Liverpool City Council is one of only nine local exemplars to take this project forward. Well you know us - we like to be pioneering!

So we have set up something called the Liverpool Commission with a mission to look at what we do now and how we can "do things better".

By doing things better, I don't mean in terms of services, vital though they are. I am talking about the very way we make decisions, the way people can get involved and the way we can make sure councillors can perform to the very best of their abilities. On one level this may sound abstract. But on another level it is absolutely key to making sure everything else works.

We know there are problems. Many people don't bother to vote - feeling that the decision making process simply won't affect them. Many talented people never think of becoming elected councillors - feeling there are barriers and problems in their way. And many become disillusioned feeling that politics isn't working - but they are not quite clear why.

What we are looking at is ways to open things up to make more people feel there's something there for them.

When it comes to becoming a councillor, we want more people to give it serious thought. We want to find ways of pulling down the barriers that make business people, busy mums, people from minority communities all think that politics isn't for "people like them".

For existing elected members we want to find ways of tapping into their talent, allowing them to flourish while not being tied down by activities that serve little purpose. That means making sure that the people we elect have the sort of support they need.

And we want to make the decision making process easier for citizens to understand and get engaged with That means being as local as possible and opening up some of our committees so that decisions are more understandable.

So what does this mean in practice here?

Our Liverpool Commission is independent (and that is inherently risky).

There are politicians but they are outnumbered by people drawn from outside politics.

Our task as the commission is to listen to, read and discuss evidence from people from both within and outside Liverpool and to come up with recommendations for "doing things better". Already we have explored how we might improve our training for elected members and how we might persuade more people to take the first step to becoming a councillor. We have heard from representatives of the Schools Parliament, of Operation Black Vote and of young people. We have commissioned surveys among business people, among the voluntary sector and among councillors. Local students have been collecting public views.

Our aim is to come up with ideas that the council can put into action without the need for legislation. We may also come up with ideas on which we can lobby national government. (votes at 16 anybody?)

The commission positively welcomes input from individuals or organisations. We publish our agendas and minutes on the city council website. Future sessions will focus on how we hold the executive to account (the Scrutiny role) and how we can devolve more things to neighbourhoods.