Digital Strategy Report 2025-2030
Renfrewshire Council · 3 April 2025
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 3 April 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 03 April 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Digital Strategy 2025-2030 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approve of the Renfrewshire Council Digital Strategy 2025-2030. 1.2 This report outlines the new Digital Strategy for the Council which was developed using customer insights and in consultation with the Senior Leaders from all services. 1.3 The strategy aims to continue the achievements of the previous Digital Strategy and aims to achieve four strategic objectives through a managed programme of work build around six key themes. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: Note the contents of the report and approve the Digital Strategy 2025-2030. _________________________________________________________
Page 2
2 3. Background 3.1 The previous Digital Strategy was aimed at creating the digital foundations across the Council, and supporting the transformation of the service delivered for our customers. 3.2 The previous strategy was mainly developed around service driven transformation and implementation of specific initiatives, which has resulted in increased choice for our customers, greater provision of technology across all services and changes to the way we work. 3.3 This new Digital Strategy will focus more on corporate transformation and covers the period from 2025 to 2030. However, it is recognised that the digital world changes rapidly therefore a full review will be carried out in 2027/28, to ensure the objectives remain aligned. 3.4 There are four strategic objectives in the Digital Strategy 2025-2030, which define our intention- Our staff and citizens will be digitally capable and supported in the use of digital solutions We will achieve corporate transformation with a single coordinated approach that breaks down operational silos Data will become a critical asset to us and the backbone to our transformation and future decision making We will be a modern organisation, where our services, people and culture are ready to deliver for the future. 3.5 Achievement of these objectives will be managed through a programme of work built around six strategic themes, all of which contribute towards the successful delivery of the strategy over the next five years. Through consultation and engagement with senior leaders, we identified some key areas, or foundations, required to deliver this strategy successfully and these helped develop the six strategic themes below. Digital Inclusion Data Our Technology and Infrastructure Digitally Enabled Workforce Leadership and Culture Digital Public Services. Each theme can be linked to the successful achievement of one or more of the strategic objectives. 3.6 Delivery of this strategy will be managed through the Digital Board, and regular updates will be provided to the Council’s Transformation Board and Corporate Management Team. ___________________________________________________________________
Page 3
3 Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Investment decisions will be required throughout the period of this strategy, and efficiencies will be delivered through the planned initiatives. 2. HR & Organisational Development – This strategy is closely linked to the delivery of the Council’s People Strategy and will aim to improve the skills of the workforce and support cultural transformation. 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is well – Digital inclusion is essential for addressing poverty and inequalities, as it ensures that everyone has access to the tools, skills, and opportunities needed to thrive in a digital world. By bridging the digital divide, we can empower marginalised communities with access to education, employment, healthcare, and essential services. Our Renfrewshire is fair - Prioritising affordability, accessibility, and digital literacy helps to create equitable opportunities, enabling individuals to participate fully in society and the economy. Living our Values – Creating a digitally enabled workforce supports us to work well and deliver great services Fair – Digital Inclusion reduces inequalities and supports our communities with dignity and empowering people to live fulfilled lives. 4. Legal – None directly arising from this report. 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology – The Digital Strategy will continue to develop the Council’s technology infrastructure, making best use of the solutions we have and investing in new solutions where it is appropriate to do so. 7. Equality & Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for consideration of performance only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – None
Page 4
4 9. Procurement – It is likely that throughout the five-year period, procurement activity will be required and will follow the appropriate Council process. 10. Risk – The delivery of this strategy will be supported by robust programme management and any risk will be managed through appropriate governance arrangements. 11. Privacy Impact – Any new initiative required within the delivery of this strategy will be subject to appropriate privacy impact assessments. 12. Cosla Policy Position – Non applicable. 13. Climate Risk – A transition to greater use of technology and more efficient ways of working will have a positive impact on the Council’s Net Zero ambitions. 14. Children’s Rights – There is no specific impact identified in the themes or objectives of this strategy, however it is recognised that children are also Council service users and should be consulted in anything that is relevant to them. By doing so, this will have a positive impact on Article 12 (Respect for Children’s views.) _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Patrick Murray (Head of Digital, Transformation and Customer Services)
Page 5
1 Digital Strategy 2025-2030
Page 6
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 2 Table of Contents 1. Foreword ............................................................................................ 4 2. Executive Summary ........................................................................... 6 3. Statement of Intent ............................................................................ 9 4. Our Digital Journey So Far ............................................................... 11 4.1. Digital Council ..................................................................................... 11 4.2. Digital Foundations ............................................................................. 12 4.3. Digital Place ......................................................................................... 12 4.4. Digital Leadership & Skills ................................................................... 13 4.5. Smart Data .......................................................................................... 14 4.6. Digital Citizen ...................................................................................... 14 4.7. Digital Health & Care ........................................................................... 15 4.8. Digital Learning & Teaching ................................................................ 15 5. Foundations for achieving success. ................................................. 17 5.1. Culture ................................................................................................. 17 5.2. Capacity ............................................................................................... 18 5.3. Capability ............................................................................................ 18 5.4. Horizon Scanning ................................................................................ 18
