Blog launch…

What a time to launch a blog… discussions around local government re-organisation and devolution are dominating the sector, so it feels like a good time for us to start writing… We’ve been thinking about doing it for some time (especially as a digital declaration signatory!) and we love reading other blogs on similar topics and finding out what’s going on elsewhere, but it’s also actually quite daunting, and quite an easy thing to put off!

We want this blog to be transparent, honest and revealing – but mostly we hope it will be interesting…! We’ll probably (because we haven’t planned it) be covering what we’re working on here at Tewkesbury Borough, some of the opportunities and challenges we see across the sector, and no doubt dip into some of the realities about working in innovative and transformative spaces alongside financial and sometimes cultural restraints. We’ll try to stick to digital issues, for there are so many,  but, for me, I can’t promise not to stray into comms or programme management from time-to-time.

It won’t come as any surprise that the first post is LGR-focused. It’s been consuming the sector since the launch of the White Paper in December – and we’ve since been seeing the reactions from different parts of the country.

There’s not a clear path for Gloucestershire yet and obviously I’m going to steer clear of the politics, but the concept of re-organisation from a strategic and digital perspective is very interesting.

There’s no denying it’s not the golden ticket to resolving all of the (digital) challenges that local government faces. As a ‘system’, we will still have multiple approaches to effectively providing the same thing . Despite all councils providing many identical transactional services, there will still be different ways of delivering them – some brilliant, some not so good. All of them costing money. But I do think streamlining our structure as set out in the White Paper will go some way to making our residents’ lives better – hopefully making it simpler for councils to provide more targeted support and easier for our residents to access the local government help that they need. It feels like there could be more consistency.

Having spoken to friends and colleagues who have gone through LGR already, it seems (understandably) painful and expensive if digital, data and technology aren’t central to shaping new organisations.

For me, there’s five critical things to consider from this perspective:

• A strong culture from the outset – It’s going to be really important for the new organisations to embrace doing things differently – to challenge traditional service delivery models, foster genuine collaboration, and demand meaningful performance. This really feels like a chance to reset the sector’s reputation and create a culture that genuinely celebrates innovation, collaboration and openness, and pushes for excellence for residents. It’s also going to be so important for the culture to embraced by the whole organisation, which could be quite the challenge. Without the right culture, we could be looking at more of the same.
• A chance to rethink the operating model – Something I’ve been discussing with friends on a course I’m currently on is that the traditional structure of councils often focuses too heavily on technical service delivery, which leads to silos and unnecessarily complex processes. LGR presents an opportunity for us to rethink this. It would be great to see more organisational structures around principles like digital, place, health and wellbeing, and customer from the outset, rather than trying to flex them into those traditional structures. With digital, data and technology sitting central to these, I think there’s definitely something here that could transform how we deliver services and make them far more cohesive and resident focused.
• Prioritising data – Data has to be at the centre of LGR – when setting priorities, creating a new approach to place, designing services, building partnerships, and making decisions with communities. It’s also what will be needed for the sector to embrace AI, machine learning and business intelligence – but it’s underused and fragmented. Merging organisations will be ridiculously complex, but a strong, upfront commitment to managing data consistently, and using it safely and meaningfully will only prove to support better outcomes. Data will also be crucial to inform the way locality issues are responded to – so considering and agreeing what level datasets sit at will be an interesting consideration.
• Clear digital and data standards – The current mess of disconnected technologies and systems across councils (and our partners) makes transformation so much harder – painful at times. Merging different councils and the many, many systems that they use will be one of the biggest challenges facing LGR.  I know Local Digital is already working on this, and having standards in place as the new organisations are created will support the digital dream of systems and processes being aligned – avoiding the patchwork of incompatible systems that we know so well. I know I’ve simplified here, but hopefully the gist is clear.
• Embracing low code and prioritising digital skills – to avoid being left behind,  councils must invest in digital and data skills. It will also be so important to collaborate with the government and each other on getting the best out of new technology. Seriously but sensibly embracing the right tech and recognising the power of things like low-code platforms, so the reliance on big, inflexible, legacy systems can be removed.  We need to be planning for future-prepared organisations. Conversations with forward-thinking suppliers and exploring new technologies will help the sector stay ahead and meet customer expectation. Equally important is avoiding the pitfalls of being locked into inflexible contracts, which can stifle innovation.

Of course, not all of this can be delivered up-front for a new organisation and there is, no doubt, so much complexity involved in merging different organisations. But, for me, these are some of the most important considerations that need to high up on the agenda. There’s so much more to cover around leadership, high performance, recruitment, retention, but I’d love to hear what you think about challenges and opportunities you’ve experienced or are anticipating.

We have been absolutely delighted to read some of the headlines in the DSIT’s ‘State of Digital Government Review, the blueprint for Modern Digital Government and finding out more about the expanded Government Digital Service – covering lots of what’s mentioned in this post. It’s especially nice to see the importance of leadership and investing in digital skills across the sector – something that’s not been given enough thought yet. As someone working in the sector and in digital specifically, it does feel as if there’s now a better grip on what’s needed, and recognition of our existing challenges. Loads to still digest, and share – and the big question is – for local gov – how can we make it help for LGR.

I think our next post might be around spatial data and flooding, so we can at least promise variety!

Clare