That Local GDS conversation again…

Just about 2 years ago I wrote this post on the GDS blog titled “Does local government need a local government digital service” the answer I gave then as I would give now is “YES” but just like then I outlined the challenges in actually making that a reality and instead focused on some areas where progress could be made.

The last few days has seen us revisit this topic with Richard Copley and Simon Wakeman’s blog posts. Both outlining and clearly stating the benefits such a move could offer the sector but also both state that it is likely to be an aspiration only.

This is fundamentally why I got involved in #LocalGov Digital to start to make something happen regardless of the barriers that stop something more formal happening. The reality is that LocalGov Digital is now starting to create value and make a difference, although not just around the web estate which I originally referred to. It is also why I created the framework and ensured the focus was on people and places and not on local government itself

I’d like to revisit some of the suggested things referred to in my post of 2 years ago and provide some commentary around progress made…clearly more needs to happen but we haven’t stood still since I wrote that post.

The following is extracts from the original post with comments.

Leadership and Vision
There is no strong visible leadership for the local government web estate and the value it creates for users. Many local government web folk provide leadership and certainly inspire me for what they are doing…but its sporadic and doesn’t have the level of influence require to effect a change on a wider scale.
There is a balance to be had between external people and “experts” and practitioner understanding that should be explored..It would be wrong in my opinion to create a completely separate organisation to provide this with no links into local government or central government.

What progress has been made around this, well I could suggest that winning the recent Guardian Public Service Award is a step in the right direction as that is clearly related to the work I’ve been involved in with others around LocalGov digital. But I could equally state that if you look at the people involved in the group they are all excellent leaders who all provide focus and momentum so we have definitely made progress and we continue to make progress…

Skills development (UI/UX/simplicity/agile)
There is clearly a huge skills gap in the local government web community that needs to be addressed…some councils may simply choose to “commission” the web from an external provider and rely on private sector skills.

What progress has been made around this, well the Really Useful Days are continuing to add huge value on the ground and the huge amount of reusable content and learning that has been gathered is a real asset that needs to be unlocked further to ensure we can extend the reach. This is one of the areas of work LocalGov Digital has identified and we are proactively working with LocalDirectGov team to run joint sessions throughout this year as well as looking at how we can run our own events with the help of others.

Connecting
This is an obvious one and there are a range of options already in place here for example the recent UKGovCamps
But there is no continuation of the conversation through online networks other than twitter and on individual blogs. To have a bigger impact, something around co-ordinating this would need to be explored.

The continuing number and variety of camps, jams and the like have made learning and connecting far easier but yet the ongoing community management still let’s us all down. LocalGov Digital will be looking at how it can support and promote more events and look at how the community management and more importantly the ongoing collaboration can continue. The group have already made some great efforts in promoting hangouts, online forums etc as well promoting the revised Knowledge Hub (but we know that needs some work)

Standards / toolkits / frameworks
…the real issue is not whether we share the same technology but what standards we set for technologies in order to facilitate a better web experience.

One of the key pieces of work LocalGov Digital have done here is the content standards, the next piece of work we have already started is looking at how we can work with code for Europe and others to enable better sharing of code and encourage code to be shared more widely.

Setting the bar high
I think GDS has already delivered on this, but hasn’t been explicit or forthcoming in broadening its influence into local government and maybe rightly so…
But we do need to maintain a high standard, why should we accept anything less than a really good online experience…the balance is in doing this in an affordable and sustainable way in small local authorities.

I don’t think anyone in local government has achieved this, the standards have been clearly set by the good folk at GDS and pretty much all local gov web folk recognise that and if they don’t then it’s maybe because they haven’t seen or really understood what they have done…it isn’t just about good design, and user needs, it is about changing attitudes, behaviours and challenging the status quo. This is what has raised the bar and made it more acceptable for local gov folk like myself to stand up and challenge.

Greater engagement and collaboration between Local and Central.
Direct engagement with local government practitioners needs to go beyond the localdirectgov database and into skills, sharing and learning. Raising the profile within local government circles as to the value added and the efficiencies achieved of gov.uk – this might be an easy step to take and in some ways this already happens but is informal and sporadic at best…no fault of anyone here…just the way it is right now.
There is also a lot of learning and experience from us local government folk which can and should be shared back into GDS. After all, there are many levels of government and we all have a stake in making it a better place. Whilst GDS do have a strong mandate and have clearly attracted a huge amount of talent, there is in my humble opinion a huge amount of talent in local government which could do with some support , direction and engagement.

I’m not sure we have cracked this yet…but one of the things I’d like to do this year as part of the LocalGov Digital is to have proactive and constructive conversations with GDS about how we can work better together to improve the whole of government top to bottom, from the ground up.

So coming back to the recent conversations, I still think that a Local GDS would be good, it would be effective and it would deliver value, huge value. but i still don’t see how we can get the diverse and individual local councils and local service provider ecosystem to provide an overarching mandate to make this happen.

