Duolingo's owl scares me: An introduction to trauma-centred design
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Newsletter: Hello February

Authors and contributors: Alexandra Murphy

Keep getting everything you can from your membership

Your events, training and resources

Reading this on Friday morning? You still have time to register for this afternoon’s benchmarking webinar. Don’t forget that this year (and just this year) your organisation can complete a benchmarking module without charge. Come along from 1pm to choose which module will give you the most benefit.

This year’s Digital Trends report was published last week. Want to skip to the highlights before tackling the whole thing?
Focus for 2025: Reimagining services, cyber security and harnessing data

Here’s a top 3 (in no special order) of hopefully relevant/useful/interesting things:

  1. You don’t need any training points to join next week’s free Microsoft and Socitm Change Agent training.
  2. Read through Reform’s new report: AI and the productivity revolution
  3. Get thinking about your web content: How we use automated checkers to improve our tone of voice

Take care. I hope you can have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Alex.

Illustration of a woman reading an oversized book, entitled, 'Local gov's big book of ideas'.

In Your Resource Hub

Updated for 2025: Public Sector Digital Trends

Drawing on experiences from across the UK and internationally, the analysis is designed to help you plan your digital journey.

The whole thing: Public Sector Digital Trends: Beyond Borders

Some things to think about: 10 key questions for public sector leaders

You might have missed…

Watch Unlock the potential of your technology (with WeChange.AI)

For ease of viewing, the recordings are divided into easy to navigate chapters, with subtitles and transcript available via the video player toolbar.

Browse the Resource Hub

You will need a user account on socitm.net to access member-only resources. Let us know if need any support.

Listen to all episodes of Socitm Says Podcast. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

AI@Socitm

It’s easier and quicker to get to what you most need now we’ve reorganised the resources. This isn’t a static collection. New content is added regularly. Bookmark it and keep coming back.

New case study: Designing accessible and sustainable services by leveraging data and AI applications

You might also like:
Tue-18-Feb   | 12:00 to 13:00 | Ethics Professional: Data & AI Ethics Frameworks
Thu-20-Feb  | 14:00 to 15:00 | LocalGov Drupal Community Meetup: Uses of AI
Wed-26-Feb | 11:00 to 13:00  | Safeguarding sensitive information with AI
Wed-26-Feb | 13:00 to 14:00 | AI in action: 3 examples of AI solving real council challenges
Use AI@Socitm

Illustration showing a hacker on his laptop in a darkened room while people elsewhere work with data and security

Cyber security

NEW Cyber@Socitm

Get and stay secure
Find practical help, skills and a deeper understanding of cyber security in public services with this live collection of curated resources.

NEW Cyber security guidance for public sector practitioners

Cyber security is a critical concern for all of us. Our growing reliance on digital services means that threats are a daily reality. With those threats themselves constantly evolving.

Mark Brett provides tailored information covering cyber threats and incidents, support and guidance, opportunities and resources.

Jump to the section of most relevance for you: Chief executives and chief officers; Social care; Finance; Human resources; Procurement; Electoral registration.

You might also like:
Wed-12-Feb | 13:00 to 14:00| Cyber Incident Response: The last line of defence
Thu-27-Feb | 11:00 to 13:00  | Anatomy of a DDoS Attack
Thu-6-Mar  | 09:00 to 16:00 | Cyber NI Conference [Belfast]
Thu-6-Mar  | 09:00 to 16:00 | ISfL Annual Conference 2025 [London]
Use Cyber@Socitm

Procurement in 2025

Are you ready for Monday 24 February?

NEW Briefing: Preparing for the new Procurement Act 2023
This briefing gives you the knowledge and tools you need to comply with the new Act.

Call for Case Studies

Are you preparing for the new Procurement Act 2023?

We would love to hear from you! We are seeking organisations willing to share their experiences to feature as a case study on Socitm.net. Examples of case study content we are looking to highlight include but is not limited to:

  • General thoughts or experiences.
  • A rolling blog/commentary on experiences of operating under the new Act.
  • How is your organisation preparing?
  • What your organisation is doing now to be compliant? For instance, employment of change agent managers or prioritising procurement at the top level.
  • Social value in procurement: How important is social and environmental value to your organisation and what examples of this are you looking to get suppliers to deliver?
  • How are you looking to take advantage of the new Competitive Flexible Procedure to deliver innovation?

Please contact yasmine.hajji@socitm.net to discuss further. We look forward to hearing from you and featuring your valuable insights.

You might also like:
Wed-12-Mar | 13:00 to 14:00 | Cloud marketplace: a new age of procurement
Illustration of people standing next to huge, people-sized devices. The smartphone and screen both display simple HTML.

Accessibility and inclusion

Check your website’s Silktide Accessibility Score
If you’re competitive, see where you’re council ranks in the index for January.
Log in to find your personalised monthly report and advice by clicking the ‘Check your website’s accessibility score’ tile.
Follow Silktide’s YouTube series: What in the World is WCAG?. Their most recent video is 3.1 Readable. #LearnWithCats

Fill out your Digital Accessibility Maturity Assessment
Hassell lnclusion’s DAMA is a comprehensive self-assessment of your current level of digital accessibility maturity.

