In 2019, Dorset Council became a co-signatory of the Local Digital Declaration. As co-signatories, we can now apply for funding that supports digital projects, learn from other councils, and access national learning opportunities. These initiatives play a vital role in realising our ambition of becoming a digital council, in line with Our Digital Vision.
Earlier this year we were awarded funding to be part of the Local Digital Future Councils pilot, which is undertaking research to understand the barriers preventing councils from becoming modern and more resilient.
Lisa Trickey Head of Digital Strategy and Design said “we have sought to embed the Local Digital declaration principles through our work to deliver our digital vision. It’s great to be a part of this pilot and have the opportunity to explore the best way to deliver the change we need at scale, helping us on our journey to become a digital council.”
The pilot focuses on four main areas:
- cyber security and how we implement the new assessment framework
- assessing digital maturity across the pilot councils
- provision of training and coaching in agile (project management), service design, user research
- exploring barriers to change and help to embed the practices and approaches highlighted in the digital vision
The eight councils participating in the pilot have been actively sharing challenges and opportunities. Recently, Tom Lowndes and his colleagues met with the Dorset team to initiate the planning for the next phase of work. This phase involves conducting a research project throughout the summer.
Participating in the Future Councils pilot will enable DHLUC to better understand what blocks cyber and digital transformation. We will also learn from the experiences of the eight cohort councils and consider how to address these challenges across the wider sector.
As a learning organisation that values openness and transparency, we feel privileged to participate in this opportunity.
