The drive for integrated digital services
When you first start out on a digital improvement programme, it’s important to get buy-in from senior stakeholders. Of course, the reality is that this isn’t always as easy as it seems. To navigate any preconceptions at Chesterfield, we decided to badge our project as an ICT improvement programme, and the main reason for doing this was to secure support from councillors.
We also decided to split the programme into two with one workstream focusing on infrastructure and networks and the other looking at business process improvement. The main goal of the programme is to remove technical debt, data silos and any difficulty with case management. No more duplication and time-consuming inefficiency and not being able to see the full picture.
There have been lots of ups, downs, and learning along the way. But one element that has proven to be very successful has been to bring digital skills in-house.
Developing a golden customer record
Upgrading capabilities in a structured way is the key to strong digital transformation and the roadmap we created sets out improvements across the entire council. To do this we have worked with Arcus Global to harness the power of the Salesforce platform. Our corporate vision and strategy from the very beginning has been to utilise this platform as much as possible.
Councils are always striving to provide excellent customer service to citizens, businesses, and visitors. The starting point for the project saw us implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. It’s a key driver of transformation and acts as a data warehouse, where important information is stored, and where processes originate. We found that, as we’ve continued to build our digital provision, more and more transactions and back-office processes rely on CRM integration. The strategy here is not to try and replace them but to work on integrating Salesforce with those systems.
The CRM has reduced the time taken to train new staff, given us a golden customer record, and our advisors now have visibility of all customer interactions, regardless of where they have come from.
The CRM platform also integrates with the Digital Services Hub, a secure self-service portal for citizens. The self-service functionality available through the Hub has already made a positive impact. We had just under 12,000 residents signed up within the first six-months and we’ve started to see the volume of traffic coming into our contact centre reduce, by about 8% compared to previous years.
Developing new capabilities
It’s been a hugely challenging time for local authorities, the pandemic has seen us change the way we work whilst responding to the changing needs of the citizens we serve. Utilising a cloud-based system has meant that data has been much more accessible to the teams that need it, especially when working remotely.
One of our biggest successes to date has been the service we created for business grants. We didn’t launch the digital improvement programme with business grants in mind, but to date, we’ve paid out well over £18 million worth of business grants and received 96% of applications submitted online.
What we’ve quickly been able to see is that by using Salesforce in a number of different departments, the data we hold is more accessible to the teams that need it, helping us streamline processes. We’ve already realised £380K of savings, mainly through the reduction of manual process and reducing administrative burdens.
For authorities setting out on digital improvement projects, it’s really important that you have support managing the changes you plan to implement. The responsibility shouldn’t fall solely on the shoulders of the IT, digital or comms teams. Having the best available technology doesn’t guarantee digital transformation success on its own. You need to have a great team and the right approach and partners on board to help shape the change and measure outcomes.
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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Ileana Lupsa
Ileana Lupsa
Ileana Lupsa is the Programme Manager for Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, at techUK.
Ileana studied electronics, telecommunications and IT as an undergraduate, followed by an MSc in engineering and project management at Coventry University.
She refined her programme management expertise through her most recent roles working in the automotive industry.
Ileana is passionate about sustainability and creating a positive impact globally through innovation.
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Francesca Richiusa
Francesca Richiusa
Fran serves as the Programme Team Assistant within techUK’s Public Sector Market Programmes, where she is responsible for delivering comprehensive team support, managing administrative functions, and fostering strong relationships with members.
Prior to joining techUK in May 2025, Fran built a meaningful career in the charitable and local government sectors. She worked extensively with both victims and perpetrators of crime, and notably led the coordination of Domestic Homicide Reviews across Surrey—an initiative aimed at identifying lessons and preventing future incidents of domestic abuse.
Outside of work, Fran is an avid traveller and a proud cat mum who enjoys unwinding with her feline companions.
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Tracy Modha
Tracy Modha
Tracy supports the marketing of several areas at techUK, including Cyber Exchange, Central Government, Cyber Resilience, Defence, Education, Health and Social Care, Justice and Emergency Services, Local Public Services, Nations and Regions and National Security.
Tracy joined techUK in March 2022, having worked in the education sector for 19 years, covering administration, research project support, IT support and event/training support. My most outstanding achievement has been running three very successful international conferences and over 300 training courses booked all over the globe!
Tracy has a great interest in tech. Gaming and computing have been a big part of her life, and now electric cars are an exciting look at the future. She has warmed to Alexa, even though it can sometimes be sassy!
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