Vision and introduction
We will put people and their needs first, using modern technology to improve people's lives, whether they be residents, businesses, visitors, or our staff
Strategic objectives
In order to deliver against the vision, we will be following 4 strategic objectives. The sections below provide:
- an overview of each objective
- what this means for users
- an outline of where we are now
- a description of how we will meet the objective
- details on how we will measure success
Objective 1: Provide accessible digital services to our residents, businesses, and visitors
Provide clear and concise information, simple forms, and secure payment methods so people can easily access our service online, from any device and in their own time
What this means for users
The benefits of providing online access to our services include:
- saving residents time as they can do things from home or on the move
- making it easier for residents to stay informed about our services and events
- making it more convenient for residents to access digital services 24/7
- improving social care health and safety including reducing avoidable admissions and supporting people to live independently
- improving transparency and access to information about council services
We will provide digital assistance at our Libraries, Advice and Information Centres, and over the telephone for those who do not have internet access or struggle to complete online forms.
Where we are now
We have made improvements to our new public website and associated online digital services, along with online portals, to enable residents and others to further interact and transact with us online.
So far we have:
- a new public website platform, with improved accessibility and mobile access
- online portals supporting Council Tax and Benefits
- new portals coming soon supporting Adult Social Care, and referral processes for Children’s Social Care and Early Help services
- new online capabilities for departments such as Highways which have:
- greatly improved service delivery
- increased transparency for the public
- improved the ability to report issues and provide feedback
- new easier online booking and payment options for our services, covering the most busy areas with the remaining areas being migrated
How we will meet the objective
- We will use modern technology enabled care in social care to improve health and safety, reduce avoidable admissions, and support people to live independently
- All our services will have an online digital presence providing current information
- We will offer help and support online, using technology such as webchat and web bots, making sure our websites are accessible to people with disabilities
- People will be able to pay for our services using a range of online payment options
- We will create a digital roadmap for all our services to improve capabilities
- People will be able to get what they want from us, the first time they try, and not need multiple touch points to do simple tasks
How we will measure success
Success looks like:
- By responding to feedback and continually improving services we will improve the resident, visitor, and business experience
- We will measure the use of digital solutions and how that experience compares to other methods of communication such as in person and via telephone.
Objective 2: Equip our staff with the right technology, tools, and training
We want our staff to be able to work flexibly wherever they are, and we will embrace technology to support this. We will have a consistent range of integrated tools which staff are trained to use empowering them to fulfil their roles
What this means for our staff
This means staff will:
- be able to work from anywhere with a positive experience
- have an improved digital capability and working experience
- feel confident using modern technology
- have a streamlined, intuitive, and seamless experience of line of business and support systems
Where we are now
This has been an area that has seen substantial investment in recent years, partly to support changes required due to the pandemic, then also to support more modern ways of working that have been introduced across the organisation in the aftermath. This has resulted in the following:
- All staff that require one now have a council-provided laptop, along with all the necessary accessories and home-working setup.
- All job roles that require a mobile or tablet device have them available now.
- Modern meeting room equipment that works with Microsoft Teams has been deployed to all of our offices and those operational sites that require them. Along with the use of laptops, this has transformed how and where meetings happen, greatly reducing unnecessary travel and expense.
- Upgraded and improved WiFi coverage in all main offices and designated operational sites, supporting flexible and different ways of working.
- New digital solutions such as Hybrid Mail, enabling staff to send posted letters directly from their computer with no intervention from the postroom required, whilst also saving money.
- Rolling out IT access to those operational staff that historically haven’t had access, so that they can benefit from direct access to the Intranet, training materials, HR/Payroll information, and more. The first phase, in Heritage services, is complete and the next phases are being planned.
- Limited use at the moment of a lot of the other Microsoft 365 products available to staff via our enterprise agreement. This will be a focus for us going forwards, educating and supporting their greater use with staff.