Page 7
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 3 5.5. Communication .................................................................................. 19 5.6. Growing our own ................................................................................. 19 5.7. Investment Challenges ........................................................................ 19 6. Strategic Objectives ......................................................................... 21 7. Delivering Our Digital Ambitions ...................................................... 22 7.1. Digital Inclusion ................................................................................... 22 7.2. Data ..................................................................................................... 24 7.3. Our Technology and Infrastructure ..................................................... 24 7.4. Digitally Enabled Workforce ................................................................ 25 7.5. Leadership and Culture ....................................................................... 26 7.6. Digital Public Services ......................................................................... 27 8. Governance ...................................................................................... 29
Page 8
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 4 1. Foreword Renfrewshire has made significant progress in recent years to invest in digital technology and services, changing how we work and how our customers interact with us. This strategy builds on these successes and recognises the need for bolder, Council- wide, transformation to ensure our organisation and our services continue to develop in preparation for the future needs of our internal and external customers. There is already much that we are doing as a council and with our partners, but we want to do more, and we want to do it more efficiently. Hard decisions will be required during a time when, more than ever, we must prioritise our already limited and decreasing resources. Over the next 5 years, we will invest in improving our data, our technology and the digital skills of our workforce and we will support our communities to develop the skills required to enable them to interact with us in different ways. Not everyone is able to, or would like to, use digital technology so we will continue to ensure our services remain open and accessible to all. We recognise that 5 years is a long time in the digital world, which is ever-changing. Therefore, we will conduct a full review of this strategy after year 2, to ensure our objectives remain aligned. We all see, and recognise, that digital touches every aspect of modern life and our customer’s expectations of how, where and when they access services are changing. This strategy recognises this and outlines a programme of work to ensure we continue to deliver our services and meet our customer needs, today and for the future, in the most appropriate and efficient manner. The customers and workforce of tomorrow are the school children of today. Successful delivery of this strategy will be dependent on ensuring all contributions are heard. This strategy is bold and will challenge the Council over the next 5 years as we continue our transformation to a modern organisation, however the structure set out through
Page 9
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 5 the strategic objectives and strategic themes provides a robust framework to follow to achieve success. Delivery of this strategy will make Renfrewshire a leading digital council that continues to deliver for our customers and secures our services for the future. Councillor John Shaw Convenor Finance, Resources and Customer Service Policy Board Alastair MacArthur Director of Finance and Resources
Page 10
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 6 2. Executive Summary This digital strategy builds on the success of, and learning from, our previous strategy. Under the previous strategy a range of service transformation activity was delivered - this is detailed in “Our digital journey so far”. However, from our learning, we have identified that a strengthened corporate approach is needed to ensure the successful delivery of this ambitious next phase of our digital strategy. The change we want to deliver will impact all areas of the Council and will drive a coordinated programme of work supported by collaboration and working well across all service areas and partners. A substantial programme of work built around six strategic themes will be delivered over the next five years to achieve our four strategic objectives alongside addressing any internal and external challenges and opportunities.
Page 11
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 7 Delivery of this strategy will result in significant changes to the way we work and have a positive impact on the development of our culture, leaders, workforce, and communities. The strategy will provide a coordinated programme of work across the next five years; however, the digital world and our customer expectations are constantly changing. Therefore, a full review of the objectives will be undertaken during year three to ensure we remain on the right track for delivery. To achieve the objectives of this strategy, significant focus must be placed on the way we do things, and a strong decision-making mechanism is required to provide governance, approval, and ongoing monitoring of our ability to succeed. This digital strategy will touch every member of our workforce and everyone in Renfrewshire’s communities. It will be transformative in how we deliver and operate our services and how we future proof the Council for the next generation.
Page 12
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 8 To be transformative, there will be challenges to overcome and both bold and brave decisions will need to be made but having this drive and commitment to deliver this strategy will benefit everyone.
