How social collaboration can improve public organisations in 

time of austerity? 

The case of Local Administration in England

Carl Haggerty

What I’ll cover…

• Brief Introduction

• The context for local councils

• The opportunities

• The challenges

Introduction

• Total UK Public Expenditure  in 2009 = £609Billion*

• Total UK Local Government Exp ‘09 = £164Billion*

• Devon County Council = £865million 

* Source HM Treasury

County Council Only County Council Joint responsibility with Districts

District and/or Parish/Town Councils Only

Adult Education Canals and Waterways Allotments Concessionary Fares Community Transport Car Parks Consumer Protection Country Parks Cemeteries Education Economic Development Electoral AdministrationHighways Emergency Planning Environmental Health Libraries and Archives Environmental Protection Housing Public Transport Financial Support for

Voluntary Organisations Leisure

Registration Services Industrial Units Licensing

Road Safety Museums and Arts Litter School Transport Public Rights of Way Parks and open spaces Social Services Recycling Planning ApplicationsStrategic Planning Street Lighting Revenue CollectionTrading Standards Tourism Public ToiletsTraffic Management Waste Collection Transport Planning Waste Disposal

Services provided

It’s all about people

Context for Local Councils

• Public Sector Finance– Reduction in budgets ‐ estimates between 25‐30%

– Staff reductions

• Increasing pressure from public – Deliver more for less

– Social inclusion and participation

• Consumerisation– Speed and access to information

– People to People networks

It’s time for transformational change

The Opportunity

• The big question facing ALL local councils right now is.

"Will this eat up my time and make me less productive, or make things more 

efficient?"

Potential Uses

Survey by SocITM of Public Sector IT Managers ‐ 2009

Improving Communication

• Empowering and involving 

• Mobile and real time

• Internal and External

• PR and reputation management

Enhancing Democracy

• Collaborative action

• ePetitions and Campaigning

• Real time election updates

• Reaching disengaged audiences (young people)

Building Communities

• A sense of place

• Reconnecting neighbourhoods

• Connecting People to People

• Fostering active involvement

Knowledge Sharing

• NOT knowledge management– Communities of Practice

• eLearning and professional development– Informal

– Formal

• Social Collaboration / Networking

• Ideas management

• People Finder/Staff Directory

Communities of Practice

• A space to grow knowledge

• Share experiences

• Connect with Peers

• Accelerate learning

• Creates opportunities for innovation and ideas

Social Collaboration

Cost Saving Opportunities

• Savings in the time spent looking for information you require  (productivity gain)

• Fewer and higher quality meetings (venues, people, resources = £)

• Less email (productivity gain)

• eLearning (venues, people, resources = £)

The challenges

• The big question here is?

“With all the opportunities these new tools present, why isn’t everyone using them?"

Risk Relevance Reputation

• Social web in “considered” immature

• Digital Inclusion

• Organisations still block access

• Information Security (or compliance)

Getting Personal

• Who am I? (professional vs personal)

• Training, awareness and guidance

• Lessons from the past

Organisational

• The “social organisation” challenge

• Challenging hierarchy

• Culture change

• Recruitment and retention of staff

Political

• Online Civic Spaces

• What about Elected Officials?

• Citizens have a louder voice

• Citizens have a direct route to service planning and budget setting

Final thoughts

• Cost savings can be made but processes need to be changed.

• Improvements can be made if the tools are embedded in what people do.

• You know your business best – look for the opportunities and mitigate the risks

Thank you

• Twitter: @carlhaggerty

• Blog: http://carlhaggerty.wordpress.com

• Email (work): carl.haggerty@devon.gov.uk

• Email (personal) carlhaggerty76@gmail.com