Welcome to our newsletter, bringing you all the latest from the Digital Office for Scottish Local Government. In this newsletter, we bring you a detailed update on what has been happening across the Digital Partnership throughout the last month and details of upcoming activities.
If you have any queries regarding any of the content within this newsletter, please get in touch.
Launch of the updated Digital Office Action Plan 2024 - 2026.
The Digital Office for Local Government is delighted to launch their updated Action Plan for 2024 – 2026.
This plan details the evolving role of the Digital Office and an action plan to ensure that Scottish local authorities have the infrastructure, support and capabilities in place to increase the pace of digital transformation, and to deliver on the ambitions outlined in the National Digital Strategy.
The Digital Office will deliver on this purpose by operating at national level, sector level and council level, through fulfilling four key roles:
Contributing to National Policy and Strategy Development where there are digital or data dependencies.
Assurance of National Digital Programmes.
Digital Transformation Programme Management.
Local Capability Building within Scottish Local Authorities.
We are enhancing our communication and collaboration processes by consolidating our Teams' channels within our Microsoft 365 tenancy and introducing targeted communications specifically designed for Scottish local government members. By centralising our channels in M365, we aim to provide a more streamlined and efficient platform where you can easily access all relevant information, documents, and discussions in one place. This will reduce information silos and make it easier for everyone to stay informed and connected.
In addition, our new approach to targeted communications means that you will receive information that is directly relevant to your role and responsibilities. This ensures that you are equipped with the insights you need to make informed decisions, stay aligned with strategic goals, and engage more effectively with your peers. Our goal is to create a more connected and responsive organisation, ultimately improving our ability to deliver services and support effective governance.
If you are currently a member of various teams and channels within our tenancy, you may receive notification that we have moved or merged initiatives to another area. While we work through this process, we will collate a list of all our programmes of work and collaborative opportunities in an MS Form so that you can then select any additional teams and discussions, you wish to be a part of. This is work in progress and will happen iteratively over the course of the coming months.
If you have any questions, or you would like to make any suggestions please do not hesitate to contact us at info@digitaloffice.scot
Unlocking the Potential of the M365 National Power Platform for Scottish Local Government.
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, councils face increasing pressure to deliver services more efficiently while meeting the diverse needs of their communities. As we navigate these challenges, embracing innovative technologies becomes a must. One tool that holds great potential for Scottish local government is the Microsoft 365 (M365) National Power Platform.
To fully realise the benefits of the M365 National Power Platform, we have launched our National Power Platform community in collaboration with Chris Wright of Perth and Kinross council, developed with digital partnership input and delivering on agreed priorities.
Verity Hislop, Senior Project Manager: “I'm incredibly excited about the launch of our National Power Platform Community in collaboration with Chris Wright of Perth and Kinross Council. This initiative marks a significant step forward in empowering local government teams across Scotland to collaborate, innovate, and maximise the full potential of the Power Platform. Together, we'll drive digital transformation and create meaningful solutions that benefit our communities."
Chris Wright, Perth & Kinross:
“The launch of our National Power Platform Community is a landmark moment for Scottish local government. It exemplifies the power of partnership and the importance of strategic leadership in driving digital innovation. By uniting our strengths and collective expertise of local councils across Scotland, we are poised to transform public service delivery. This initiative is a shining example of how collaborative efforts can lead to greater efficiency, enhanced services, and a more empowered workforce, ready to meet the needs of our citizens, communities, businesses and partners."
Find out more about the National Power Platform Community and how to get involved in our recent blog.
Cyber exercising is a crucial element of cyber maturity and helps the whole organisation to understand the issues they will face in the event of a serious cyber-attack. Cyber security is often seen as a technical or IT issue, but in reality it is a whole organisation risk, and senior management have a critical role to play in the preparations and response, in addition to civil contingencies staff.
The Digital Office is keen to hear from members of the Digital Partnership that would like us to support a table-top cyber security exercise aimed at their upper management. We've delivered these exercises to multiple local authorities and are happy to work with councils to develop an exercise that works for them and their particular requirements, as well as follow up with more targeted exercises around any issues that have arisen during the exercise.
If you are interested in this initiative, please get in touch with our Chief Information Security Officer Dave Ritchie .
Strengthening Cyber Security: How the Digital Office & Scotland Excel are leading the way with the Security Operations Centre Framework Project
Cyber security is a vital aspect of any organisation's digital transformation. It ensures that the data, systems, and services that we rely on are protected from malicious attacks and unauthorised access. However, cyber security is not a static or one-off task. It requires constant monitoring, analysis, and response to the evolving threats and challenges that we face in the digital world.
That is why the Digital Office has been working on a project with Scotland Excel to develop a single supplier framework for councils to call off for Security Operations Centre (SOC) services.
The Security Operations Centre (SOC) Framework project is in full swing, with the first User Intelligence Group (UIG) being held by Scotland Excel on the 22nd of August. A further User Intelligence Group is being held on the 26th of September for those that attended and any other local authority who may be interested in participating. We are not only looking for attendees who are keen to use the framework but also councils who already have a SOC and have experiences and ideas to share.
Work is now underway to develop the specification for the procurement and an early draft will be available for the second User Intelligence Group.
For more details, check out our recent blog featuring insights from Dave Ritchie, our Chief Information Security Officer. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Dave Ritchie or Sam Whitehead. directly.
Development of the new Multi-Agency Public Protection System (MAPPS).
The Digital Office, in collaboration with the Scottish Government, local authorities, Police Scotland, the NHS, and the Home Office, is actively involved in developing the new Multi-Agency Public Protection System (MAPPS). This system is set to replace ViSOR, which currently contains details of individuals requiring special monitoring arrangements and for whom local government is a responsible authority.
The project is well underway but is complex due to the nature of data held in the system and the range of organisations involved in the process in addition to local government, including Scottish Government, NHS, Prison Service, and Police Scotland. This project is UK wide and is being developed by the Home Office. A draft paper detailing project updates is currently being prepared and will be shared with the partnership upon completion. If you would like to find out more about this project, please contact info@digitaloffice.scot
End-to-End Digital and Digital Ready Connections.
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We are delighted to share we have reached another milestone in the journey towards a digital future for telecare services!
Thanks to the hard work of Telecare Service Providers across Scotland, over 50% of connections across the nation are now end-to-end digital or digital ready.
Find out more about our Digital Telecare Programme in their recent newsletter using the link below.
Data plays an important role in informing policy at every stage, from identifying areas where improvement can or should be made to evaluating the success of policies.
Scottish Government's Better Data Community (Making Data Better, Smarter and More Open) are holding Data in Policy themed events to showcase the innovative work taking place to improve public services with the help of data and help creates spaces to share experiences.
