Leaving local government

It’s often been fun, occasionally frustrating, always fulfilling, but this is my final week employed in local government.

There are few types of organisation that deliver a similar volume and variety of functions as local government  Beyond emptying bins and fixing potholes we see so often in the media, there’s social care (often portrayed as just a NHS function), housing, roads, public transport, education, planning, leisure (including sports centres), culture (including libraries), and very much more.

Working part of a digital team in a council it's likely you’ll engage with every department across the organisation during the course of a year, offering real variety whatever role you’re in.

The next few years will see a huge change across local government, not only in the 21 English counties invited to go through reorganisation (LGR), but through devolution, and everywhere as a result the continued stretch on public finances and rising public expectations driven by the accelerating potential of technology.

Therefore, if you can innovate and problem solve, using digital services and technology in an often changing and sometimes challenging environment to improve services that directly affect people’s lives on a day-to-day basis, I would recommend local government to you, whether you’re just thinking of a tour of duty or perhaps even a career.

So having written all that in praise of working in local government, why am I leaving?

Whilst there’s an undeniable need for a well resourced digital team within every council, I’m now certain that no council can solve the challenges it faces alone, and across local government and with central government, new models for collaboration are vital to improve outcomes for residents and reduce the financial burden on local authorities.

My participation in grass-roots networks like LocalGov Digital, work with the Local Government Association on things like the Service Standard in councils, and involvement in central government initiatives including Open Digital Planning and the Minute Pilot led me to the conclusion that perhaps I would be better placed helping the sector as a whole to deliver better local public services through the use of technology.

I start a new role on 1st September, and whilst I won’t be working for a council, it will have involvement with local government; more on that soon and if you’re a current colleague or someone else who already knows where that is, please don’t share it here just yet.

Finally, and what I really wanted to use this piece for is to thank the many people across my network who’ve helped me, with advice, assistance, or let me build on their work. 

I know it’s cliche to say there are too many to mention, but if you’ve made it this far into reading this piece, you’re probably one of them, so thank you.