Page 13
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 9 3. Statement of Intent We will transform Renfrewshire, as a Council and as a community. We will focus on our people, our processes, and our technology to enable a robust and future-proofed service delivery model that can be achieved within often constrained financial resources. We will be focused in our delivery of this strategy, adopting processes which drive forward achievement of our strategic objectives. The strategic objectives and the priorities to achieve these are outlined in the following section. Renfrewshire’s Council Plan 2022-2027 sets out how we will work with partners, communities and business to achieve lasting positive change across Renfrewshire. The Council Plan runs from 2022 to 2027, but it was refreshed in 2024, to ensure our priorities were clear and focused and to reflect how quickly our context was changing. The Council Plan has five strategic outcomes, these are - Place, Economy, Fair, Green and Living our Values. Sitting alongside these is a cross-cutting theme of improving outcomes for children and families. This runs through all five areas and underpins all that we do. Grouped under each strategic outcome are the high-level priorities we will focus on. Our digital ambition threads through all of these strategic outcomes and the delivery of this Digital Strategy will support the Council to achieve our vision for Renfrewshire, taking into consideration of national digital initiatives. Across council services, Service Improvement Plans act like delivery plans for the Council Plan, showing how service activity contributes to the overall delivery of our strategic outcomes. Similarly, our digital progress can also be reported through Service Improvement Plans where appropriate. Updates on our Service Improvement Plan are reported to the relevant Policy Boards on a six-monthly basis. The Council has developed four core values which guide how we deliver our services and make decisions every day. These are: We are fair. We treat each other and everyone we deal with respectfully and work hard to build trust in Renfrewshire Council. We are helpful. We care about getting things right and are always approachable.
Page 14
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 10 We are great collaborators. We work as one team and with people who care about this place. We value learning to help us innovate, improve and deliver better services. All of these values are relevant to the Digital Strategy, but collaboration and learning are key to the successful delivery of our digital vision.
Page 15
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 11 4. Our Digital Journey So Far Since the launch of our last digital strategy in 2020, we have embarked on a transformative journey, achieving significant milestones that have reshaped our digital landscape. This period has been marked by groundbreaking innovations, improved user experiences, and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, enabling us to stay ahead in an ever-evolving digital environment. From streamlining operations to enhancing customer engagement, our strategic initiatives have delivered measurable impact across all areas of our organisation. This section highlights the significant progress we’ve made, celebrating our successes and paving the way for even greater accomplishments in the future. It is essential that we continue to maximise the use of our existing digital assets, monitor the marketplace and challenge current working practices. 4.1. Digital Council Implemented advanced technology and became the first Scottish Council to implement a Digital Advisor - MILLIE - within our Customer Contact Centres. Developed over 130 online forms, which enable our citizens, communities and businesses to self-serve at a time and place convenient to them. Developed an ambitious and forward-thinking Customer Strategy, anchored around Customer Contact, Technology and Innovation, Service Design, and Culture and Skills. Almost 900,000 online transactions processed via Customer Service Platform. A reduction of 100,000 calls per year to the contact centre as more customers choose to interact with the Council digitally. Extended the rollout of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which has helped increase efficiency, improve accuracy, provide better service delivery and access to data and insights through the creation of over 50 live processes. The Digital Experience Programme (DXP) is transforming the council’s website, into an intuitive, accessible platform through investment in modern technology and user- centred design techniques. Key achievements since 2020 include the development of a vision and roadmap for transforming the Council’s digital experience and the re-writing of high-demand sections like waste, council tax, and benefits.
