Socitm 2025: The year in review

Governance

We continue to strengthen the way Socitm is governed

As a management team we have made several changes to bring closer working relationships with our board of trustees. This includes:

• New priority portfolios (Membership, Finance and Risk, and Institute) now provide clear oversight of the society’s most critical work. A refreshed committee structure supports these portfolios, means key updates are only reported to the board by exception. Allowing us to focus time where it matters most.
• We strengthened our risk management practices, to help us monitor, mitigate and reduce potential threats.
• We widened the range of experiences and perspectives at board level by adding colleagues from broader professional backgrounds.

Keeping members better informed and engaged

• We’ve improved communications with the board and wider membership, giving more visibility of plans, key initiatives and major events. You have a clearer line of sight into the work we’re doing and the opportunities available throughout the year.
• We’ve developed the roles of the president elect and immediate past president, creating a stronger three-year cycle of leadership. This provides the time, space and continuity needed to deliver impactful change. Each presidential term now builds momentum and leaves a legacy for the membership.
• Internally we invested in better support for staff so they can continue delivering high-quality services. It feeds directly into better responses, smoother processes, and stronger support for our membership community.
  • Drop-in sessions on Office 365.
  • Training on using AI tools to transcribe and streamline meetings.
  • A growing library of recorded webinars.

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Policy and research

Evidence-based approach

Research and policy in 2025 has been developed closely with members, the Nations and Regions Forum, and our strategic and international partners.

Driving national policy through strategic partnerships

Our collaborative partnerships have influenced national policy. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) commissioned an independent evaluation measuring the impact of their Local Digital programme – to make sure it’s as effective as possible.

The study, from May 2023 and May 2025, gathered insights from a wide spectrum of English councils which included many Socitm members. Members’ input was crucial for the evaluation, and the insights are already adapting MHCLG’s approach to support the sector.

Shaping global dialogue

Socitm is the only UK member of Major Cities of Europe (MCE) and Linked Organisation of Local Authority ICT Societies (LOLA).

This year, President Kurt Frary and Yasmine Hajji (our Research Analyst), attended the MCE annual conference – Piloting disruptive innovation in cities and regions – in France. The conference brought together local government and suppliers to discuss AI, governance, and sustainable urban transformation.

Browse their presentations:

• The Future is Now: Emerging Digital Trends 2025
• Connectivity is rubbish [broadband in Norfolk]
• AI governance in the local public sector

New in 2025

Local government reorganisation (LGR) support

Socitm provides strategic support to local authorities going through LGR. As an independent DDaT partner, we offer expert-led workshops, access to digital and data tools, including assessments, frameworks and workforce enablement to build in-house expertise, and deliver citizen-centric transformation.  

Over the past months, we’ve held 30 workshops with councils impacted by LGR. Learn more:

• Workshop outputs: LGR: Get your house in order or risk paying the price 
• Local government reorganisation: Socitm’s support
• LGR: Making things happen

Social value in procurement

The UK government’s new Procurement Act 2023 went live on 24 February 2025, bringing significant changes for buyers and suppliers.

We partnered with OneAdvanced and the Crown Commercial Service to offer you guidance on how to prepare for the changes. We also held, and continue to deliver, roundtables on maximising social value in procurement. Unable to attend earlier this year? Read ‘Procurement and social value: Supplier and local authority perspectives‘.

Public Sector Digital Trends

Shaped by our President’s team and grounded in real-world case studies, it provides practical, evidence-based guidance. Using it helps you plan and deliver better outcomes in your organisations and communities

This year, we focused on three trends (prioritised by you and representatives from our international partners):

1. Reimagining services
2. Harnessing data
3. Cyber security

Cyber@Socitm

Launched in January 2025, you have practical tools and skills for a deeper understanding of cyber security for public services. We continue to build the hub with regular updates including the latest cyber threats and recovery plans case studies, research, insights and guidance.

We developed cyber security guidance for public sector practitioners, published cyber security guidance on preventing credential theft (for schools and for local authority help desk staff), and enriched our groups and networks over the year.

Updated in 2025

AI@Socitm

In January 2025, we reorganised the content making it more user friendly and easier for you to navigate. This year we’ve added:

• An updated version of our sample terms of reference for an AI governance board. Adapted from Norfolk County Council it was peer reviewed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge’s Digital Cities for Change team and Dr. Mark Brett.
• 85 new case studies (and counting) from across the UK, covering a range of topics including AI skills, AI flood resilience and AI council tax.
• Groups and networks – You wanted greater clarity on the various communities of practise operating within the sector. Here we signposted to 24 groups, forums, working groups and relevant organisations and will continue to add more.

Completed in 2025

Connected Places

Designed to inspire and to help you build strong, connected and resilient communities (where everyone benefits from harnessing data and technologies) our final set of resources features:

• Economy and business
• Education, skills and jobs
• Travel and mobility

Digital Twins

We published the final briefing in our three-part series (begun last year) looking at opportunities to deploy the technology in the design and delivery of place-based services: ‘Digital twins (3/3): Practical steps for implementation‘.

It covers future developments, local digital twins, practical steps to get started, global case studies and Socitm’s partner organisations you can take advantage of when exploring digital twins.

Many thanks to our advisers:

• Andrew Coote (Director, ConsultingWhere)
• Kurt Frary (Socitm President; Head of IT and Chief Technology Officer, Norfolk County Council)
• Lieven Raes (Senior Advisor, Digital Flanders, Flemish Government)

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Leadership Academy

In 2025, the Leadership Academy delivered its most expansive and impactful courses to date. With a strong focus on place-based leadership, emotional intelligence, and digital transformation, the academy offers a diverse portfolio of CPD-certified courses tailored to your evolving needs.

