Connect Digitally Improving Savings, Service and Satisfaction Channel Shift and Self-Service Forum The Barbican Centre - 18 May 2011 Amanda Derrick, Programme Director

Making channel shift happen Driving down service delivery costs Realising benefits and cashable savings Improving service quality for citizens Moving towards ‘digital default’ Connect Digitally, a central/local government partnership, is leading local authorities (LAs) in:

Connect Digitally approach

Identify barriers to implementation and take-up TechnicalUsability CostAwareness CultureAccessibility LegalDigital exclusion OwnershipTrust Broadband coverageOrganisational silos SupplierSecurity Partners (touch points)Data quality

Determine and test solutions TechnicalUsability CostAwareness CultureAccessibility LegalDigital exclusion OwnershipTrust Broadband coverageOrganisational silos SupplierSecurity Partners (touch points)Data quality

Transfer solutions Cost calculators Business Case template Steps to Success (S2S) Minimum Features and Relationships tool endorsed by 13 suppliers Legal compliance Benefits dependency models and tools Benefits dependency models and benefits profiling Benefits tracking templates

Cashable savings reported by local authorities Improved audit process, saving £228,000 Reduction in staff, saving £98,000 Reduction in expenditure on leaflets, postage and manual entry of paper applications, saving £63,000 Reduction in booklet printing, saving £49,000 10,000 fewer citizen calls to Customer Service in the renewals process, saving £20,000 Improved audit process, saving £18,000 Reduction in data input by temporary staff from 42 weeks to 5 weeks, saving £17,000 One morning’s work, including savings for citizens/schools/LAs/DWP, saving £11,000 Fewer queries from schools, saving £5,000 Reduction in office space, saving £6,000

Improving satisfaction –“Very, very good, I’m not good at reading and writing and I found it so easy – thank you” –"its so much easier applying online using this service. i used the postal service before and my forms got lost in the post so this eliminates the risk. would be great if the schools advertised this as an option!" –“I was very impressed that the application was straightforward to complete. I know of people who have not claimed for other benefits as they find it too difficult to complete forms” –“The system ensured my son had free school meals without the worry …difficulty of paper application and posting issues …a fantastic experience considering the normal stresses of form filling, stamping, posting and checking. Ten out of ten. Couldn’t have been easier.”

Connect Digitally delivers channel shift Join the Connect Digitally Community of Practice at: Connect Digitally Improving savings, service and satisfaction