Page 16
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 12 4.2. Digital Foundations Increased our digital capability through the ongoing use of Microsoft 365 features including enabling a modern workplace collaboration using Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, and enabling data visualisation and reporting to support data-driven decisions using Power BI. Developed a Corporate Green Print Strategy, which has resulted in the reduction of our printer estate from 942 to 540, which aims to deliver cash savings of £600k over the life of the contract, as well as supporting our Net Zero ambitions. Migrated to a virtual data centre, strengthening our disaster recover capabilities and supporting our Net Zero ambitions as the data centres are supplied with zero carbon, using 100% renewable electricity – sourced solely from solar, wind and hydro. Building on our future-proofed connectivity infrastructure, we successfully rolled out Public Access WI-FI across circa. 180 venues and in 3 town centres, and significantly improved Education and Corporate WI-FI in Council, Cultural, Leisure and Community venues across Renfrewshire as part of our groundbreaking and innovative Connectivity as a Service Framework. This has resulted in Renfrewshire becoming one of the best- connected regions in the UK with over 92% of gigabit-capable connectivity. Strengthened our Cyber Resilience and capabilities through the provision of a Security Operations Centre (SOC). This vital service continues to play a critical role in the Council’s cybersecurity approach by providing continuous monitoring, detection, and response to cyber threats. By leveraging advanced analytics, and threat intelligence, cyber incidents are identified and responded to helping to mitigate risks and potential damage. RenSafeOnline o Successfully hosted Renfrewshire’s first ever Cyber Escape Room Experience o Trained over 160 internationally certified Online Safety Ambassadors Ongoing programme of work to migrate business applications to cloud-hosted provision, which provides a range of benefits including scalability and flexibility, enhanced accessibility, increasing resilience and reliability and enabling innovation and modernisation, as well as being more environmentally sustainable. 4.3. Digital Place Renfrewshire Council established its Digital Infrastructure leadership position in the UK, having worked with our strategic partners, Commsworld and CityFibre, increasing gigabit-capable connectivity across Renfrewshire from sub-10% in 2019/20 to over 90%
Page 17
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 13 in 2024/25, making Renfrewshire one of the best-connected regions in the UK. This was established by leveraging a once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment from private sector partners, especially in modern full fibre infrastructure to support our citizens, our businesses, and the Council itself. In a short period, the Council has leapt to a leadership position which has increased the market’s interest to invest more in the region. Deployed over 2,100 environmental monitoring sensors into 850 social housing homes to measure Co2, humidity and temperature of Council homes, to protect against mould and damp and to detect those most vulnerable to fuel poverty. Provided a range of digital related activities to support people back into employment through a Digital College learning platform. Provided an extensive range of financial and non-financial assistance to Renfrewshire businesses to improve digitalisation. 4.4. Digital Leadership & Skills Established Digital Champions across the Council and partner organisations. Undertook a Digital Maturity Assessment to assess our digital capability in collaboration with the Digital Office for Scotland, which has helped influence the development of this strategy. As part of our ongoing commitment to digital learning and development, almost 200,000 e-learning (online) courses have been completed by our workforce since September 2020. Successfully maximised the use of our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) - Business World system is a 24/7 online platform, which: o Enables self-service opportunities for all Council and Partner employees. o Enables workflows for all employees (networked and non-networked) and approvals for Managers across numerous business processes (HR, Finance, Procurement, etc.) o Creates and supports visibility of progress and updates for all data and requests held in the ERP, for all users. Made better use of data and insight through bespoke workspaces and dashboards for employees, line managers and Services, assisting: o Employee Workspaces for HR and personal data, requests, approvals, forms, documents, etc. o Manager Workspaces for HR and Finance data, views of all employees, absences (planned and unplanned), requests and workflow performances/escalations, etc. o Core Team and Service Workspaces, where data and dashboards are specific to the needs of the teams and users.
Page 18
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 14 Developed a suite of forms requests e.g. Electronic Payslips – supporting users to view personal information, requests, records when needed, and history e.g. payslips, P60s, etc. o As at 2024/25, more than 95% of all employees are accessing the ERP, and this figure is increasing. 4.5. Smart Data Following the successful rollout of our new printers, a dedicated dashboard has been developed and, using key insights, highlights usage and allows the organisation to better understand print behaviours. This evidence-based approach will greatly support the Council’s Green Print Strategy and climate ambitions. Developed and implemented a Data Strategy Framework across all Services to improve our data management and exploitation capabilities. Created a corporate approach to data governance through a Data Advisory Group. Used data to predict, track and manage absence of children and young people across our learning estate. Used data and automation to improve processing time for Free School Meals, and Clothing and Footwear Grant applications. Renfrewshire's approach to data and analytics highlighted as example of best practice by Scottish Government. 4.6. Digital Citizen Created capacity and capability by recruiting a Digital Champion Coordinator role, who has delivered: o Recruited and trained a team of 14 dedicated volunteer Digital Champions across 6 Renfrewshire Libraries. o Over 1,150 volunteer hours of support since the start of the project. o Supported over 800 learners. o 4 Digital Champions went on to secure employment. Launched 21 DigiZones and a mobile DigiZone across Renfrewshire communities, enabling people to get online through the provision of digital inclusion support.
