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Tech-tastic tale! Ctrl+Alt delivering digital transformation – Brent Council

Brent Council refreshed their digital strategy to become a digital place and a digital council. They refocus their priorities by changing the way they think and do things and prepare better for the future.

At Brent Council, they are committed in developing Brent to be a digital place and a digital council and continue to work to ensure their residents, partners, businesses and staff can thrive in the digital future.

Challenges

Digital exclusion: An independent review in 2020 found that 19% of adults in Brent did not have access to a laptop, and 6% had no digital skills.

Change management: Ensuring buy-in from service areas to support the successful implementation of digital solutions and new ways of working was crucial.

Affordability: While increasing Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage, Brent Council also had to consider affordability and actively promote social tariffs via frontline services.

Digital skills: The council recognised the importance of investing in their staff’s digital skills to respond to new challenges.

Resource allocation: The council had to effectively recruit and train apprentices to form an automation team and develop in-house talent to reduce reliance on contractors and outside suppliers.

Approach

Working in collaboration with residents, businesses and partners is a key component to deliver a wide-ranging programme of activities, which continues to evolve.

Central to the digital strategy are five key themes:

  • Access – improving access to information and council services – making systems easy to use for all residents.
  • Digital place – improved access to public Wi-Fi for residents – consistent technology and connectivity available for both businesses and residents.
  • Digital inclusion – identifying digitally excluded residents and providing access to devices and digital skills.
  • Data and smart devices – harnessing data to better understand customers and improve service delivery.
  • Digital workplace – ensuring staff have access to technology that will enable them to work efficiently and to have the digital skills to effectively use existing and new technology.

Outcomes and benefits

Improved resident satisfaction

  • Brent Council has remodelled the ‘Report it’ application, allowing residents to report, monitor, and track issues more easily.
  • The user account system on Dynamics has over 135,000 active users, providing residents with current information and the best possible service.
  • A decluttered and responsive website has been launched, improving user journeys and access to relevant information.

Digital inclusion

  • Over 1,000 devices have been supplied to digitally excluded individuals, along with essential training. The Digital Support Fund for Businesses has supported 100 SMEs with devices, training, and connectivity.
  • Digital champions were introduced within their services and community to support residents with digital queries.

Data and smart devices

  • Implementation of IoT networks has improved the understanding of the borough in real-time, leading to proactive actions in areas like air quality and housing.
  • Collaboration with providers has increased Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage from 43% in 2022 to 69% in 2023.

Digital workforce

  • Investment in staff digital skills, including moving to Microsoft 365 and running skills workshops for all 3,000 staff.
  • Recruitment and training of apprentices to form an automation team, reducing reliance on contractors and outside suppliers.

Financial savings

Identification of mid-term financial digital savings opportunities of £250,000, with additional annual savings of £120,000 through in-house automation.

View original case study at brent.gov.uk [PDF]