WIREDGOV

Resident-focused projects to link councils more closely to the communities they are trying to reach have benefitted the taxpayer to the tune of more than £330 million.

The Local Government Association (LGA) ran 63 projects for councils to use social media and customer insight tools and techniques to better engage with and understand residents. LGA has published the savings yesterday (TUES) in a report into customer-led transformation.

During the three years of the customer-led transformation project, £7 million was invested from the Department for Communities and Local Government's efficiency and transformation fund. The cash was designed to support the use of customer insight and social media. Its aim was to help councils use such tools to engage with and understand their customers better, as well as driving the re-design of more efficient local services.

The 63 projects were selected against criteria which ensured they promoted efficiency, helped engage residents, and addressed a major priority facing local service providers such as reaching a particular group of people.

Examples include:

• Suffolk County Council's project to transform services for children and young people, which also helping drive savings of more than £7 million in 2010/11
• Croydon redesigned street scene services to better deal with environmental crime and anti-social behaviour, saving nearly £1 million
• A recycling project in Southampton which helped reduced levels of household waste and cut costs by more than £1 million.

As a result of the programme, more than £331 million of financial benefits to the public and public services were delivered.

Councils will be able to draw on the results of the programme to help guide the planning and management of future projects. The programme has also brought with it a growing sense that customer insight and social media are increasingly part of business as usual.

Cllr Peter Fleming, Chair of the LGA's Improvement Board, said:

"While customer insight was already used by councils, this programme has contributed to embedding it as a part of how local government operates. Social media is a relatively recent phenomenon and this programme has played a key role in developing knowledge, capability and confidence among the sector.

"Residents, councils and partnerships have benefited from the programme's use of both customer insight and social media and what has been highlighted is that neither depends on high levels of funding or expertise, but straightforward actions and building on activity and infrastructure already in place.

"During the customer-led transformation programme we have seen councils approach their projects in ways which brought innovation and creativity, creating a body of employees who are enthusiastic about using customer insight and social media as part of the way councils deliver services, now and in the future. We hope councils will continue to promote and develop customer insight and social media and build on the successes of the programme."

Notes to editors

The investment was made from 2009 to 2011

Contact

Ruth Pott Negrine, Senior Media Relations Officer
Local Government Association
Tel: 020 7664 3351
Email: ruth.pott-negrine@local.gov.uk