Mark Lumley, director of ICT and digital at the London Borough of Hounslow and president of Socitm 2023-24 looks at what to expect going forward.

Socitm published its sixth annual Digital Trends report at the start of the year. We’re almost half-way through 2024 and the tough times are not getting any easier.

As you’re reading this, Socitm’s annual President’s Conference will be wrapped up for this year. But as I’m writing, the Society’s team is in the final stages of planning  for two days in Birmingham.

For the people and organisations at the conference, there are digital themes and challenges common to them all.

We all continue to be challenged by cyber risks and the need to improve data quality and use. At the same time, global events are less predictable and have had a significant impact on public services.

This is why the report features ‘trends’ instead of ‘predictions’. The latter implies some sort of mystical prescience. ‘Trends’ are about enduring change – those digital impacts and technology developments that will and are having a lasting effect.

In that spirit, the analysis this year also included what we got ‘right’ (and ‘wrong’) in past reports.

A quick clarification

It worth distinguishing between ‘digital’ and ‘technology’. It’s a difference that is easy to describe, but often harder for us as public service organisations to implement. Digital is about new ways of working flowing from technology deployment. Less about the ‘IT’ and more about business, process, and culture. Technology is about the IT.

Harnessing new IT, managing supply chains, ensuring infrastructure is (and remains) resilient, responsive, accessible and available.

A decade of cuts

Budget cuts and an economic downturn have given critical challenges to the delivery of public services.

As during the Covid pandemic, a faster migration to digital operation is a central response to challenges such as these, especially as there is now a greater public willingness to use digital services.

With all that in mind, let’s run through a few of these digital and technology trends dominating our thoughts and conversations ahead of President’s Conference.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

I have to start with AI. AI has the potential to play a significant role. Becoming a partner rather than a de facto replacement.

Early public sector adopters are experimenting with AI in a variety of applications. However, wider adoption may not be quite as fast as some of us expect or assume, due to the need to spend time establishing the basics: policies, compliance, skills, risk control and ‘data readiness’.

My team at Hounslow has adopted Socitm’s draft template AI policy – created to enable colleagues across local public services to use AI in a safe and secure manner.

We’ve also been working on aligning some of our AI, business intelligence, and smart place work – together with a top-to-tail review of information governance – into Hounslow’s Spark Programme.

All of this is of relevance to my policy work with Socitm. Since joining the President’s Team I’ve taken the lead on the Responsible and Secure Use of Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Data for the Society.

On governance, as well as standards that reflect our ethical values, we need to be ambitious but flexible.The UK is lagging behind other cities in Europe on algorithmic transparency mechanisms, so we do need to catch up here. And I suggest councils should be exploring initial pilots of the national UK Algorithmic Transparency Standard.

While it’s good to have AI policies, councils should be aware that they still need to be flexible, and as much as possible adapt them as we learn more about AI in our context and as the technology evolves. For now, prioritise the testing and learning approach, and let the policies emerge from that.

Technology for public good

Public services are at the heart of setting an example of good practice in ‘IT for public good’. Increasing expectations are being placed on public bodies to set the standards in limiting technology’s potential downsides and maximising its positive effects.

This includes how AI, data (such as avoiding bias, abuse and data compromise) and IT is put to use in tackling some of the most complex challenges facing our societies.

Having a clear vision for the role of technology and digital services in delivering ‘public good’, will demonstrate to partners, suppliers, staff, and service users that organisations understand the impact of change and how to harness the benefits that technology can bring.

Public sector CIOs and digital leaders will need to be careful how they articulate benefits, risks, and mitigation of IT impacts, ensuring  this does not sound like a ‘voice of dissention’, ‘doom’ or a negative brake on ambition or developments.

Recruitment and retention of people with digital and IT skills

Building digital and IT skills and capacity is a major challenge for public service organisations planning digital developments.

This year continues to bring increasing competition for digital and IT talent in the market and difficulties for the public sector in competing on pay alone with the private sector.

This is particularly problematic in areas such as cyber, data science and digital transformation.

Simply paying more for scarce digital and IT skills is not a long-term solution. For most of us, other tactics need to be used to make public services attractive: promoting benefits, career opportunities, positive cultures, flexible working, valuing contributions, and innovations.

For many people, pay is not the main or only motivator. They’re often looking for a great place to work, to live, to bring up a family and spend their leisure time. They want flexibility and exciting work with prospects. Power lies with employees, especially younger members of staff, and things such as employee productivity monitoring with flexible working, should be treated with care. Impact case: Norfolk County Council: Apprenticeships to provide a talent pipeline

Connected places

All of the digital and technology trends come together under the umbrella of Connected Places. Public services working together, sharing systems and data to help build ‘whole system’ responses to citizen’s needs. What this really needs is local and national governments to work together, which can be difficult and complex, since it challenges traditional models of delivery as well as the demarcation of responsibility and the allocation of resources.

In conclusion

There are bound to be things from your list that I haven’t included here. And after you browse the whole Digital Trends report if you still can’t find them, tell us about it. The key strengths in the local public service community are sharing and collaborating. What I’ve covered here is what’s at the front of mind as Socitm prepares for President’s Conference. It’s certainly not my whole list either.

For all the issues we tackle in local government we can only do so together. Just as we try to break down silos within each of our organisations, we need to do that between each other. There’s a long way to go. But we’ve started. And whatever happens with the newly elected government, we continue to deliver for our organisations and communities, sharing experiences, best practice and what works is at the heart of what we’re all doing.