To date, the Digital Office for Scottish Local Government has worked with 31 councils across Scotland to help them build digital capability and capacity within local government. In the digital age, User Experience (UX) has dramatically changed the way people interact with services, whether it be retail, entertainment, banking or travel.

Due to this shifting pattern in user behaviour, the digital office wants to provide services with a UX that is more akin to digital offerings such as Uber and Amazon.

The role of the digital office is to get the councils to take tangible steps forward in their digital transformation journey. In February 2018, the office reached its first milestone as it hit its ‘Release One’, which saw the publication of the office’s GDPR Digital Readiness program that is estimated to have saved Scottish councils more than £1 million.

Wallace says the office is currently “on the cusp” of Release Three – the largest to date – which will see the publication of our outputs on more than 20 projects the office is currently working on and at stages of Discovery alpha, beta or live.

Opening up Data for Benefit

“We kicked off in October 2016 and, for the majority of that time, we’ve been building the capability of the cohorts on the projects – that is the programmes, which are built on three key themes; leadership, foundation and benefit,” says Wallace.

Internally the Digital Office faces the challenge of getting corporate systems aligned to open up data. Data information, Wallace explains, can bring big benefits to councils but to do this engagement needs to be bigger than just the council’s website.

“It’s about gathering data from citizens across the piece to make better informed choices. There is a big opportunity to use AI and big data in predictive analytics, which can remove costs from services by using data information more effectively.

“There are key projects and programmes we are working on in conjunction with the Scottish Government. Online identity assurance is one. It is looking at a common approach to online identity assurance and authentication for access to public service whilst taking into consideration privacy implications and the requirements needed to share data in a more secure and cooperative manner across the public sector.

The Scottish Digital Office has also been making contact with colleagues across the public sector to look at how it can create a data interoperability group. This is required to make sure data flows across the different organisations to help deliver joined up social, health, well-being and economic outcomes for the citizen.

Wallace says: “The more conversations we have the more the benefits of digital transformation become apparent, and in turn, this will make councils want to participate more actively.

“We are working to provide a clear vision of the opportunity for data to benefit local councils and citizens, therefore, its crucial that public sector as a whole is working to establish clear data interoperability standards.”

Building Mutual Interest Across the Piece

To support these projects and to keep them moving forward, Wallace says that building mutual interest across the piece is key to keep factions at different stages moving at pace. He explains that this is part of a cultural change that the office is trying to foster among the councils so that they can replicate and learn from one another’s successes.

But often the first step is raising digital as a priority and actively encouraging people to invest in this area: “We’ve been very open and said that is what we’re doing. That has caused a bit of a challenge as we are seeing councils not investing in information communication technology.”

Wallace admits the process can be slow as they do not have a demand generating methodology. “We get information from the councils and then we go look for a framework,” he explains. Looking to the future, Wallace says: “We’re trying to push boundaries and planning new things but, at the end of the day, we’re building momentum and changing the hearts and minds of people.

“In the next year, we will start to see some rising stars of digital transformation. Of course, there are factors that will delay the process, such as outside pressures, skills, culture, economic and other members who maybe don’t get it. It’s a moving beast. However, we are seeing some shifts that will prosper into big radical transformation projects in the next 18 months.

“We want to build on those green shoots and are pushing the message back out. Everyone has great ideas, but it is about collaboration and pushing them forward.”

The Next Phase: Operationalise

The office is now embarking on the process of helping councils to embed and realise the benefits of digital transformation in a tangible way.

Already the office has plans for its next phase, ‘Operationalise’, which it expects to enter at the start of 2019. In this phase, it is hoped that councils will have started to realise the benefits of some of the projects and to make adjustments as needed.

“We’ve been funded by the 31 councils,” says Wallace. “It’s up to them to embed those otherwise they are just tinkering. Our mandate is to transform, and we don’t want to be seen as tinkerers. But digital will keep evolving. That’s why we use agile methods and that’s how we keep things current.”

Wallace emphasises the importance of benchmarking in this phase. “It should be something that happens every year for councils to see their own progress – to see the impact that our office and partnership has on the digital maturity across Scotland,” he notes. “We want to create a legacy on the back of that.”

Scottish Digital Office Seeking Two Year Extension

The office is hoping for a two-year extension of its service with further funding, which if granted would allow the organisation to scale-up. Wallace says that they should have a decision on the matter by end of the year and is confident it will be a positive outcome for the office.

The digital office has received recognition and praise from across the sector for its progress, which is backed by tangible metrics. Wallace notes that similar organisations in London have been looking to the Scottish Digital Office’s model and trying to replicate it due to the office’s success here in Scotland.

He has also been asked by the London Office of Technology & Innovation to go down and be a trusted adviser as they conduct a peer review on the joint London Bourgh’s digital programme. “We have a governance structure with a number of boards where we engage with several chief executives from the sector,” says Wallace.

“The general feedback, even from our last boards, has been that this programme has been a great success. We’ve had endorsement and praise from people at the Scottish Government and within the healthcare sector. We’ve created quite a buzz across the sector because we do things differently.

“It’s shaken other traditional organisations within our sector. That is a good thing because they all must move forward,” adds Wallace.

Cost-Effective Support

“I’m pretty confident we’ll continue the service due to the value we have built across government. Digital will never truly be delivered as it’s an ever-evolving creature. As long as we use the tools, methods, and programmes we have developed I am sure we will get there.”

His confidence is not misplaced. The digital office is offering Scottish councils a highly cost-effective and supported way to modernise. If councils sought the same level of help and support from the private sector, seeking services such as benchmarking and analysis – a service provided freely by the digital office – Wallace estimates it would cost £25,000.

He says: “Other companies would offer a £3,000 package but that wouldn’t include full digital leadership & Strategy analysis that the Scottish Digital Office offers.

“Similarly, our Digital Maturity model is also free to members of the councils. This means Scottish councils don’t have to go elsewhere to shop around for these services. It’s not just about saving money. It’s about completely re-imaging and redesigning our services, transforming them to be more people-centred and enabling better outcomes.”