Local Government & Public Services · Strategy, Research and Planning

Developing a people-centred digital strategy for a local authority

A structured strategy engagement combining stakeholder consultation, digital-service review, strategic alignment and implementation planning.

The organisation needed a practical digital strategy that reflected the needs of staff, communities, local businesses and public-service users while providing a clear route from research and consultation to prioritised action.

The challenge

A local authority wanted to define a clearer digital direction across public services, infrastructure, skills and local economic development. The task required more than producing a technology roadmap: the strategy needed to reflect the priorities of staff, communities, businesses and other stakeholders while remaining aligned with wider public-sector policy and sustainability objectives.

The organisation also needed to understand its current digital position, identify opportunities and constraints, and translate a broad set of ambitions into actions that could be owned, prioritised and implemented over time.

Because the scope crossed service delivery, community engagement, infrastructure, skills and organisational capability, the strategy had to combine direct stakeholder evidence with a structured review of existing services and external policy context.

What we did

Establish the evidence base
We structured the engagement around discovery, current-state review and stakeholder input, bringing together internal perspectives, community and business needs, existing digital-service evidence and relevant policy context.
Engage the people affected by the strategy
We used a mix of consultation methods to capture perspectives from internal and external stakeholders, ensuring that the strategy reflected practical service needs rather than being developed solely from a technology perspective.
Review the current digital landscape
We assessed existing digital services, infrastructure and organisational capabilities, combining audit findings with a structured strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats assessment.
Build the strategic framework
We translated the research into a set of strategic priorities spanning digital infrastructure, skills, business transformation and the digitalisation of public services, with sustainability considered across the framework.
Turn the strategy into an implementation plan
We converted the strategic direction into prioritised actions, opportunity areas, ownership considerations and implementation requirements so the document could support delivery as well as vision.

What the organisation received

A clear strategic framework

A coherent digital strategy linking infrastructure, skills, local economic opportunity and public-service digitalisation.

Stakeholder-informed priorities

A strategy grounded in the needs and perspectives of staff, communities, businesses and other relevant stakeholders.

A stronger current-state picture

Structured insight from digital-service review, audit evidence and SWOT analysis to support better prioritisation.

An actionable implementation roadmap

Prioritised actions, opportunity areas and ownership considerations designed to move the strategy from aspiration towards delivery.

Evidence

Evidence and scope

The engagement gave the local authority an evidence-led digital strategy that connected stakeholder needs, current-state analysis, wider policy alignment and practical implementation planning.

Method

Structured stakeholder engagement, digital-service review, audit synthesis, SWOT analysis, strategic-policy alignment, opportunity identification and implementation planning.

Evidence context

The work covered digital infrastructure, digital skills, business digital transformation and the digitalisation of public services, with sustainability and implementation considerations integrated across the strategy.

Limitations

The source pack supports the completed strategy-development scope and deliverables under the authorised proposal-completion assumption. It does not establish the subsequent implementation status of individual actions or quantify service, economic, engagement or efficiency outcomes arising from the strategy. No such performance claims are made.