After more than a decade of budget reductions, Councils are finding that there is now little or no waste that can be taken out by simple salami slicing or just reducing
They are now left with two options, stop providing certain discretionary services or innovate and transform the way that services are delivered.
Local Authorities haven’t stood still over the last decade, change has been delivered and innovation has taken place. But if you want to truly transform, where do you start? We’ve started to see a change in attitudes away from merely saying it is all about saving money with an acceptance that it also has to be about delivering better, more efficient, user-focussed services in order to drive out lasting savings.
Savings are still a major priority for the Councils we work with and they are at the heart of the majority of the transformation our clients are seeking to deliver. But we are also seeing a gradual move away from saying ‘we need to make those savings yesterday’ towards trusting staff and giving them some breathing space to deliver lasting, sustainable change and savings that stick rather than driving demand elsewhere in the system.
The challenges most Local Authorities have are either knowing where to start, or if they are already delivering the change, are they on the right tracks and with limited resources and the need to demonstrate return on investment, what should they start with?
Our prioritisation and health-check tools have proved really successful at helping Councils understand where to start, where their strengths and weaknesses are and most importantly what to do next so that they can get going with delivering the change they want and need.
Join me at the Council 4.0 meet-up for local government digital innovators and disruptors on Thursday 13th February 2020 to find out how you can apply practical approaches to service prioritisation, using interactive digital tools, that bring stakeholders together and build consensus and buy-in. For more information and to register, please visit Council 4.0.
