SOLACE - Digital Strategy Session
Monday 30th June
Carl HaggertyDigital Communications Manager
Devon County Council
Chair - LocalGov Digital
@carlhaggerty
A bit about me
The story from Devon...
...started about 2-3 years ago
–Devon Digital Content Strategy 2011-2015
"Our aim is to ensure that users can access
content where they need it and not have to
rely on accessing and navigating their way
through a council website to find critical or
timely information and services.”
Chapter 1 - Digital Content Strategy
Standards Driven (consistent)
User Driven (evidence)
Work with others (commission)
Agile / Responsive (iterate)
Future proof (modern tech)
Build something
Show something
social.devon.gov.uk / beta.devon.gov.uk / new.devon.gov.uk
Standards Driven Consistent – not uniform
User
Driven
Working
With
Others
Develop through iteration
Over 55 sites developed on new.devon.gov.uk so far…
Initial Cost Comparison “show something”
New
CMS = £0
Support = £0
Single Hosting Environment = £3.5k
Search = £0
Temporary Document storage = £0
Total – £3.5k
Legacy
CMS = £60K
Search = £30
Plus
External hosting costs across
various websites
Approx = 50k per year
Total – £140K
NB: All costs exclude staff costs
Chapter 2 – Opening Data
–Devon Open Data Programme – Hackathon
"We hold much information that is, in effect, the
market intelligence for a big service provider; now
we need to turn that into market intelligence for
communities and business. We can only do that
by understanding needs, both for the type of
information and how it can be presented.”
Standards for IT Procurement
–Future Landscape
“We need to review both our role and function,
and our relationship with our citizens and
communities.”
Chapter 3 - A Changing Council
Future Landscape Thinking different
Chapter 3 - Challenging Thinking
–Phil Norrey Chief Executive
“Everyone has the potential to be creative and
this month is an ideal time to get involved, find
out more, and above all to think about how
you could do what you do differently.”
Service Design
• 48 hours
• Innovative approaches
• Problem solving
Chapter 4 - National Voice / Leadership
–Digital Framework for Local Public Services
“A ubiquitous digital climate that animates and
inspires creativity and transformation and
enables growth and wellbeing.”
National Leadership Collaborative Action
Open by default - Digital by design
Where we are today…5 good things
1. We’ve made more progress in 2-3 years than in the last 10
2. We’ve got corporate and political support and recognition
3. We can talk about transformation not just websites
4. We have to manage expectations
5. We are influencing through doing
Where we are today…5 not so good things
1. Digital for some people is still just about technology
2. People look to me when looking for digital opportunities
3. People see PSN as a barrier
4. Invest to save is still silo based (but this is changing)
5. We still haven’t done the “big” thing to prove real value
Key Lessons
1. Focus on doing - prototype as a specification
2. Focus on user needs - citizen not organisational
3. Design for outcomes
4. Open by default, digital by design
5. Don’t stop learning
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