Page 19
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 15 In partnership with DigiRen, hosted Renfrewshire’s first ever Digital Inclusion week with over 30 events taking place over 5 days, which catered for a range of audiences. Developed annual Digital Inclusion impact report to measure Digital Inclusion in Renfrewshire. Recognised as an exemplar and case study in Audit Scotland’s “Tackling Digital Exclusion” report for enabling digital inclusion, delivered through multi-sector collaboration using person-centred and place-based approaches. 4.7. Digital Health & Care Over 99% (3,600) of Analogue to Digital Switchover complete. The analogue to digital switchover is the process of retiring the old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and replacing it with modern, internet-based communication systems for better efficiency and connectivity. 1st Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) in Scotland to achieved Platinum accreditation for digital telecare. Digital Enablement of frontline Care at Home Services through implementation of Totalmobile scheduling. Installed Public Access WI-FI: o To and through our Care Homes o In communal areas within our Sheltered Housing complexes o In Health & Social Care Settings e.g. Adult Day Care Centre Developed a local directory (‘Well in Renfrewshire’) to enable professionals to identify a range of person centred and place-based supports for people, and effective signposting to community-based resources. In response to and following the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded provision of digital day support for older people. 4.8. Digital Learning & Teaching Significantly increased internet bandwidth across our learning estate – with 1 gigabit internet lines in most sites and 5 gigabit in high schools, scalable to 10 gigabit across all sites allowing faster access to learning resources
Page 20
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 16 Recognised at national CoSLA Excellence awards for tacking inequalities and improving health and wellbeing through collaborative work delivering an alcohol and drugs awareness digital education resource for children and young people. Rollout of GroupCall and Parents Portal Groupcall – Stats Overview All schools are now actively using Groupcall Messenger. We are advising schools to limit text messaging to emergency communications only, encouraging the use of email for day-to-day messages instead. As a result, 371,348 emails have been sent, replacing text messages, along with 66,300 messages sent via the Xpressions app. Since both email and Xpressions are free to use, this shift has led to a saving of £15,317 since the beginning of the year. Parents Portal - Highlights Currently, approximately 13,000 parents are registered on Parent Portal. 36 schools have more than 50% of their parents signed up, with 22 of those schools achieving over 70% parent registration. The remaining schools, which have less than 50% sign-up, will be prioritised in the new year. Thanks to these registrations, we were able to complete 4,715 Annual Data Checks digitally, eliminating the need for paper forms in these instances. Digital Schools Awards Since the launch of Digital Schools Award Scotland (DSAS) in 2017/18, 29 schools across Renfrewshire have been awarded the DSAS. 6 schools have gained the new Digital Wellbeing Award since 2022. In May 24, Rashielea Primary gained the Digital Endorsement Award, 4 years after gaining the DSAS. Keeping Children & Young People Safe, Confident & Protected Online 26 Schools have internationally certified RenSafeOnline Safety Ambassadors
Page 21
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 17 5. Foundations for achieving success. Renfrewshire Council is not unique in the challenges it faces in ensuring the future delivery of services against a backdrop of financial, societal, and operational constraints. Across the public sector, financial pressures, driven by reduced income, increasing costs and growing demand for services such as health and social care, housing, and education, impact organisations’ ability to operate effectively. These challenges can be further compounded by demographic changes, such as an aging population, in addition to the need to address climate change and build sustainable communities. As citizens, we all have expectations about how we would wish to access services in a way and at a time that suits our own needs. For Renfrewshire Council, we explored this further through engagement and consultation with ‘Our Leaders Forum’, a cross-service group of senior managers. This helped to identify some key areas, or foundations, required to deliver this strategy successfully. This section outlines these foundations, these will be strengthened and developed further through the delivery of each strategic theme. 5.1. Culture A digital culture could be defined as being agile, innovative, brave, and bold and encourages delegation and collaboration more than control and structure. However, there are elements of control and structure within local government which are required to fulfil the statutory and regulatory nature of our role in the community. Decision-making frameworks are clear and well-defined, Elected Members, as representatives of their communities, help set strategic direction and provide scrutiny in the work that we do, and the public have high expectations on our ability to deliver key services. One of Renfrewshire Council’s core values is ‘We are great collaborators’. Behaviours which role-model this value are critical for the success of this Digital Strategy.
Page 22
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 18 5.2. Capacity The last 10 years has driven a significant programme of change across Renfrewshire to allow us to continue to deliver services against a backdrop of reducing finances. This has been a success but has tended to focus mainly on operational delivery for the citizens of Renfrewshire, rather than being more strategic or focused on future innovation. The recent research from the Council’s Our Leaders Forum has shown there is an understanding about digital transformation, but a range of pressures make it challenging to create space to do so. 5.3. Capability Digital skills are essential in everyday life and within the workplace. We require to continually invest in skills and training to reduce digital barriers and exclusion. We will identify and close current and future digital skills gaps. This will enable the Council to adopt the wholesale use of digital solutions and build digital confidence across the workforce, transforming the skills, knowledge and capabilities of our staff in using technology effectively, contributing towards our continued success as a leading digital Council. In addition to embedding core digital skills required across our workforce, the Council will require to invest in more specialist Digital, Data and Technology skills. 5.4. Horizon Scanning The digital world is ever-changing, and therefore it is important to keep up with new advances in both the public and private sectors. Being aware of innovation elsewhere expands our ability to think innovatively about what we could be doing differently.
