a local authority, but is particularly useful to both members and officers who are responsible for finance, property, HR and ICT.

Around half of London boroughs have been involved with developing the toolkit, which has taken the views of a range of authorities into consideration. It will continue to develop as more and more people use the Woekplace Wizard, through the toolkit's compehensive feedback process.