Dorset Council has once again shown itself to be a leader in digital services after securing two major levelling up grants to support this work.
We are just one of eight local authorities to be chosen to help pilot a new national initiative called Future Councils.
Receiving £750,000 from the Local Digital arm of the government’s levelling up department, the Future Councils programme will see the council develop new digital and cyber pathways to make us more modern and resilient.
These pathways will be designed in a way that all other local authorities can then tap into and introduce for their own work.
Following hot on the heels of that successful bid was the news we had won £250,000 Local Digital funding to improve our digital offering in planning services.
Working with the national Planning Portal and DEF (software consultants) we will reduce the number of returned and invalid applications plus make applying for planning permission far simpler through our biodiversity checklist and automation programmes.
When Dorset Council formed, we became co-signatories of the Local Digital Declaration. This is collective ambition for local public services in the internet age.
The declaration commits us to design services that best meet the needs of residents, challenge the technology market to offer the flexible tools and services we need, protect citizens’ privacy and security and deliver better value for money.
Through our Digital Dorset vision work we have been working on delivering these commitments.
And these successful grant applications will help us deliver this work and fulfil our vision to be a digital council in a digital place.
I have worked in communications for 25 years, first as a journalist and then in public and private sector public relations. From Southampton originally, I have lived in beautiful Dorset for the last two decades. My passion for Dorset has also turned into a passion for landscape photography. My other great loves are my family and Southampton Football Club.