Page 23
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 19 5.5. Communication Clear communication across our entire workforce is essential to ensure our people are aware of changes we make to become more digital and how this might impact them. Effective communication helps to embed new ways of working within teams and ensures everyone feels included in the transformation. It is therefore essential that our workforce is engaged on how future changes may impact their role or may improve how they can deliver a better service to our communities. Our recently established Staff Engagement forums, with representatives from all services, meet regularly to obtain views and perspectives on a range of workplace matters. These forums engage with staff to seek feedback on how to improve the Council’s overall performance and decision making. A new focus for this group will be to support the Council to progress the people related priorities detailed within the new Digital Strategy and will help us drive positive change through sharing views and ideas, encouraging fairness and inclusion and connecting to facilitate collaboration. 5.6. Growing our own Like wider society, we have an ageing workforce, bringing significant knowledge and expertise to the organisation. Within our workforce planning we continue to focus on the challenge of developing effective succession planning to ensure we continue to attract a wide range of people who want to work for the Council and ensure a workforce for the future. 5.7. Investment Challenges Despite an environment where budgets are constrained, it is acknowledged that the transformation described in this strategy will require investment and other resourcing support.
Page 24
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 20 Recognising all the challenges we face, the foundations required and building a programme which can tackle them head-on will need to be bold and require a level of bravery in every new thing we do. By leveraging digital technologies such as data analytics, artificial intelligence, automation, and online platforms, we can deliver better public services that are more efficient, accessible, and tailored to citizens’ needs. Digital innovation can also drive creative solutions to complex problems, leading us to adopt original approaches to governance and service delivery. Furthermore, digital tools can empower citizens and staff alike by enabling greater transparency, participation in decision-making, and collaboration. By embracing digital transformation, we could not only overcome current challenges but also build more dynamic, resilient, and inclusive communities for the future.
Page 25
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 21 6. Strategic Objectives To achieve our statement of intent, there are four ambitious objectives underpinning the work this strategy will lead over the next five years through a programme of work developed around the strategic themes. In addition to the four digital strategic objectives, this strategy must deliver key enablers of change for the Council to support every service to maintain service delivery in a period where finances are becoming more constrained. Therefore, central to each objective is the aim of ensuring long-term financial sustainability for the Council. While these objectives are ambitious, they can be achieved through a challenging programme of work aimed at delivering the six key themes outlined in the next section - all of these will provide the framework for change across the Council.
Page 26
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 22 7. Delivering Our Digital Ambitions This digital strategy provides a roadmap for how Renfrewshire can achieve its digital objectives - redesigning our services, developing our workforce, changing how we operate and harnessing the power of digital tools and solutions to deliver meaningful outcomes. Taking an approach which is based on our objectives and priorities, and by fostering strategic partner relationships with key suppliers to help shape the innovation, it is possible to provide assurance around achieving success and providing adequate return on investment. There must also be a commitment upfront that, where a robust business case and appropriate governance is in place, the financial investment will be available to facilitate the required change and where this is not the case, there is a decision-making process in place to stop initiatives going forward. Even when a project is approved, continued governance is required to ensure the objectives continue to be met, and where this cannot be demonstrated the same decision-making mechanism should have the ability to stop any additional work at the earliest opportunity to prevent further costs being incurred. With strong decision-making in place, structured around a set of strategic themes, this approach will ensure a focused and coordinated effort to meet our strategic objectives. Each theme represents a key area of focus, guiding our initiatives and investments to address the challenges, leverage emerging opportunities, and future-proof our operations. Together, these themes provide the foundation for delivering a cohesive and impactful digital transformation. 7.1. Digital Inclusion Digital inclusion is essential for addressing poverty and inequalities, as it ensures that everyone has access to the tools, skills, and opportunities needed to thrive in a digital
Page 27
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 23 world. By bridging the digital divide, we can empower marginalised communities with access to education, employment, healthcare, and essential services. Prioritising affordability, accessibility, and digital literacy helps to create equitable opportunities, enabling individuals to participate fully in society and the economy. This not only improves individual well-being but also fosters broader social and economic development, reducing systemic disparities and promoting inclusive growth. Renfrewshire’s place-based, person-centred and collaborative approach to enabling Digital Inclusion was highlighted as sector leading and an exemplar in Audit Scotland ‘Tackling Digital Exclusion’ Report, published in 2024. Key enablers of digital inclusion, including DigiRen Network and Citizens Voice Forum, continue to put people at the heart when designing and delivering programmes of work. The Digital Champions Programme and launch of DigiZones are transforming lives and helping people impacted by digital exclusion to access support that meets their needs. This important work will help deliver our digital ambition and will enable our citizens and communities to channel shift to more modern ways of interacting with the Council, whilst at the same time, freeing up capacity to support those who cannot, or do not wish to, use digital. Renfrewshire’s first Digital Inclusion week “DigiKnow(vember)”, hosted by DigiRen Network, took place in 2024 and successfully delivered a diverse range of both online and in person events by partners across the region. Going forward, this vital work will continue to promote opportunities to ensure people can thrive in a digital world, whilst ensuring no one is left behind. By 2030, we will strive to achieve the following: Strengthening our approach to keeping our ciƟzens, communiƟes, and workforce safe, protected, and confident online through our innovaƟve RenSafeOnline iniƟaƟve. Become a signatory of Scotland’s Digital Inclusion Charter and conƟnue to demonstrate our compliance to the five pledges. Develop 20-minute digital inclusion neighbourhoods – meaning no one has more than a 20 minute journey to access Digital Inclusion support.
