Lessons from techUK and LGA's LGR workshop: laying the foundations for Day 1
There is a signficant opportunity for transformation and a challenge in preparing for Vesting Day. Both councils and suppliers have a role to play in laying strong foundations for LGR, and collaboration will be a key part to driving good outcomes for councils and residents.
With this in mind, on 3 June techUK and LGA held a workshop LGR: laying the foundations for day 1. This workshop grew from a shared ambition of a working group of senior stakeholders from techUK, LGA, GCA, Local Councils across the country and members of the techUK LPS Committee, all with a common vision of putting collaboration at the heart of LGR and ensuring it works for councils, suppliers and residents alike.
The event opened with a panel discussion chaired by Georgina Maratheftis, Associate Director for Local Public Services at techUK, and featured Madeleine Hoskin, CTO of North Yorkshire Council, Jonathan Stephenson, Joint Chief Executive of Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council, and Lisa Trickey, Lead Adviser for Digital Change at LG Horizons. With two of the speakers already having gone through the LGR process, the panel touched on lessons and lived experiences. Speakers reflected on some of the challenges of the process and underlined the importance of partnership with suppliers in the LGR process, ensuring collaboration and partnership starts early to allow for a smooth transition.
Following this, attendees broke into discussion tables to discuss problem statements formulated by councils, exploring challenges and opportunities across themes including digital architecture, data management, contract management, innovation, and supplier-council relationships. The discussions were insightful and surfaced the complexity of the task but also shared priorities and the potential for partnership to drive through these changes.
There was a positive atmosphere in the room and a clear desire for change, not just in how things are done, but in how the industry works together. Culture was identified as an integral part of getting ready for Day 1 of LGR. Across all of these there was a clear call for council-supplier relationships to move beyond a transactional model and toward more value-led, outcomes focused partnerships. This will allow councils and suppliers to work together to achieve the best outcomes when approaching Vesting Day.
Data was present across every conversation, with quality, governance and interoperability identified as critical to enabling an effective transition. Councils need to understand what data they hold, where it lives, and who is responsible for it before day one, and suppliers have a key role to play in enabling portability and openness. By working together, councils and suppliers can build the shared understanding needed to ensure data becomes an enabler of change rather than a barrier to it.
On contracts, with county areas holding an average of 5,000 contracts, prioritisation was identified as essential. A clear work stream and named senior responsible owner need to be in place well ahead of Vesting Day, with a decision-making framework to sequence which contracts require urgent attention and which can follow.
Industry partnerships can also help to facilitate innovation. While innovation is not the end goal of LGR, it has the potential to be one of the most valuable byproducts, creating the conditions for councils to deliver services differently, more efficiently, and with better outcomes for residents. It is important that innovation is embedded across the organisation, and in partnerships with suppliers. Where councils and suppliers work together with a shared understanding of outcomes, innovation becomes a natural product of the relationship rather than an afterthought.
Culture, both internally and externally, was highlighted as key to getting LGR right. Staff need to understand the why behind LGR, not just the what, and transformation works best when people feel part of the process rather than subject to it. Trust, transparency and shared outcomes are required both internally and when dealing with suppliers to ensure the right foundations are in place for a successful LGR transition.
Finally, a strong national framework and context was flagged as crucial in driving this. Too often, decisions are made in isolation, which can lead to fragmentation and duplication of effort. The work of organisations such as GDS Local and MHCLG in building a common architecture, shared technology stack and LGR playbook are instrumental in giving councils a clear foundation to build from, reducing the risk of reinventing the wheel. With clarity of outcomes and consistency of requirements at the national level, councils and suppliers alike are better placed to deliver effectively and at scale.
The scale of LGR is significant, but this event showed there is a strong appetite and desire to work together to get it right. No single organisation, whether council, supplier, or sector body, has all the answers. It is important for the sector to move forward together and learn from each other. Sharing these lessons and building trust can lay the foundations for a successful transition, and techUK remains committed to working with partners in the LGA and across local government, convening these conversations and supporting the sector every step of the way.
You can find more information on best practice for LGR from techUK members at our LGR Hub.
Over the past year, we’ve worked with both councils and suppliers to explore the challenges of LGR. Suppliers are a critical part of local public service delivery, and their support will be essential as councils navigate the data, systems and contractual impacts of changing organisational boundaries.
What stood out was a greater level of alignment than many might expect. While the language differs, council digital leaders want to share and reuse to support procurement activity, with national support needed to facilitate collective approaches. At the same time, suppliers have highlighted the benefits of greater consistency in requirements and clarity of outcomes to support more effective delivery at scale.
Bringing councils and suppliers together helps to build a shared understanding of these challenges. If we’re serious about removing the barriers to digital transformation, both sides will need to do things differently. Working with techUK we've been able to start the conversation.
The scale of the challenge of LGR is significant, but it is clear that there is a genuine will on all sides to get it right. Collaboration and partnership offer the chance to build something better. This event showed that common views are held across councils and suppliers, and that there is a clear desire to work together to deliver better outcomes. Bringing councils and suppliers together showed us that there is strong common ground, and that when we have these conversations, effective solutions to the challenges of LGR begin to take shape. Working with suppliers early on allows councils to unlock expertise and innovation to navigate LGR successfully. techUK is committed to providing a forum where councils and suppliers can come together, and we are delighted to continue to work with our partners in the LGA to support the sector through this critical period.
The workshop was refreshingly practical and it was brilliant to get councils and suppliers solving real problems together. As someone leading digital and customer experience through LGR, I really valued how focussed the day was on what foundations are needed for day on. We covered leadership, culture, data, procurement, contracts and much more. Having the honest conversation about the need to shift supplier relationships away from being transactional to focusing on the shared ownership of outcomes was key, and is something I think we need to continue at pace.
Georgina Maratheftis
Georgina Maratheftis
Georgina is techUK’s Associate Director for Local Public Services
Georgina works with suppliers that are active or looking to break into the market as well as with local public services to create the conditions for meaningful transformation. techUK regularly bring together local public services and supplier community to horizon scan and explore how the technologies of today and tomorrow can help solve some of the most pressing problems our communities face and improve outcomes for our people and places.
Prior to techUK, Georgina worked for a public policy events company where she managed the policy briefing division and was responsible for generating new ideas for events that would add value to the public sector. Georgina worked across a number of portfolios from education, criminal justice, and health but had a particular interest in public sector transformation and technology. Georgina also led on developing relationships across central and local government.
If you’d like to learn more about techUK, or want to get involved, get in touch.
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Luke Newcombe
Luke Newcombe
Luke joined techUK in September 2025 as a Programme Manager for Local Public Services and Nations and Regions.
Luke works closely with members and stakeholders across industry and government at local, regional and national levels to support collaboration, drive innovation and strengthen tech-enabled public services. His work supports the development of strong local and regional tech economies by helping organisations to engage with public sector challenges, explore emerging technologies and build impactful partnerships.
Prior to joining techUK, Luke worked at Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government’s export development agency. He began by advising SMEs on export strategy to the UK and later focused on connecting Irish businesses with multinational organisations to foster strategic partnerships, drive international growth and support economic development.
Luke holds an MSc in Political Economy from the University of Amsterdam and a BA in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin.
- Email:
- [email protected]
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