Next accessibility-themed webinars
Thu-27-Feb | 16:00 to 17:00 | Debunking Accessibility Myths
Thu-13-Mar | 12:00 to 13:00 | DIY Accessibility Audits: How to Achieve and Maintain EAA Compliance

PAUSE
Creating fair and equitable organisations and services is everybody’s responsibility. Take time to reflect and review on your approach and identify where there may be gaps in the way in which you do things. Pause – reflect – act

Next core skills course
Tue-4-Mar | 09:30 to 12:30 | Equality, Diversity and Inclusion | 1 point
Can't make the date? Register to join in June, October or November.
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Training

Build your confidence and resilience to develop and better apply your skills, ideas, and experience.

Free training with Microsoft and Socitm

  • Wed-12 and Thu-13-Feb Change Agent Intensive | 0 points
    Day 1 covers skills for change and day 2 looks into using technology for change.

In-person leadership courses

Empowering Women

  • Birmingham | Mon-17 to Tue-18-Mar and Tue-11-Jun | 3 points
  • Taunton |Tue-1 to Wed-2-Jul and Fri-3-Oct | 3 points
  • Huntingdon | Thu-18 to Fri-19-Sep and Thu-20-Oct | 3 points

Place-based Leadership

  • London |Thu-27 and Fri-28-Feb | 4 points
  • Manchester | Tue-13 to Wed-14-May | 4 points
  • Birmingham | Mon-27 and Tue-28-Oct | 4 points

Top Talent

  • FULLY BOOKED Leeds | Mon-24 to Tue-25-Feb and Wed-21 to Thu-22 May | 4 points
  • Birmingham | Thu-27 to Fri-28-Mar and Mon-9 to Tue-10-Jun | 4 points
  • Glasgow | Wed-25 to Thu-26-Jun and Thu-28 to Fri-29 Aug | 4 points
  • Cardiff |Tues-9 to Wed-10-Sep and Mon-13 to Tue-14-Oct | 4 points

Online core skills courses

Registering for training

Read your guide to using training points. Log in for the current number of available points. Don’t have enough or you’ve run out? Let us know.

Things happen. If you can’t make the date of your training course let us know ASAP and we’ll get you onto the next suitable one available. And your training points will transfer with you.

Please note: non-attendance without letting us know will mean training points getting deducted from your organisation’s annual total.

How was your course? Tell us about it and be a training champion 🙂.

Find your next course
Socitm infographic - benchmarking 2024

Better data improves everything

NEW for your membership (in 2025 ONLY)

Use one benchmarking module. Choose from: cost, delivery, performance or user skills.

You want evidence to support your business cases, and insight into positive changes you can make. Get a concise overview of your service coupled with data to support it.

Never benchmarked before? Know what you’d doing and want to get going? Let benchmarking boss 😉 Matthew Fraser know and he’ll support you as much or as little as you need: benchmarking@socitm.net

Other people are using benchmarking and so can you:

Read more about what you can do and how in the Benchmarking Services Help Centre.

Next benchmarking webinar:
Fri-7-Feb | 13:00 to 14:00 | Choosing and using your benchmarking module: an introduction
National conference Sheffield 2024

Events

Member-only meetings

Meet people for catching-up, problem sharing (and solving) and great networking.

Free webinars and meetings hosted by Socitm

Webinars are open to anyone in the public sector, membership is not necessary, so please do share them with your network.

Missed one? Recordings of Socitm webinars are available in the Resource hub.

Browse events

President’s Conference: Beyond Borders

Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 June

Never been to President’s Conference before? What’s it like?
As you’d expect, you’ll hear leaders from local, national and international perspectives. But it’s more than that.
This conference is about getting things done. You’ll take away practical actions and contacts to help solve the challenges we’re all facing.
All this will be wrapped within the Socitm community to create a conference that gives you the right mix of presentations and people in a collaborative and relaxed atmosphere.

The beyond borders agenda
Take away ideas and inspiration with sessions covering:

  • Overcoming barriers stopping progress in your organisation
  • How councils are revolutionising service delivery with AI and automation
  • Insights from the devolved nations on what’s working and what’s next
  • Harnessing your data for social progress
  • If you were working in a local council in New Zealand what would you be doing? Would it be that different?
  • The future of local government by the people running local government
Come along to Birmingham

Mostly free webinars and events hosted by partners and others

February

March

Civiteq. the new face of Socitm Advisory.

Socitm Advisory has changed its name to Civiteq

Tony Summers, CEO at Socitm Advisory said, “We are excited for the journey we are on as Civiteq, which launched in February. We are the same people, who will be delivering the same highly regarded consultancy services into government, under a new name and exciting brand.”

Discover Civiteq

Transforming residents’ experiences: Walsall Council

The CX Factor podcast: a deep dive into customer experience

In this episode Kerv talks to Kiran Grewal-Lehal, Customer Delivery Manager for (the award-winning) Walsall Council about their transformation in RX, increasing accessibility and customer satisfaction by utilising existing functionality and AI – no budget increases needed!

Kiran discusses their goal to provide the best resident experience by utilising digital and AI.

Key highlights:

  • About their transformation and winning the LGC Most Improved Council award
  • Giving residents the best possible experience
  • What’s improved?
  • Implementing change with your agents (not to them)
Listen to the chat

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

With next Friday’s webinar looking at preventing burnout, there’s some great reading and cartoons in this week’s Liz+Mollie email: How to make it through turbulent times