I firmly believe and it is why I so passionately support LocalGov Digital that good leadership, great collaboration, adding value and most of making a difference will kick start and model for the future. If this results in some ambitious councils coming together and creating a LocalGDS amongst 5-10 councils and the outputs are so good then why wouldn’t others follow in these tough financial times.

This won’t be the last post on the subject as I’ve not really touched on the area of transactions and that is where the real collaboration is and not just across local councils but with social entrepreneurs and communities themselves.

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#localgovdigital – Open Thinking and Practice

Are you a local government team that blogs about their work? LocalGov Digital wants to hear from you!

One of the things that I believe is important is being open about the work we all do and I’d like to encourage more people to blog as individuals or as teams as I think and believe it will help the sector collaborate with itself and with others who are inspired or interested in what we are doing. I also believe it helps share the story of local government in a different and more engaging way.

So if you are part of a team who works in local government and your team blogs – please complete the online google form so we (LocalGov Digital) to promote and help broaden your reach and hopefully connect you with different teams who can learn from your practice and story.

If you’re able to share how blogging has benefitted your team with the wider LocalGov Digital network of practitioners please get in touch with us at LocalGov Digital – leave a comment, Tweet us @localgovdigital, join the KHub group or connect via our G+ Community.

#localgovdigital – Content Standards in Beta

[This post has also been published on the Web Managers Group Blog]

Last week LocalGov Digital launched its Digital Content Standard, a carefully crafted first draft – or beta version – and a free resource for local government web and content managers. It supports the group’s overarching principle of encouraging the sector to be open by default and digital by design.

This standard is intended to evolve and adapt to continually meet the needs of the sector as well as raising the aspirations around digital content and services generally.

The standard was a collaborative effort led by LocalGov Digital Steering Group members and has been compiled using a selection of existing guides from the UK and from across the world.

The document has been created in such a way that we hope it can simply be adopted by local councils without too much trouble. In Devon we have adopted them although we recognise that we are likely to need a supplement to allow the local variations and subtle style differences which we have established here.

From a personal point of view the whole document is hugely valuable but you can make sizeable gains from simply getting your existing content authors to consider the following golden rule.

Is the information you’re presenting to the public necessary, readable, original, easy to find and well-presented?

In a checklist:

• Is the content answering a question that our customers are asking?
• Is your content easy-to-read and understandable to a layperson?
• Is the content original?
• Can the content be found using search words that make sense to the customer?
• Are graphics and pictures appropriate and do they add something to the page?

I’m sure that there will be many ways we could improve the standards and we would encourage people to comment, contribute and be part of the wider LocalGov Digital network to help raise standards in web and digital across the public sector.

For more information about the Digital Content Standard see this post. You can also download the Digital Content Standard PDF file.

For the latest and to talk with the group follow us on Twitter @localgovdigital, join the KHub group or connect via our G+ Community.

On being nominated

A few weeks back I was notified that I was included on the Public Services Award: Leadership Excellence shortlist. Public voting closes on 21st October – #VoteCarl…

Initially when I first heard I was like “WTF?” but after a while and after some grounding conversations with colleagues and my family I became personally proud and honoured to be included in the list given the outstanding quality of the other candidates.

In the time since it was first announced I’ve had so much positive feedback and people have said such wonderful things. I’ve received praise and congratulations from so many people including The leader of the council, the chief executive, my line manager, my Heads of Service, other Heads of Service, lots of internal and external peers and colleagues and even some teachers at my children’s school.

What all of this has done for me personally is fantastic, it has cemented some confidence, it has nudged me forward, it has challenged me to think about my impact and influence on the people around me at all levels but most of all it has made me think about the type of leadership I’ve demonstrated to justify being nominated in the first place.

On the awards website it states:

In a part of the world not always renowned for its innovation, Haggerty is building on his fundamental belief that local government is, and should, be “open by default and digital by design” and that every citizen can and will “meaningfully integrate the internet into their daily lives” to provide active and capable participation in a ubiquitous digital climate.

Haggerty, who also chairs the LocalGov Digital steering group, has been shortlisted for his energy and openness in pursuit of pervasive digital awareness and education, which has included an innovation month at Devon county council. “He’s doing something remarkable in a place you might not necessarily expect,” according to the Public Leaders Network editorial advisory board.

The interesting thing about all of the things that have been mentioned is that – and as a close friend pointed out – none of the things I have achieved are original or even my ideas…so they were quick to state that I was a fraud, but a worthy one…I’ll take that in a good way 🙂

However that doesn’t mean I don’t believe those things and want to work to make them happen, because I do – in fact I’m very passionate about the the future of local government, the digital climate for local public services, I want to help my council and others understand this space and to move forward. I do believe that being open by default and digital by design is fundamentally critical to public service design and I am very proud of being able to sell the idea of a month of creativity to our Corporate Leadership Team and then rally others around me to help make it happen. I’m also very proud of being Chair of LocalGov Digital which is full of people I admire and respect hugely and we are all on a collective journey and no one is better than anyone else – we simply work well together.