How we will meet the objective
- Staff have access to devices that help them do their jobs by being fit for purpose and easy to use, such as laptops and mobile devices
- Providing hybrid technology in council offices for working, such as virtual meeting room equipment
- Providing the necessary training and digital skills
- Integrating IT systems so that data automatically flows between them, removing the need for manual duplication
- Continue to further utilise our Microsoft 365 platform to provide additional capabilities, efficiencies, and reduce costs by removing the use of alternative and similar third-party products
How we will measure success
Success looks like:
- We will gather feedback from staff to ensure the technology, systems and training provided are of an excellent standard
- Helping to meet the Council’s climate commitments by limiting travel through remote and hybrid working
- Reduced paper usage and printing
- Higher levels of training and compliance for cyber, GDPR, and accessibility standards
- Complete a digital training needs assessment for our staff to map requirements and improve skills
Objective 3: Use data and intelligence to inform transparent decision making
High quality data, and the ability to use it wisely, brings an opportunity for better, faster decision making to help us meet our objectives. This leads to improved decisions which better support users through a deeper understanding their needs
What this means for users
This means:
- We are using data to facilitate informed decision-making meaning that services can be better designed to meet the needs of users
- We are accountable for how we are achieving our strategic objectives and priorities for improvement through transparent performance data
- Users are confident that their data is used and managed ethically and safely
Where we are now
So far we have:
- Created a centralised Business Intelligence team providing specialist advice and support across the organisation
- Launched a data strategy providing longer term vision and direction for the use of data in the organisation
- Started an ambitious culture development programme to improve the organisation’s data literacy
- Launched the ‘Integrated Reporting Framework’ platform, providing a single point of access to the all of our data
- Developed, and are updating, the Strategic Evidence Base, which tells the story of Bath and North East Somerset through data
- Improved analytical data infrastructure, allowing data to be increasingly linked and automated, with near-live reporting and analysis through the use of the PowerBI reporting tool
How we will meet the objective
- Develop organisational performance indicators as part of an ongoing assurance and improvement process
- Build a management community with a strong sense of data literacy, which actively promotes and encourages others
- All services have access to the operational data and information they need to support and improve services for their users
- Continue to embed the Integrated Reporting Framework as a hub for organisational data and transparency
- We have a defined and applied framework for the ethical and secure use of data, including leveraging new data technologies such as AI
- We have improved our capabilities to gather, link, analyse, simulate, and present data and intelligence across our own organisation and with partners, residents, businesses, and visitors.
How we will measure success
Success looks like:
- An increase in the number of reports being delivered through efficient self-service methods
- An increase in users of intelligence products
- Increase in user satisfaction with intelligence products
- Measuring how often the decision-making using our Integrated Reporting Framework is used in each council decision
Objective 4: Provide a cloud technology infrastructure which is secure and agile
As we enable residents, businesses, and visitors to use our services online we need to move to a modern cloud infrastructure. We require tools to make informed decisions with easy access to high quality data. By integrating systems we will make it easier to access and use data, helping us make better decisions, improve services, and save money
What this means for users
This means:
- Scalability: Modern Cloud computing is scalable, which means that it can easily be expanded or contracted to meet changing demand.
- Reliability: Improve reliability, as modern solutions are backed up by multiple redundant systems. This means that services are less likely to be interrupted by outages.
- Cyber security: Continually improve cyber security using a variety of security measures to protect data.
- Cost-effectiveness: Modern cloud computing is cost effective and can help us to save money on IT costs. This is because we don't have to invest in our own hardware and software, and we only pay for the services that we use.
- Carbon reduction: Significantly reduce the carbon impact of the digital solutions we use. The equivalent of 144 acres of planted trees worth of carbon being offset by migrating to the cloud.
Where we are now
Whilst a small number of council IT systems are in the cloud we still have the vast majority ‘onsite’ and support and maintain these. This onsite IT infrastructure results in a poor carbon footprint, generating approximately 25,000kg of CO2 emissions. A migration to the cloud would significantly reduce this.
A significant amount of work has recently been completed in year 1 of our current ‘Cyber Improvement’ programme, with a year 2 set of improvements now either underway or planned. This programme is delivering a wide range of improvements (most ‘behind the scenes’) to ensure that we continue to maintain the best cyber security stance possible. It includes:
How we will meet the objective
- Migrating all our IT systems to the cloud
- Reducing carbon footprint by adopting low or negative carbon technologies
- Cyber specialist training for IT staff and end users
- Better processes for managing and mitigating cyber security incidents
- The introduction of new monitoring & prevention tools
- Reducing reliance on legacy dependencies created by third party solutions
- Integrating systems to stop the manual duplication and manipulation of data, improving the organisation’s ability to link, share and analysis data
How we will measure success
Success looks like:
- Increasing the number of automated transactions available online
- Reduce staff time for business areas spent on back-office processing
- Carbon net reduction by adopting cleaner technologies
- Adoption of modern solutions to replace legacy systems
Principles
Underpinning our strategic objectives are principles that guide our decision making.
- All IT systems and contracts will be managed centrally
- Procurement of all IT equipment, systems, and solutions will be managed centrally by the IT Business & Commercial team
- All council websites will be managed and run by the IT Web team
- All new technology will be cloud hosted and data integrated to other systems
- All systems used by staff will be integrated with single sign on for access
- We will impact positively on the Climate Emergency by building sustainability into all technology development and improvements
- Accessibility and digital inclusion will be considered when implementing new technology or changing services on our websites
- All digital projects & programmes will be reviewed and aligned to our Digital Strategy
- We will avoid duplicating effort and unnecessary costs by collaborating with our partners and other organisations, sharing best practice, technology, data, and services
- We will create services that meets users’ needs, provide a joined-up experience across all channels, and easy ways for users’ to provide feedback
- We will design our services around the needs of the people using them. This means continuing to prioritise citizen and user needs above professional, organisational, and technological silos
- Every new IT solution procured should operate according to Government technology code of practice, putting us in control of our service data
- We will reduce our dependence on inflexible and expensive technology that doesn’t join up effectively, in favour of modular common components and open data standards
- We will leverage national government digital solutions such as GOVUK Pay and Notify, and Local Gov Digital projects
