Get everything you can from your membership
Your events, training and resources
Today I’m duplicating last week’s essential tips (partly because they’re mine, but mostly because they will come in handy) about the foundation upon which to build the best and most of your membership.
- Create) your user account on socitm.net.
- Add hello@socitm.gv-c.com to your Outlook safe senders list (and 2.1 encourage newsletter subscription as a handy summary of everything Socitm-related you need).
On Monday the 2023 review was published (if it was a bingo card, how well did you do?). Were you one of the 2,455 people who joined a webinar last year?
And on Monday 22 January the 2024 digital trends report will go live. This year there’s a section reviewing what we’ve got right and what we were wrong about since 2019.
Next month is the first of only 3 national conference days in 2024. Come to Sheffield to find people and partners who will be able to support your next daring service design project. You will also find a sympathetic and empathetic ear or two.
Drop in to ask any membership-related question between 13:00 and 14:00 on Tuesday 30 January. Do write to us if you need something before then.
Best wishes,
Alex.
Your Resource Hub
Just published: episode 5 of the Socitm Says podcast
Kurt Frary (VP and CTO at Norfolk) and Sam Nutt (LOTI) explore different aspects of utilising generative AI, ranging from data management and ethical considerations to the potential benefits and drawbacks
Listen
Don’t forget about…
AI: what senior leaders in local government should know
During a virtual roundtable last year, AI experts and senior local government leaders considered what this rapidly changing environment means for the sector. Read about the key themes discussed; from awareness of AI, the ethics of AI, the biases and the unconscious bias, through to the data breaches that AI might cause.
Website accessibility
Log in to check your Silktide Score. If you’re competitive, see where you’re council ranks in the monthly Index. It’s not all about being #1.
Watch their webinar: Doing accessibility right
For ease of viewing, the recording is divided into easy to navigate chapters, with subtitles and transcript available via the video player toolbar.
You will need a user account on socitm.net to access member-only resources. Let us know if need any support.
Service design and transformation
09.30 to 16.30 on Wednesday 28 February in Sheffield
The types of services that support your community don’t change that much. How you design and deliver them, and how people experience them, can change lots.
Come to Sheffield to find people and partners who will be able to support you being bold. You will also find a sympathetic and empathetic ear or two.
National conference days are member-only events.
Communities of practice
Microsoft Innovation and Collaboration Forum
The forum is part of the Innovate Together programme. On the first Wednesday of every month join other people who want to get the most out of the Microsoft Platform and Services. In the months since the forum started meeting, they’ve covered issues such as data, AI, zero trust, Power Platform Governance and M365 cross organisational collaboration.
Training
January’s and February’s CPD certified workshops
- Thursday 25 January and Tuesday 6 February Managing and Motivating Remote Teams| 1 point
- Tuesday 30 January Equality, Diversity and Inclusion| 1 point
- Thursday 1 and Monday 26 February: How to be an effective coach | 1 point
February’s CPD-certified in-person programme
- Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 February: Top Talent | London | 4 points
NEW in-person leadership programme
- Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 March: Place-Based Leadership | London | 4 points
Training places are included in your organisational membership – subject to availability and membership level. If you have any questions or would like further information, please email the training team.
Events
Member-only meetings
Meet people for catching-up, problem sharing (and solving) and great networking.
- Thursday 1 February: in-person meeting for Northern Ireland (Belfast)
- Friday 2 February: virtual meeting for Scotland (on Teams)
- Wednesday 28 February: in-person conference day on service design and transformation (Sheffield)
Free webinars (from Socitm and our partners)
- Wednesday 7 February
- Wednesday 14 February: Revolutionising social care with AI
Missed a webinar? Past recordings are available to watch in the resource hub.
Webinars are open to anyone in the public sector, membership is not necessary, so please do share them with your network.
Come and say hello
- Wednesday 28 February: HETT North 2024 (Manchester)
Join Institute Director Sam Smith for a fireside chat with Mark Nicholas from NHS England: what does the future of digital look like in social care? - Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 May: DigiGov Expo (London)
Join Nadira Hussain, Mark Lumley and Sam Smith on day 1
Presidents’ Conference
Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 June in Birmingham
Birmingham has a lot to live up to. From Cardiff to Brighton, the annual conference has grown since its return post-pandemic. Your feedback shapes each event and your participation makes each one worthwhile. We can be serious and a little silly. It’s reinvigorating.
Canon’s award winning uniFLOW Online
Canon are delighted to share that uniFLOW Online has won the BLI Pick Award from Keypoint Intelligence for Outstanding Cloud Output Management Solution for the sixth consecutive year! 🏆
‘’Through the scalability and flexibility of the cloud, uniFLOW Online enables thousands of organisations to print, digitalise and process documents, wherever their employees may be working.’’
Marc Bory, European VP, Digital Printing and Solutions at Canon Europe
Thank you for reading (or scrolling) this far! Just one more thing…
I’m a fan of Tim Harford and have shared quite a few episodes of More or Less at the bottom of the newsletter. This is another podcast he does, Cautionary Tales. Listened to this one over the Christmas holiday and it has the excellent title of When Stalin Ruined the Weekend 🙂
Photo by Deleece Cook on Unsplash