Page 28
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 24 7.2. Data Data is the cornerstone of innovation and informed decision-making. It drives efficiency, enhances customer experiences, and enables our organisation to adapt with agility in a competitive environment. The Council holds a significant volume of data. More work is needed on how this is shared and understood. Making data more readily available, in a safe and ethical way, and focussing on the data skills of our workforce will allow the Council to improve its understanding of the services we provide and the needs of the customers who use them. 7.3. Our Technology and Infrastructure Our technology and infrastructure are the backbone of effective service delivery and innovation. As we navigate increasing demands and evolving challenges, continuing to invest in modern, resilient, and scalable digital infrastructure is essential to empower our workforce and communities, enhance public services, and drive sustainable economic growth. By 2030, we will strive to achieve the following: Be data-centric and take evidenced-based decisions to inform policy and deliver outcomes. Harness the full potenƟal of data by creaƟng a robust, secure, and scalable ecosystem that empowers strategic insights and fosters collaboraƟon. Leverage advanced analyƟcs, arƟficial intelligence, and cuƫng-edge technologies, we aim to transform data into acƟonable intelligence, delivering value across all facets of our operaƟons and ensuring sustainable growth for the future.
Page 29
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 25 Being aware of the evolving digital landscape will provide insight into innovations happening elsewhere. Learning from others and adopting where it is appropriate for Renfrewshire to do so, could result in faster implementations which are already tried and tested. 7.4. Digitally Enabled Workforce The Renfrewshire workforce is a key element to becoming a digital Council, and critically a continued focus is required to ensure our workforce are equipped to achieve this. While no one can predict the future, it is safe to say that it will be digital, and our staff must have the skills to be able to work in that environment. There are two elements to delivering a digitally enabled workforce. Firstly, ensuring that every member of staff have core digital skills which can be described as Communicating, Handling information and content, Transacting, Problem Solving, and being safe and legal online. Secondly, as we become increasingly digitally capable, we need to build better Digital and Data skills. These skills are well defined by the Government Digital Service, and include Business Modelling, Data Engineering, Design, Operations and much more. Additionally, to deliver a successful digital transformation, we need to ensure our leaders are also equipped with the right skills. Digital leadership requires a knowledge of digital (technology and data), adaptability, creativity, accountability, critical thinking, and an ability to communicate effectively. By 2030, we will strive to achieve the following: Leverage advanced technologies, for example AI, IoT where appropriate, to deliver outcomes. Streamline and opƟmise our technology ecosystem to unlock value, enhance operaƟonal efficiency, and enable scalable capabiliƟes. Recognising the growing sophisƟcaƟon of cyber threats, embed cyber resilience at the core of our operaƟons by remaining agile, responsive, and prepared to respond to evolving threats. Develop a seamless and approved single gateway for progressing digital and/or technology services and projects.
