outline programme
day one - Wednesday 7 May 2008
Registration and refreshments
SESSION ONE
Welcome by the conference chair
Janet Callender,
Chief Executive, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Chair of the Local Government Delivery Council
Keynote address
Sir David Varney,
Senior Government Advisor on Transformational Government
Sir David Varney will discuss how the front office transformation agenda has developed since the last FOSS conference in 2007 and where it is heading in the future. David will also outline the role of local government in the service transformation agenda together with the challenges and opportunities that exist.
Questions and discussion
Case study and speed briefings - part one
Meet the Thursday’s workshop presenters for a brief interactive introduction to their sessions, highlighting key learning / focus areas to help delegates consider which workshop they wish to attend on day two of the conference.
Lunch, networking and exhibition
SESSION TWO
Case study speed briefings - part two
Keynote address
Rt Honourable Stephen Timms MP
Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform
Department for Work and Pensions
Stephen Timms MP will discuss the major DWP service transformation projects involving local government, including the Tell Us Once and the Face-to-Face programmes, demonstrating cross governmental collaboration to join up services to improve the experience of citizens and businesses. Stephen will also provide an overview of the Power of Information review, which outlines how online advice sites can improve citizen empowerment.
Questions for the Minister
Keynote address
Alexis Cleveland,
Director General, Transformational Government and Head of Cabinet Office Management
Alexis Cleveland will explore what is currently happening on service transformation across government and how the Cabinet Office is supporting this work.
Questions and discussion
Refreshment break and exhibition plus registration for workshops for Thursday 8 May
SESSION THREE
Interactive panel discussion - national perspective on service transformation
including the challenges of service transformation and partnership working with panellists from central government plus third and private sectors
Andrew Campbell - Director, Local Strategic Partnerships & Performance, CLG
Lyn McDonald - Programme Director, Tell Us Once, DWP
David Mills - VP, CRM - UK, Ireland & Israel, Oracle
Maggie Jones – Chief Executive, The National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations
Knowledge sharing in exhibition area with drinks reception
Close of day one
Drinks reception
Conference dinner and after dinner speaker - Stephen Parry, President of Transform
day two - Thursday 8 May 2008
Exhibition and refreshments
SESSION FOUR
Welcome by conference chair
Janet Callender,
Chief Executive, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Chair of the Local Government Delivery Council
Question time panel session - local government perspective on service transformation
including the challenges of service transformation and partnership working and the opportunities and benefits to the local customer with panellists from local authorities, local government agencies and bodies
David Walker (Chair) - Editor, Guardian Public
Glyn Evans – Assistant to the Chief Executive (Transformation), Birmingham City Council
Donna Hall – Chief Executive, Chorley Borough Council
John Hayes - Director of Services (South, South West and East)
John Blundell - Deputy Director, Service Transformation, RCU
Olwen Dutton - Chief Executive, West Midlands Regional Assembly & West Midlands Local Government Association
Keynote address
Ros Gardner,
Author and Customer Care Specialist
Customer Care Excellence
Ros will draw on her experiences at Marks and Spencer, Citizens Advice Bureau and the Cabinet Office to talk about achieving excellence in customer service. As a member of the Cabinet Office's Citizens Charter Complaints Task Force, Ros helped to identify and implement best practice in customer care within the public sector.
Keynote address
Ben Page,
Managing Director, Public Affairs, Ipsos MORI
Designing more customer focused services – what customers are thinking
What is the relationship between delivery of results in the public services and perceptions of delivery? How good would public services have to be for the public to express delight about them? Is it a matter of better communication or something more profound? Ben will address these fundamental questions and discuss what customers are thinking in relation to the design of customer focused services.
> Download Ben Page Presentation (PDF, 448KB)
Questions and discussion
Refreshment break and exhibition
SESSION FIVE
Delegates have the opportunity to attend three workshops on day two. The first two workshop sessions will explore specific topics relating to service transformation and front office shared services, and will be presented by two different authorities / organisations who are implementing strategies and partnerships relating to these particular issues.
The third workshop session will focus on particular authorities or partnerships, where different types of council, including metropolitan, county and district authorities, will demonstrate how they have been able to integrate their various initiatives into a coherent approach.
11.40
Best practice workshops
Workshop 1: achieving transformation in two tier areas
Presenters: Buckinghamshire County Council
Chaired by Rhian Gladman, IDeA Consultant
This workshop will explore the opportunities for transformation in two tier areas and look at how barriers can be overcome It will showcase the ambitions and experience of the two-tier pathfinder authorities, particularly in relation to service transformation and to work being implemented around front-office shared services.
> Download Buckinghamshire County Council Presentation (PDF, 451KB)
Workshop 2: generating and exploiting customer insight
Presenters: London Borough of Barnet and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Chaired by Oracle
The workshop will consider how to generate and make effective use of customer insight to integrate local public services and deliver better outcomes. The two authorities will outline their experiences of developing customer insight in Barnet and Rotherham from both a corporate and service-led perspective, as well as discussing specific techniques they have used.
> Download Rotherham MBC Presentation (PDF, 982KB)
Workshop 3: finding the right approach to service transformation
Presenters: Maidstone Borough Council
Chaired by Tom Kelly, IDeA Consultant
This session will consider what approaches and methodologies for transforming local services are proving effective. Maidstone Borough Council will outline and discuss the specific approaches to business transformation that they have adopted in their organisation.
