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News

24th May 2016

Solace unites with industry bodies to drive local digital leadership

In a new paper released today, Solace, Socitm the LGA, and the Local CIO Council jointly call for local leaders to champion digital innovation in their own authorities, as a vital step in building shared services and delivering place-based policy.

The paper presents compelling case studies of local government and public sector organisations that have used innovative digital approaches to transform various services – all with common
outcomes: greater efficiency, improved insights, significant cost savings, and better citizen experience.

The paper sets out a number of examples of digital innovation already taking place across local government, arguing that this is a ‘key pillar of the transformation the sector is currently undergoing’.

Digital innovation and local leadership is a key agenda for Solace, led by Martin Reeves, Chief Executive of Coventry City Council, Interim Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority, and Solace Spokesperson for Digital Leadership.

He said:

‘Local digital leadership is crucial to the transformation our sector is undergoing. It is vital that all local leaders are on board with this agenda. That’s why we have come together with the other key membership bodies in our sector to promote and build the leadership required’.

The paper calls for local leaders to:

– Champion digital innovation in their own authority by acting as a role model in the use of technology, making resources available, and finding space for innovation;

– Promote digital innovation across the sector, by sharing and promoting their own organisation’s best practice, as well as being open to learning from others and seeing the potential for collaboration;

– Share and collaborate not just across local government, but with central government, the NHS and other bodies too. Socitm, Solace, the LGA, and the Local CIO Council are committed to working together and will be collaborating on a range of practical ‘next steps’, including events, training, and working to promote great examples of local digital innovation.