Mobilising Public Services - Summary

Big message

Mobile medium isn't the message nor are they transformational.
But there is scope for imagination in service delivery - issues of privacy though.
Is this the case and do people agree? Let's discuss.

Q from Msoft - what are the skills we need to develop high level supply side services. We may liberate the 'customer' but how do we train current staff to migrate into the model.

Chris Francis - IBM. Where are the best areas for ROI - how do we prioritise.

Oona Muirhead - cultural aspects of service delivery. Customer-led performance management for example. Too much centralisation or cultural reasons. Also there are reputational issues attached to the way local govt delivers services.

Why aren't abandoned cars moved within 24 hrs for example. How do we get from here to being able to exploit the benefits of technology.

Will - Chris is right - but I don't have an answer. If you need a manual then there's a problem. The skills issue is a key one but intractable - the mobile operators don't provide it.

Lack of skills at management level is a 'big blocker'. Need organising skills.

Alexander - is absolute flexibility what people really want - do we want to live totally satisfied and managed. Our lives as consumers and employees - become disjoint.

How do we know we can get at the efficiencies?

Mobile working is blocked by a lack of belief in the possibilities of change. Very important to get the assessment and importance.

Complexity is in the implications of offering access - opening up can increase efficiency and cost as well.

Barry - says citizens want lower costs - hence efficiency demanded. Not just about cost reduction through reduced headcount.

How can local govt stop playing catch-up? Is that your q Oona?

Will says - answers seem to be borrowed from the private sector.

Barry - need to spend more time on what their citizens and residents want (as opposed to doing what central govt wants the whole time). Too many rules and too little cross-transfers and working. Too many silos. Makes it difficult to coordinate services. Need to improve quality of life and hit that rather than

Jennie Bristow - govt finds it difficult to engage, local authorities worried about efficiency and service. Health service - 'the worried well' example - too much engagement can drive up cost and reduce self-reliance.

Malcolm Corbett - role of citizen in helping to define the comms tech. Deptford example. Driven by the council wanting to experiment and citizens wanting

Warren - flag up need to distinguish outcomes and outputs. If it's about dealing with things more quickly then there's an impact on behaviour - both positive and negative. Could we end up with reducing the need for people - and joining up. Opens up opportunities for local govt to develop communty leadership role. Dealing with tippers and graffitti. Need to tell the community what you're up to.

Challenge is the medium the message. New tech may create demand true - interesting.

Richard - says we won't go back the the days of sending a registered letter to ask councils to do something. measuring the outcome rather than the output is key. Tangibility/measurement is important - and looking to where

Too much 'top down' thinking and citizen involvement de-emphasis. Alexander - must not be a veneer to cover the lack of solutions or action. Community groups don't have power.

MC - says that e-mail can be powerful for example.

Barry - mobile not just about doing things better/quicker. It's also about the need to manage demand. Non-spatial definition of communities of interest. This is a risk for communities. Need to have a sense of locality and reinforce the sense of locality.

Warren's q - Barry deals with it. Need to move with the interests of the public - and still promote the public interest. "I don't even read the minutes of meetings I go to let alone other people's meetings" [lol]. Doesn't see