Cornwall Council has been shortlisted in a national award for its work on digital transformation.
The local authority has been shortlisted for Digital Council of the Year at the Connected Britain awards, alongside technology delivery partner, Headforwards.
The Council has been undergoing a widescale digital transformation, with the aim of digitalising its processes and modernising its public services for all those in the region.
The programme is transforming processes throughout the local authority. At its centre is a Single View of the Resident initiative which brings together a wide range of data from multiple sources into an extensive data warehouse to enable Cornwall’s 570,000 residents access to a range of services, all in one place.
The development and introduction of Dynamics 365 has transformed the council’s contact centre service and experience for residents. The contact centre receives around 1,500 calls a day and needed a streamlined and centralised case management system to provide a better service for residents and improve the efficiency of the council’s service.
Alongside the contact centre work, a new MyCornwall portal has been introduced, offering self-service for residents via new web forms, improved integrations and the ability to request and manage more services online.
Steve Elsworthy, head of information services at Cornwall Council, said: “It’s an honour to have our digital transformation recognised at a national level, and a real boost for the teams working on the project.
“We’re already seeing the impact of the project, with improved efficiencies and time savings across a range of processes, from Waste and Contact Centre to HR and feedback.”
Cornwall-based technology partner, Headforwards has been working with the council on implementing its transformation for a number of years.
Toby Parkins, co-founder of Headforwards, said: “Cornwall Council should be incredibly proud of the work they’re doing. This isn’t the first time their digital transformation has been recognised at a national level and there are many local authorities out there that wish they’d taken a similar approach.
“Transformations to public services like this take vision and consistency from the leadership and at Headforwards we’re delighted to be a part of Cornwall Council’s journey.”
Also in the shortlist for the awards is local broadband provider Wildanet, a finalist in the Broadband Provider of the Year award. The award ceremony will take place at the Excel in London on Wednesday September 11.