People-focused

Working with profiling tools, such as Belbin Team Roles to enhance team dynamics and build individual strengths, the Academy’s commitment to practical learning was evident in its one-to-one coaching and group projects (encouraging you to devise real-world solutions to topical challenges).

These experiences culminated in presentations at national events, enabling a real sense of achievement among participants.

A few of our favourites

1. In-person events, such as the Top Talent course and the senior leader Place-based Leadership course, showcased the power of peer learning and cross-organisational collaboration.
2. Ben Marston’s (Sheffield City Council) powerful case study shows Top Talent has strengthened both his personal leadership journey and the council’s organisational capability. His story reflects the wider impact of our learning programmes across the sector.
3. Our partnership with Microsoft on the Change Agent course enabled hundreds of you to harness digital tools for change.
4. The Socitm mentoring programme: Mentoring in the public sector – it worked for me
5. Maintaining a strong focus on personal wellbeing alongside professional growth.
6. Responding to your requests for more tailored, in-house courses. We’re looking forward to working with more of you next year.
7. Creating personalised training – to meet the requirements of your team.

As we continue to grow, the Leadership Academy remains committed to listening to you. Together, we’re building a stronger, more adaptable public sector. One with adaptable, confident leaders who drive innovation and improve community outcomes

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Member engagement

In 2025, we continued to deepen our connection with members by creating more meaningful, two-way engagement across the whole community. Attendance at regional meetings, online forums, and our member voice group grew again this year.

Members were more visible than ever in shaping our work. Vice president Kevin Taylor (Suffolk) calculated the value of Socitm membership.

As more councils navigate reorganisation pressures or prepare for change, you asked us for clearer guidance, practical tools, and shared experiences. We facilitated a series of LGR workshops, creating structured spaces for you to share templates, compare approaches, and learn from one another to reduce duplication and promote simplification.

Engagement with our digital channels also continued to grow. More members than ever connected with us through LinkedIn, monthly sessions, the resource hub, and your website account area – helping you manage your membership, track ROI, and access insight more easily. The shift towards member-led content has strengthened collaboration across our community and amplified real-world expertise.

Most popular blog post

We published some exceptional thought leadership this year. And Maddie Hoskins’s (North Yorkshire) reflective piece “If I knew then what I know now” explored lessons learned from LGR. Her insight resonated strongly with you and is 2025’s most-read blog post.

Member survey

Between May and June 2025, you were invited to complete our annual membership check-in survey. The goal? To better understand your experiences, how you’re benefitting from your membership, and what we can do to support you more effectively.

It was our first survey in two years, so we revised the questions and made it open to all members. We’re grateful to everyone who took part earlier this year. Your feedback ensures Socitm evolves – informed by our members, for the members.

Read all about the survey findings and also how we’ve been addressing your feedback.

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Benchmarking

As a one-off campaign in 2025, each member organisation had the opportunity to complete a complimentary benchmarking module. 10% of you took this up, with most of you choosing to compare either the cost efficiency of your ICT service or the digital skills of your users. In the last five years, we’ve now helped 71 organisations to assess how they deliver their ICT.
 
Although this offer will not be repeated in 2026, future participants will benefit from richer data to compare against.

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Partnership

Alongside our own events calendar this year, we managed 3 successful supporting conferences:

1. March’s CyberNI Conference (part of CyberNI Week run by and with the NI Cyber Security Centre)
2. March’s Information Security for London (ISfL) annual conference
3. Then in November, with a new partner Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC), the Northern Ireland Public Sector ICT Conference.

Look out for the return of all of these in 2026.

New in 2025

Partners, for the first time, were involved in our awards (the nominations, selection process, and ceremony) that takes place during President’s Conference.

New Institute partnerships were also launched in 2025, allowing private sector organisations to join Socitm and our members in podcasts, roundtables, and briefings. As well as the opportunity to start investing in their own development and join our Leadership Academy courses.

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Events

Across our conferences, regional meetings, and online sessions, we saw strong engagement from you (at every level), reflecting your growing appetite for connection, learning, and shared problem-solving. How much more will you do in 2026?!

Building on your feedback, in 2025 we continued to expand the number of joint public–private sector sessions; showcasing real examples of partnerships driving innovation, efficiency, and better outcomes for your teams and communities

Total attendance and reach

This year you created over 4,000 registrations for our in-person and online sessions, demonstrating the continued strength of our community.

Supporting the regions

This year’s President’s Conference in Birmingham was the biggest success story, selling out with delegates for the first time ever. The event, focussed on people and places, brought you together with partners, academics, and innovators to discuss the future of digital public services. Themes ranged from digital transformation and responsible AI to cyber resilience, customer experience, and data-driven decision-making.

Events in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland confirmed our commitment to delivering value for members beyond England: our Northern Ireland Public Sector ICT Conference sold out for the second year in a row.

Giving members from across the UK easy access to peer support, practical advice, and emerging best practice.

Insights, actions and outcomes

Webinars enable you to stay informed about sector trends, hear from experts, and share lived experiences – regardless of geography or capacity constraints. You continue to tell us you value the mix of in-person and online opportunities, with strong demand for both formats as hybrid engagement becomes standard across the sector.

We look forward to an even bigger events programme for 2026 – most of all our 40th anniversary celebrations at President’s Conference in June.

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Website and design

The start of 2025 saw an update to our logo in order to provide a stronger, visual presence for the society. We used it for the first time in a physical format at this year’s President’s Conference. You may still have noticed the old logo showing up occasionally at events as we don’t want to unnecessarily waste our existing printed material.

We’re excited about the future and the continued evolution of our digital presence, especially with our 40th anniversary just round the corner. We’re looking forward to releasing special content in the new year as we celebrate this milestone, so keep your eyes peeled!