Digital Strategy
Think - Design
Design: User-focused Service Design
Overview
For the Council to now further progress digital it must become integrated into the way we approach service delivery, improvement, and design.
Digital now requires far broader responsibility for it to be adopted across the organisation, it cannot be a bolt on approach or driven solely by a small core team.
The customer must be at the heart of service design with the Council adopting a balanced approach based on the people who do the work, the processes that underpin the work and the technology used to enable it.
The Council will put the needs of people first when designing user services with ‘users’ defined both as internal and external to the Council.
This will involve seeing both staff and citizens as customers of a service, whether the service is delivered to the outside world or purely internal.
The continued development of user-focused services, delivered through service planning and respective programmes for change and improvement activity, will allow the Council to create a seamless and joined-up approach to meeting requirements in an intelligent and effective way.
It will also lead to increased satisfaction from customers which increases take up of digital solutions which, in turn, can lead to efficiencies and savings.
Collaboration
Councils provide a broad range of services which can be accessed and delivered in different ways.
Services should work together to understand problems, collaborating to ensure our citizens and our people can access services effectively and efficiently.
Significant improvements and efficiencies can be achieved through developing our internal processes, using end to end digital delivery with human intervention as required to manage exceptions.
A focus on collaboration across service areas and partners will lead to improvements in information sharing, accountability, and service delivery and maximising the benefits that can be achieved for the whole organisation.
Data Informed
A data informed approach will allow the Council to develop and evolve, based on the information it holds. Establishing a more co-ordinated approach to data will support the insight required for us to make informed, sustainable, and impactful re-design improvements.
Citizen Engagement
The Council and its services, in alignment with the National Digital Strategy for Scotland, can use digital technology to facilitate better citizen engagement and participation, further developing approaches such as online consultation. This will ensure that citizens can play an increased role in decision making in the issues that matter to them.
Service-Led Implementation
Digital Technology can provide the tools and enable the flow of data. However, real improvement can only be achieved through Service led re-design and implementation.
It is critical that business processes and required outcomes must be fully understood before re-design activity commences.
Data and Intelligence, with insight coming from human experience and expertise will support Services to make informed decisions and implement improvements to service design including the improved integration of processes and associated flow of data.
It is also important that service and operational plans consider how digital technology can contribute to furthering their respective ambitions and goals.
Findings from Digital Maturity Assessment 2022
“When discussing challenges, the single biggest challenge facing The Highland Council that most respondents highlighted was the availability of resources and finances to deliver on ambitions and maximise the opportunities of digital especially as we move away from crisis mode responding to the pandemic and into renewal.”
Service plans with a digital focus - Recommendation from Digital Maturity Assessment 2022
“Current service plans do not have a sufficient digital focus. With the insourcing of ICT delivery providing closer relationships between ICT, Digital Transformation and service teams it is recommended that service planning processes are updated to allow a more significant reference to digital as an enabler. Mechanisms to be created to link service plans and outcomes with corporate goals, particularly around digital.”