> Download Cambridgeshire County Council Presentation (PDF, 222KB)
Workshop 4: engaging citizens in transformation
Presenters: London Borough of Haringey and the Leeds Involvement Project
Chaired by Serco Solutions
This workshop will discuss how we engage citizens in reshaping local services and the way they are delivered, looking in particular at how we can reach a wide range of local citizens, including people who have traditionally been excluded from or found it difficult to participate in decision-making.
> Download London Borough of Haringey Presentation (PDF, 82KB)
Workshop 5: developing new models of face to face provision
Presenters: London Borough of Lambeth and Staffordshire Moorlands Borough Council
This session will cover the ways in which multi-agency face-to-face contact can be organised. The London Borough of Lambeth has opened a number of customer centres across the borough where fully trained multi-functional staff handle multiple enquiries for a range of council services under one roof or carry out a ‘meet and greet’ function on behalf of a range of partner services.
> Download London Borough of Lambeth Presentation (PDF, 866KB)
Lunch sponsored by Singularity, networking and exhibition
SESSION SIX
Workshop 6: developing the workforce to support transformation
Presenters: Suffolk County Council
Chaired by Rhian Gladman, IDeA Consultant
This session will discuss how we plan for and develop the right skills and behaviours in our workforces and the impact on our organisations. It will investigate the sorts of skills staff at all levels within local authorities and their partners will need in the future (for instance, customer service and customer insight skills) and the ways in which these skills might be developed through recruitment, training and secondments.
> Download Suffolk County Council Presentation (PDF, 373KB)
Workshop 7: working with the third sector to transform services
Presenters: Rushcliffe Borough Council and London Borough of Croydon
Chaired by Tamara Zatman, IDeA Consultant
This session will look at what role the 3rd sector can play in transforming local services and how to best engage with organisations in this sector. Rushcliffe Borough Council will demonstrate their experiences of partnership working with local third and voluntary sector organisation. The London Borough of Croydon will outline how working with the third sector has enabled them to reshape services.
> Download London Borough of Croydon Presentation (PDF, 866KB)
> Download Rushcliffe Borough Council Presentation (PDF, 1317KB)
Workshop 8: partnering successfully for transformation
Presenters: London Connects and Warwickshire Direct Partnership
Chaired by Cable & Wireless
This workshop will look at the ingredients for success in multi-agency collaboration focused on the front office. London Connects will share their experiences of how to stimulate successful partnerships in a complex and changing environment, using examples of pan-London projects. The Warwickshire Direct Partnership is a voluntary collaboration of all six authorities in Warwickshire, with projects involving a range of other local public service partners.
> Download London Connects Presentation (PDF, 819KB)
Workshop 9: joint working between LAs and health
Presenters: Salford Borough Council
This session will discuss how joint work between local government and the health service can best be encouraged and developed including practical steps to develop shared front office services.
> Download Salford Borough Council Presentation (PDF, 4831KB)
Workshop 10: sharing information
Presenters: Tell Us Once (DWP) and Online Free School Meals (DCSF).
This workshop will focus on how better information sharing between local organisations can benefit citizens and what barriers exist. The Tell Us Once Programme will feature the work of a pilot authority and how this had developed. Representatives from the Online Free School Meals project will share their experiences.
> Download Tell Us Once Presentation (PDF, 997KB)
> Download DCSF Presentation (PDF, 399KB)
Comfort break
Whole council workshops
Workshop 11: Birmingham City Council
Chaired by Axon
Birmingham City Council is engaged in a comprehensive transformation programme that incorporates 5 corporate and 4 service-specific workstreams. The authority will discuss its overall approach as well as specific initiatives in areas such as customer insight and culture change.
> Download Birmingham City Council Presentation (PDF, 2325KB)
Workshop 12: Sunderland City Council
Sunderland City Council will provide an overview of their approach to change and improvement through partnership and shared services, looking specifically at the multi-agency Bunny Hill model, the Sunderland/Newcastle partnership (the successor to 101) and their Digital Challenge work.
> Download Sunderland City Council Presentation (PDF, 4159KB)
Workshop 13: Chorley Borough Council
Chorley Borough Council will discuss their approach to transformation, which encompasses a strong focus on citizen engagement and customer insight, set within the context of a strong county-district relationship. New approaches to understanding citizens, as exemplified by the Chorley Circle of Need, will be featured.
> Download Chorley Borough Council Presentation (PDF, 490KB)
Workshop 14: Kent Authorities
Authorities in Kent, working with their local partners, are implementing a major programme of transformation, which includes the development of Kent Gateways – radically reshaped face-to-face outlets built on a ‘retail’ model. This session will explore how partnership in Kent is being organised, focusing on key projects that are underway.
> Download Kent Authorities Presentation (PDF, 4448KB)
Workshop 15: Tell us Once Project (DWP)
Diane Leggo, TUO Programme Manager, will outline the project objectives and explain how this key national feasibility programme will enable citizens to provide their information only once to the public sector and their details will be then be shared appropriately with other relevant parts of the public sector as outlined in the Service Transformation Agreement. Diane will be joined by Melanie Scott, from London Borough of Southwark, one of the pilot local authorities, to share their experience of working on the TUO programme, including the lessons learnt and benefits for their customers and their staff.
> Download London Borough of Southwark Presentation (PDF, 1461KB)
> Download Tell Us Once Presentation (PDF, 5773KB)
Conference Close