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Newsletter: Who’s using generative AI and/or Copilots (there’s more than one) and how?

Hand knitted Christmas sweater with a reindeer and snowflakes on it against a snowflake background. The jumper is small and would fit a doll or teddy bear.

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Your events, training and resources

A busy few days ahead with Change Agent Week, Cyber Security Week and Member Week starting on Monday 4 December. It might be Advent and Christmas party season (we had ours last night), but there is a lot still to do.

You might remember last week’s maximum snooker break of 147 registrations for the final Change Agent programme of 2023. And speculating whether it would reach a dart’s 180! Well, it’s gone beyond that. And now we’re not quite sure what maximum sporting number it’s heading towards! Anyway, there’s always room for more of you on Change Agents. No maximums 🙂 And no Socitm membership needed. Just a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement.

Swindon’s Sarah Pena (you might remember her from such webinars as March’s working together to bring open source solutions to local government) shared her team’s impressive latest project on LinkedIn this week:

Watch: How to use generative AI to improve inclusivity
In order to empower residents with learning disabilities to make decisions about important areas of their lives, Swindon Borough Council leveraged genAI to transform complicated documents into Easy Read format.

Your alumni day is coming to you this year. Register to join everyone online on Thursday 7 December. We’ll be celebrating our shared experiences and exploring the latest developments in diversity, equality, and inclusion.

There’s a lot on the agenda for us. Which sessions are you determined not to miss? Mine are:

  • President Mark Lumley’s Virtual Quiz
  • What happened when Kurt Frary Belbin profiled his whole team
  • Kirklees Council’s digital approach to accessibility and inclusion
  • Discovering more about allyship

Looking forward to seeing your festive sweater!

I hope you can have a lovely weekend,

Alex.

Generative AI and Copilots

ICS.AI managed to pack in a HUGE amount to their webinar hour on Wednesday. It was all about generative AI and our minds were blown a little.

You really do need to watch the whole thing if you can, but here are some handy chapters (with approx. timings) if you do need/want to skip:

  • 04:32 What makes generative AI different?
  • 07:02 AI with humans-in-the-loop
  • 08:18 How can genAI be applied to local government?
  • 10:22 Demo 1: Tom the Telford Council bot
  • 15:58 The Microsoft Copilot ecosystem
  • 25:23 Demo 2: Smart Copilots
  • 29:18 Demo 3: Smart Adult Social Care Copilot (staff)
  • 36:21 Demo 4: Smart Adult Social Care Copilot (resident)
  • 40:49 The Smart Copilot Platform
  • 48:58 Smart Mesh: your AI learns from others
  • 50:45 Smart builder: getting AI/Copilots into products

Watch this week’s webinar

Next week’s webinars cover cyber security
Wednesday 6 December: Cyber security challenges and building cyber resilience in 2024
Friday 8 December: Why Matt Lewis’s SRS adopted an “assume breach” security posture

Enabling local digital outcomes

New member-only research and getting ready for the 2024 version of Digital Trends

Who’s using which tech to do what? If they can, so can you.
See how other local public service providers are using IoT, local data, digital twins, and intelligent automation to get the best and most from people and resources. And at the same time improve place-based outcomes.

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Training

How was your course? Tell us 🙂

December’s CPD certified workshops (and 1 meeting)

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 Sara Razon.

On completion of training, don’t forget to claim your CPD points.

Browse all training

Socitm Advisory

The art of achieving transformation balance

Many digital transformations fail because of a lack of commitment from not only those leading it but also the delivery teams, and due to a lack of management capacity and capability alongside BaU. Find out what you can do to strike the right balance in your programme.
Read more…

Visit Socitm Advisory

Government Business

Another bumper issue for you to browse. There’s not just an excellent article featuring President Mark Lumley, but that is the best place to start 😉

How digital services can best meet citizen’s needs in times of economic pressure (page 88)
You might also like: County Durham Care Partnership: what’s the secret sauce that makes hospital discharge work?

Browse issue 30.6

Events from Socitm and our partners

Meet up with your Socitm colleagues for great networking opportunities.

December 2023

Missed a webinar? Past recordings are available to watch in the resource hub. Also, make sure to check out our regional events. There’s a mix of online and in-person meetings, so please feel free to join any that are outside your area.

Browse all events

The Public Sector 2024 Challenge

Come along with us on Friday 6 September for the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.

Let us come together as a sector, push ourselves, support and motivate each other to reach these three peaks together and raise as much money for Cancer Research UK as possible.

Healthcare Innovation and Technology 2024

As Socitm is a partner of the Institute of Government and Public Policy, you have free access to attend their Third Annual Healthcare Innovation and Technology Conference and Exhibition 2024.

Explore how innovation and technology can be used in the healthcare setting to enhance capabilities and improve infrastructure and use of equipment. It will look at how data and artificial intelligence can be used to improve efficiency and overcome new challenges to create an accessible and successful health system

To book your place register [check the newsletter in your inbox for the code].

Thank you for reading (or scrolling) this far! Just one more thing…

It’s another article (just about understood it) shared by Dave Briggs this week:
Data as an emerging utility

You might like/find handy: Trustworthy AI in government and public services – a self-assessment tool