Page 30
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 26 This can only be achieved through a committed development programme for our existing staff and changes to recruitment practices; role profiles and job adverts, to attract the right skills for any future employee. The delivery of the digital strategy will also be supported by a robust communication plan, ensuring that all staff and elected members remain informed, and given the opportunity to input to new initiatives that arise from their increasing digital skillset. This theme links with the Council’s People Strategy and will help shape their objectives to achieve a common outcome. 7.5. Leadership and Culture Making small incremental changes can make a significant difference in an organisation’s ability to become a Digital Leader. There are five key elements of a digital culture, which are already within our ability to achieve. The organisaƟon has an external and an internal view, always looking outside at the needs of its customers and being aware of factors in the outside world which will impact on how we deliver services. A digital organisaƟon favours delegaƟon over control. Decisions occur at the lowest appropriate level and not always passed to the top of the structure. Staff are empowered to act within the boundaries of the role and supported if things go wrong. Every organisaƟon has their own appeƟte towards risk. A digital organisaƟon is seen as being bold as opposed to cauƟous. InnovaƟon carries an inherent risk however to achieve success an informed approach to this risk is needed. By 2030, we will strive to achieve the following: All staff are equipped with the core digital skills to operate within a digitally leading Council All job profiles will include Digital Skill elements which are perƟnent to requirements of that role. The Council will have a significant level of Digital and Data Skills through acƟve recruitment and ongoing development of the exisƟng workforce. The Council will have a strong network of Digital Leaders capable of delivering corporate digital transformaƟon.
Page 31
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 27 Digital organisaƟons act. They recognise that appropriate structure can be required, but they are driven by achieving the outcome. CollaboraƟon, which is one of our values, is essenƟal in a digital organisaƟon. Individual efforts are welcome and required, but we achieve so much more together than alone. Digital organisations also require Digital Leaders, and this will involve the development of new skills and ways of working. Digital Leaders are fluent in digital language, they understand the benefits of innovation and can communicate this to their teams. They are highly adaptable and always operate with an eye to the strategic vision of the organisation. They do not necessarily have to be technical experts, but they do have to enjoy and encourage creativity. Finally, they adopt critical thinking in everything they do and are comfortable with the level of accountability that comes with working in this way. All of this must be balanced within the defined governance and decision-making frameworks that are already in place within Renfrewshire Council as a local authority, but that shouldn’t be seen as a constraining factor. 7.6. Digital Public Services Founded on our processes, we need to identify and reduce inefficiencies in our current approaches and introduce standardisation of our core processes where we can. By By 2030, we will strive to achieve the following: Renfrewshire has adapted in its ways of working to exhibit the cultural features of a digital organisaƟon. The workforce will feel like it is a different place to work and recognise their contribuƟon to that success. Our leaders are skilled to operate in a digital organisaƟon, conƟnuing to deliver services for our ciƟzens, but recognising the value in doing that digitally. Our culture has evolved yet remained true to the needs of a local authority organisaƟon
Page 32
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 28 leveraging data analytics for continuous improvement we will reduce costs, cut process times, and improve the quality of the services we deliver. Regularly reviewing the work of others and embracing the expertise of our strategic partners in the public and private sectors will also provide valuable insight into how digital services are developing outside the Council. Learning from others and deploying tried and tested solutions can make the transition to digital easier and more effective than continually looking inside for ideas. It is essential when developing public services that we also follow a Customer Centric Service Design framework. Doing so will ensure we meet the needs of our customers while also giving them a voice to input to how we achieve this. We must also be aware of our future generation of customers. Recognising the value of more digital native individuals while designing our services will also future proof our service delivery for the next generation. As a local authority we must ensure our services continue to be inclusive, never preventing someone from being able to interact with us when they need to. Digital services will be only a part of the offering, and we need to ensure other channels remain accessible for those who need it. However, over time digital will become the easiest and preferred channel for our customers. Digital services are not just for our customers; our staff will benefit from the ongoing development of digital solutions. The additional digital training will equip them with the skills required to embrace new ways of working which are developed digitally. By 2030, we will strive to achieve the following: Our services remain inclusive, effecƟve and delivered in the most cost- effecƟve way to meet the needs of our customers. Our customers are meaningfully involved in developing services, and their needs are influenƟal and at the heart of decision-making Our services are future ready, developed in a way that will meet the requirements of the next generaƟon of customers. Our staff development has ensured the workforce can embrace new internal digital processes Changes to our service delivery is driven only by data analysis and customer need.
Page 33
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 29 8. Governance This Digital Strategy will be presented for approval to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board, and regular progress updates will be provided to this Board. Following that approval, work will then be undertaken to clearly define the future state as defined in the strategy, and measures agreed to ensure delivery is effective in achieving its objectives. This will then inform a significant programme of work across all six themes, with project and programme management resources aligned appropriately. This programme of work will report regularly to the Digital Board, where issues and risks will be surfaced and managed, and any barriers to delivery will be resolved by those who are members of this key decision-making board. The Digital Board will continue to report to the Corporate Management Team who have a role to play in decision-making for all future digital initiatives. As the senior leadership team for the Council, they will have to approve, decline, and potentially cease any work which is not seen as being in line with the delivery of our strategic objectives.
Page 34
Digital Strategy 2025-2030 30 Finance and Resources Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire House Cotton Street Paisley PA1 1BR