City of London / Greater London Authority - United Kingdom

Articles and resources about egovernment activities and issues in the City of London / Greater London Authority in the United Kingdom.

Local Government - United Kingdom - Councils A-K

United Kingdom Local government councils grouped alphabetically by name from A to K.

Local Government - United Kingdom - Councils L-R

United Kingdom Local government councils grouped alphabetically by name from L to R.

Local Government - United Kingdom - Councils S-W

United Kingdom Local government councils grouped alphabetically by name from S to W.

Connected councillors: a guide to using social media to support local leadership

The Connected Councillors guide is meant as a brief introduction to social media for councillors, outlining how social media can be used to: support councillor's leadership roles; create a space for community conversation; keep a finger on the pulse of local needs; campaign for political office and on important local issues. It is targeted particularly at councillors who have some IT skills, and would like to know more.

Local by social: How local authorities can use social media to achieve more for less

Social media are changing the world in which we work, socialise and govern, and in many different ways. From Twitter to eBay, Facebook to YouTube, new tools are emerging every year that place the connecting power of the internet in the hands of every one of us. Marketing and sales teams are discovering lucrative new channels; staff and employers are experiencing a change in their relationships; the news and public accountability are swifter and more challenging; and the power of individuals to spread messages is now significant enough that no company or government can ignore it.

Local Government Articles: A-E - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about egovernment activities and issues in local government in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Articles: E-Q - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about egovernment activities and issues in local government in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Articles: R-Z - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about egovernment activities and issues in local government in the United Kingdom.

Local Government related links: A-N - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about egovernment activities and issues in local government in the United Kingdom.

Local Government related links: O-Z - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about egovernment activities and issues in local government in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Reports - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about local government reports relating to egovernment activities and issues in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Sites: A-C - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about local government websites in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Sites: D-H - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about local government websites in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Sites: I-N - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about local government websites in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Sites: N-S - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about local government websites in the United Kingdom.

Local Government Sites: S-Z - United Kingdom - Archive

Articles and resources about local government websites in the United Kingdom.

Community service portals: engagement and enhanced services?

Councils shouldn't be afraid to invest in technology to create community hubs. They will save money in the long run, by Paul Smith. Guardian Professional, Tuesday 3 April 2012. "Could local government close the service funding gap by using community service portals? The idea has smouldered in the corridors of Whitehall and among local government IT managers without ever really catching fire. In theory, moving local authorities' counter-based services entirely online could find billions of pounds of savings over the long term. Research carried out by Socitm originally identified potential savings of between £4.83 and £9.56 for each transaction when using online services instead of traditional face-to-face methods..."

Socitm issues stark warning to councils: your websites are failing

Posted by Gary Flood. Public Technology, 27 March 2012. "Warning to Town Hall leaders: make 'radical' changes to the way you govern and manage websites and adopt a new model for future development, or face declining into irrelevancy. In other words – the public doesn't care about your latest news. It wants to use your site to do something. That's the stark warning from local government ICT leadership group Socitm, whose Insight team's Better Connected 2012 analysis also says the world is moving 'relentlessly' towards digital delivery..."

Local government told to pull its weight on open data

Publicservice.co.uk, 16 March 2012. "More must be done with data held by local authorities, with many lagging behind the open data drive being witnessed in Whitehall, a leading academic has warned..."

Navigation a major weakness for hard to use council websites

Socitm survey of local authority websites finds that despite overall improvement, councils remain insufficiently focused on top tasks which most interest users. Guardian Government Computing - Guardian Professional, Thursday 1 March 2012. "Too few council websites are sufficiently focused on the top tasks that are of most interest to their users, according to an annual report by Socitm..."

Town Halls starting to 'get' Twitter - Socitm

Posted by Rachel Fielding. Public Technology, 23 February 2012. "Councils are showing willingness to embrace social media, with blanket bans on access being replaced by more considered approaches, a new study from local government ICT leadership group Socitm..."

Socitm social media study

Public Technology, 6 December 2011. "Despite offering councils a great way to communicate strike disruption to the public, almost one in five made no use of digital channels to get the message out. A survey of council website and social media coverage of the public sector strike on 30 November conducted by public sector ICT association Socitim highlighted huge variation in practice and performance of digital channels to inform the public of disruption to key services..."

Socitm to probe number and size of council websites

Posted by John Lamb. Public Technology, 8 November 2011. "Socitm Insight is carrying out a survey of the number and size of websites run by councils with a view to working out what might be gained from reducing them..."

The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency

Department for Communities and Local Government, 29 September 2011. "... The Code sets out key principles for local authorities in creating greater transparency through the publication of public data. The Code does not replace or supersede the existing legal framework for access to public sector information provided by the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 and INSPIRE Regulations 2009. Following this Code should help local authorities to meet these obligations to achieve the routine publication of more data to enhance accountability to the public..."

Transparency in local government

As central government pushes ahead with the 'next wave of council openness', do councils believe the transparency agenda has made them more accountable to the public? by Sade Laja. Guardian Professional, Wednesday 19 October 2011. "You cannot successfully run a £1.1bn 'business' like Northamptonshire county council without being honest and open about where money is being spent, according to its chief executive Paul Blantern..."

Lines of communication: delivering public services in the digital age

Councils are replacing face-to-face services with digital alternatives to meet the demands of residents, by Duncan Jefferies. Guardian Professional, Monday 17 October 2011. "... Many people now spend a large chunk of their lives online, interacting with one another through social networking sites, email and instant messenger rather than face-to-face or on the telephone. Regardless of whether you consider this social progress or a depressing indictment of our times, it is a profound cultural shift – and one that local authorities must negotiate to connect with a digitally savvy public..."

Exploiting technology for true transformation

Councils need to embrace social networking to achieve meaningful cuts without undermining what they are there for, by Richard Vize. Guardian Professional, Friday 14 October 2011. "Local government managers too often fall into the trap of describing efficiency gains and incremental improvement as "innovation" and "transformation". At the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers' (Solace) summit in Edinburgh this week, delegates decided it was time for some linguistic honesty. Doing things a bit better is not transforming them..."

My Council Services

abavus.co.uk. Online demonstrations showing the different aspects of My Council Services and how they can be used to help your organisation to save resources, focus on frontline service delivery and work more efficiently.

Smartphone app puts councils in touch with complaints

Posted by John Lamb. Public Technology, 19 October 2011. "Local authorities can now sign up to an app called My Council Services that allows citizens to submit service requests via their smartphones. The app from ICT firm Abavus enables customers who have iPhone, Blackberry and Android handsets to send messages and photographs about niggles, such as missing bin collections, vandalism or broken street lights, to their councils..."

Top Tasks Management for UK councils

By Gerry McGovern. New Thinking, September 5, 2011. ""The design of the website should be focused on top tasks. No longer should organisations aim for the most comprehensive website possible. Less is better!"... The whole idea behind Top Tasks is managing the task, not the content or technology. There are three key metrics: - Success rates: How many people successfully completed the task? - Disaster rates: How many people think they got an answer they think is right but is in fact wrong? - Completion times: How long did it take people to complete the task?..."

National Archives pilots council web archiving project

New project will allow councils to preserve online information. Guardian Government Computing - Guardian Professional, Monday 25 July 2011. "A web archiving model that allows local authorities to preserve important online information is to be piloted by the National Archives..."