Future Councils update #4

Welcome to the latest update from Future Councils. During the last 6 weeks, we’ve been analysing findings and hosting the Future Councils Roundtable series. In this issue, you can read about:

• the final session with our 8 cohort councils
• our roundtable events
• the next steps for Future Councils

Our final cohort session

During the pilot, we met with our 8 cohort councils in two previous sessions. In our first session, we looked at the pain points councils are facing collectively and then in our second session, we explored the challenges the councils faced locally. We then collaborated on how to address these by sharing best practices and innovative ideas.

Last week we had our final pilot cohort session, where we met with the councils to discuss how their local challenges related to wider systemic issues, and further develop our understanding of what is stopping them from becoming modern and resilient. It was also the first time we were able to meet with everyone face-to-face and have these conversations in the same room.

The aim of the session was to:

• build on discussions from the previous session and further stimulate council collaboration
• share the latest synthesis of our learnings
• brainstorm potential solutions for systemic blockers
• gather feedback on council experiences and what wider support they could benefit from

Roundtable series

During September and October we hosted the Future Councils roundtable series, delivering three in-person events in Leeds, London, and Exeter. These events offered an opportunity for us to share the insights gained during the pilot and outline our problem statements. Forty-eight councils joined the conversation over the three events, sharing their experiences and discussing any common challenges, and together we explored potential solutions.

A highlight of the events was hearing from the pilot councils, such as South Tyneside, who acted as a mini case study. They shared their unique experiences and solutions, providing inspiration and practical insights on how councils can adapt solutions to their own needs.

The events received very positive feedback, with one attendee saying “it was good to learn that the problems experienced are the same across most other local authorities”. Attendees found the discussions with other local authorities about shared problems highly valuable and it highlighted how important it is to come together to tackle these common challenges.

What’s next for Future Councils?

As we’re reaching the final stages of our pilot, we’re now working hard to synthesise all of the information and insights that we have gathered and validated. We will develop a programme report that can be shared with the sector, which will detail our approach to understanding the systemic blockers that councils are facing that prevent them from maximising the benefits of digital transformation.

We’re also busy preparing for the next stage of Future Councils, where we will be building on our learnings from the pilot to further help councils become more modern and resilient.

Thanks for reading! To stay tuned on all things #LocalDigital and #FutureCouncils, be sure to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and the DLUHC Digital Blog.