09 Apr 2024
by Claire Wardle

Navigating digital transformations – How Derbyshire County Council has revolutionised their services

Currently, 84% of digital transformation projects fail due to a lack of the right support and guidance. Digital transformation is more than just investing in digital technologies, it is adapting to a new working culture to not just use data, but understand the true value of it. 

Derbyshire County Council has embarked on a digital transformation journey to improve its services across the care continuum by using a variety of local government software solutions.

Disjointed ways of working

Before working with The Access Group, Derbyshire County Council (DCC) used the same systems to run their multiple services, but in very different ways. This created a lot of inconsistencies in how their data and information were being used, making it harder to have a clear market oversight to implement their short-, medium--, and long-term strategies. Using the same system differently also created extra challenges for leaders in the council. Whenever colleagues were off sick or on annual leave it was difficult to provide efficient cover as everyone was using data, information, and processes inconsistently. This, in turn, led to processes taking longer and individuals left waiting to receive the care, support, and information they needed.

The digital solution

To streamline their services and overcome the data and information challenges they were experiencing, DCC needed a system that could effortlessly digitise its processes to improve the user experience for its staff and the individuals in their community.

They decided to update their Local Government Software as it gave them the flexibility they needed to centralise their services and create better bespoke packages to meet all the specific needs of the community to deliver better-personalised care and support.

Derbyshire’s Digital Transformation Journey

Since the beginning of their transformation journey, the outcomes have been successful All their services and teams are using the same approach and platform to achieve their strategic goals.

Being able to record their data and information more accurately highlights how they are following main principles and regulations, including Putting People at the Heart of Care and the Children’s Social Care Reform 2023. Not only do they have more streamlined services, but they have more enhanced reporting, increasing confidence and engagement across their teams and their end-users.

To achieve this, DCC uses a range of integrated solutions within Access’ digital ecosystem. Access CM enables them to improve their social care scheduling and recording of visits for their short-term services. Access Mosaic offers an end-to-end solution to access social care records, information, and data consistently. Access Synergy enables various Early Years and Education management services to be delivered digitally, and Access Core + effectively supports young offenders and young people to achieve positive education and employment within a single system.

Since using a suite of local government software solutions, DCC’s services have been able to keep all their data secure to encourage better outcomes-based commissioning, improve the quality of transitions between services, enhance their planning and reporting, and improve the continuity of the services they provide both now and in the future.

Gina Knowles, Digital and Partnership Lead, Derbyshire County Council states that:

“Our experience with The Access Group has been really positive. We’ve got access to numerous Access products and have great contact with account management to help support our short, medium, and long-term strategies.”

The importance of digital transformations in local government

Like Derbyshire, many local governments have been using the same systems to commission and deliver care and support across the community. As the needs of individuals become more complex and change, digital transformation helps to improve the way councils cater, accommodate, and deliver services to meet these complex needs in a more efficient and streamlined way.

Derbyshire County Council has found through investing in local government software they have been able to better understand the specific needs of the individuals within their community to deliver better personalised support. They’ve also seen an improvement in their communications and collaborations with external professionals, healthcare workers, service providers, and 3rd parties, to find more sustainable ways of working and allowing them to concentrate on the individual accessing their services.

Digital transformations in local governments help to mitigate risks, drive efficiencies, and encourage innovation to improve access to care, support, and the information needed to deliver high-quality services. Discover the local government software available today to revolutionise your local government services.


Heather Cover-Kus

Heather Cover-Kus

Head of Central Government Programme, techUK

Heather is Head of Central Government Programme at techUK, working to represent the supplier community of tech products and services to Central Government.

Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat.  She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.

Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.

Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.

Email:
[email protected]
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-cover-kus-ba636538

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Ellie Huckle

Ellie Huckle

Programme Manager, Central Government, techUK

Ellie joined techUK in March 2018 as a Programme Assistant to the Public Sector team and now works as a Programme Manager for the Central Government Programme.

The programme represents the supplier community of technology products and services in Central Government – in summary working to make Government a more informed buyer, increasing supplier visibility in order to improve their chances of supplying to Government Departments, and fostering better engagement between the public sector and industry. To find out more about what we do, how we do this and how you can get involved – make sure to get in touch!

Prior to joining techUK, Ellie completed Sixth Form in June 2015 and went on to work in Waitrose, moved on swiftly to walking dogs and finally, got an office job working for a small local business in North London, where she lives with her family and their two Bengal cats Kai and Nova.

When she isn’t working Ellie likes to spend time with her family and friends, her cats, and enjoys volunteering for diabetes charities. She has a keen interest in writing, escaping with a good book and expanding her knowledge watching far too many quiz shows!

Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
020 7331 2015
Twitter:
@techUK,@techUK
Website:
www.techuk.org,www.techuk.org
LinkedIn:
https://bit.ly/3mtQ7Jx,https://bit.ly/3mtQ7Jx

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Annie Collings

Annie Collings

Programme Manager, Cyber Security and Central Government, techUK

Annie joined techUK as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023. In this role, she supports the Cyber Security SME Forum, engaging regularly with key government and industry stakeholders to advance the growth and development of SMEs in the cyber sector.

Before joining techUK, Annie was an Account Manager at a specialist healthcare agency, where she provided public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. She also gained experience as an intern in both an MP’s constituency office and with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Annie holds a degree in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University.

Email:
[email protected]
Twitter:
anniecollings24
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-collings-270150158/

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Austin Earl

Austin Earl

Programme Manager, Central Government, techUK

Austin joined techUK’s Central Government team in March 2024 to launch a workstream within Education and EdTech.

With a career spanning technology, policy, media, events and comms, Austin has worked with technology communities, as well as policy leaders and practitioners in Education, Central and Local Government and the NHS.

Cutting his teeth working for Skills Matter, London’s developer community hub, Austin then moved to GovNet Communications where he launched Blockchain Live and the Cyber Security and Data Protection Summit. For the last 3 years he has worked with leaders in Education across the state and independent schools sectors, from primary up to higher education, with a strong research interest in technology and education management.

Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
07891 743 932
Website:
www.techuk.org,www.techuk.org
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-spencer-earl/,https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-spencer-earl/

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Ella Gago-Brookes

Ella Gago-Brookes

Team Assistant, Markets, techUK

Ella joined techUK in November 2023 as a Markets Team Assistant, supporting the Justice and Emergency Services, Central Government and Financial Services Programmes.  

Before joining the team, she was working at the Magistrates' Courts in legal administration and graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2022.  Ella attained an undergraduate degree in History and Politics, and a master's degree in International Relations and Security Studies, with a particular interest in studying asylum rights and gendered violence.  

In her spare time she enjoys going to the gym, watching true crime documentaries, travelling, and making her best attempts to become a better cook.  

Email:
[email protected]

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Authors

Claire Wardle

Claire Wardle

Digital Content Manager, The Access Group