But the point that my colleague pointed out is correct, in that none of these things are my ideas – to a degree – I’ve been reusing, reframing and adopting other peoples ideas and bringing them together and where possible (hopefully) adding value, ever since I started working in this area. I’ve not got the answers and I know other people don’t either but together we can find our way through, What I try and do is make sense of those things and then through my blog and other channels try and share some of that thinking or ask questions.

In relation to the blurb about me I’d thought i’d provide the background to the bits it highlights so you can all know where this stuff originated.

• Open by default, digital by design – was a phrase coined by Carrie Bishop at the Open Space South West Event in September 2012 – ever since she said that I adopted it like a personal mantra…So Thank you Carrie.
• The Digital climate – This was a phrase I read in the City of Chicago’s digital strategy which was promoted by John Tolva, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at City of Chicago – so Thank you John
• The innovation month (Create & Innovate) – I reused an idea that the Met Office in Exeter used which was an “Innovate and Create” week – I simply reversed the name and extended the time. Thank you Mike and Natalie (colleagues at the Met Office)
• Localgov Digital – I’m merely one a wider group of people who came together through frustration, determination and a passion for local government. Thank you to all the fellow steering group members

I think what has happened is that I’ve somehow managed to nudge some things forward, to help other people, to inspire other people and to be open about all those types of things in my blog – I seem to have demonstrated a type of leadership which some wish to recognise.

Everyone on the list deserves the award in my view – it is clear why they all deserve it – am I suggesting I deserve it more, no not in the slightest…in fact I’m only doing what I’m paid to do…this is what my job, my manager, my team, my service and my council expects and demands of me.

I’d like to believe that everyone working for the residents of Devon deserve an award – everyone knows the context and challenges people are dealing with in their everyday work life. I’m lucky I get to share my thinking, I’m in a role that exposes me more to a wider group of people. This is also replicated across every council area in the country – It isn’t easy working in the sector right now…it is full of uncertainty, full of fundamental change, but in amongst all of this people do the jobs that they are expected to do and more and I’m proud to be part of that team.

I think one of the contributing factors to be noticed, let alone nominated was my blog and my general level of activity of twitter – So i’d like to encourage more people to be brave and share their thinking, to take that first step and be open to challenge and constructive feedback. Not to win an award but to connect to a wider group of people who can and do help you.

I’ve been asked whether I want to win and yes of course I’d love to win (I would really love to win – #votecarl), but do I feel I deserve to win over the other candidates…no not really but that is something for anyone who votes to decide.

Whatever the outcome I’m going to enjoy this moment and enjoy the awards ceremony as it has already had a massive impact on my life by simply being recognised as a leader.

To the editorial group who put my name forward – THANK YOU.

#VoteCarl

 

With not for

As I have conversations with people about the digital framework and the principles I’ve started to think about more and more examples of where the principles would be used in real life.

This post will focus on the principle of “design with not for communities”

In my personal life this principle could be played out in many different scenarios but I’m going to just focus on a couple of areas.

The first and most obvious is my immediate local community, the second and maybe not quite so obvious is my work environment – the most common places where I spend my time.

My local community is not designed around the needs of the community and I know that because no one has ever asked my family what our needs for our local community look like, nor my neighbours based on conversations with them….more likely it has been driven by random opportunities and passionate people who are pursuing individual projects to fulfil some niche pocket of need.

Also it isn’t good enough to simply advertise a community meeting in the local shop with a few days to do at times when working families with young kids would struggle to attend…nor is it good enough to not have any mechanism to connect with the conversation of those meetings in a format which is relevant and more appropriate to the needs of families.

The issue for me is that my local community isn’t designed to facilitate a greater level of connections between the people who live there…there isn’t a common space where people from all across the community come together – the school is close but its excludes many of the older and vulnerable people in the community. If we could create an enabling environment which in increased and fostered the social interaction within my community we would be better able to identify common needs and issues and collaborate and co-design solutions which we felt as a community were more appropriate and agile.

In terms of my workplace, we have just recently moved office which has been a positive step as we are now in a space where we are less likely to that we are interrupting colleagues and more likely to have more meaningful and creative conversations.

Now not all offices need to look the same and it isn’t an easy situation to be in when we are in a very overt climate of hotdesking and flexible working in which all offices are now designed around flexibility of movement and easy of access to equipment. But this fails to recognise those teams who don’t and can’t work in that way and as research suggests open plan offices are actually counter productive

As a school governor we are constantly reminded and focused on improving standards and exploring ways in which all aspects of the school environment can support this. Now I’m only talking from a primary school context but I’m convinced this applies anywhere although as I type I’m not aware of research or evidence as I’ve not looked.
Anyway one of the key things teachers are now doing is using the physical space to increase opportunities for learning and improve the overall environment to support the objectives which is to help the children engage with learning.

If you think about applying that to a work space then each physical location should be designed to support different types of working pattern and where people are lucky enough to have offices then these should support those people to do their jobs better.

But in order to understand how these need to be developed and created you need to involve people, understand their needs and their outcomes and then work with them to create spaces which enable them to work or learn more effectively.