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.
Local Government Rewired: A Digital-Enabled Future State.
A draft white paper called "Local Government Rewired: A Digital-Enabled Future State" has been reviewed by the Chief Executive Working Group for the SOLACE/IS Transformation Programme, for the Digital To Be State programme.
Led by the Digital Office on behalf of project sponsor Nikki Bridle, Chief Executive of Clackmannanshire Council, the paper has been developed in collaboration with representatives from across different professional groups across Scottish Local Government and sets out a comprehensive vision for how digital, data and AI will reshape local government in Scotland.
Work has now commenced on content and toolkits to help councils to realise the ambition. If you would like to find out more about this work, please get in touch at info@digitaloffice.scot.
LocalGov M365 Foundations: 25/26 Priorities.
Following the M365 Landscape Review and 1:1 discussions with councils, three key portfolios have been identified as collective priorities for 2025/26. These form the foundation of the LocalGov M365 Foundations programme and reflect the most commonly highlighted priority areas across the sector. The three portfolios are:
Shared M365 Governance Framework Developing a national approach to M365 governance, including shared policies, guidance, technical baselines, and security standards.
M365 Savings and Cost Avoidance Exploring ways to reduce costs and maximise value from M365 and Azure, including licensing efficiencies, procurement coordination, and opportunities for collective savings.
Baseline SharePoint Adoption Supporting councils to adopt SharePoint in a consistent, structured way - with shared templates, governance guidance, and potentially implementation support to help replace legacy file storage.
Work is now underway to establish governance boards and working groups for each portfolio. We’ll be reaching out to councils in the coming week with an ask to nominate leads and SMEs for each workstream.
Microsoft Aggregation NFC190 (Autumn/ Winter 2025).
The latest Microsoft Aggregation is now in progress for enrolments between 31 August 2025 and 31 December 2025, and is currently closed to new expressions of interest. Three councils are eligible to participate in this procurement, and we’re pleased to confirm that all three have been invited to take part. The winning bidder is expected to be announced in mid-July.
Cyber Exercises for Scottish Local Authorities.
The Digital Office in conjunction with the Scottish Government SC3 have delivered two Cyber Security Tabletop Exercises for Scottish Local Authorities. These have been well attended and have provided councils with concrete information around their cyber readiness and business continuity. We are keen to hear from anyone who would like to learn more about cyber exercising, its benefits, and how it can help prepare your council to respond to a cyber attack.
AI Roundtable Discussions and Implementation Challenges.
We will be hosting two Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roundtable events that bring together digital leaders, council representatives, and AI community members to discuss AI priorities and implementation challenges. The focus will be shared learning and collaboration, particularly around AI solutions: Co-pilot and Magic Notes. Key Discussion themes will include:
Scaling AI Solutions, including proof of value from trials
Business case highlighting benefits
Challenges in AI Implementation
Procurement and Collaboration
Call to Action: We are issuing a call to action to the AI community to gather insights and experiences related to the challenges, benefits, and scalability of AI solutions. Your input is invaluable in shaping the round table discussions and the future adoption of AI across councils. Dates of the events to be confirmed, however the insights gathered from this survey, will be used to inform the roundtable discussions.
Get Involved: We encourage all AI community members to participate actively in this initiative. Your contributions are crucial for overcoming implementation challenges and driving the successful adoption of AI solutions.
Please look out for the call to action in the community channel and share your valuable insights as well as answering a few questions in the form below.
During the Engage Process in-person event, as part of Digital Council Week, several key processes were identified that have enhanced efficiency and service delivery across various councils. The discussions highlighted several challenges faced during the process mapping and improvement efforts with potential solutions being explored. For further insights, please read the full update in our Resource Centre.
Call to Action
We would like to invite all members of the community to:
Update the Excel spreadsheet in the community channel listing any processes partially or fully mapped using Engage Process
Confirm your representatives for the community, who will:
Attend the regular sessions on behalf of your organisation
Provide updates to colleagues throughout the council
Review and provide input to the draft Terms of Reference for the group
Our next session on testing and re-engineering the local level handbook will be announced in the Engage Process Community channel.
Please note you must be logged in to the Resource Centre to access the Insights using the link below.
Less than 250-days until the end of the digital telephone migration.
Our Digital Telecare Programme is here to support all Scottish Local Authorities, Health and Social Care Partnerships, and Housing Associations in preparing for this transformation.
Whilst BT has extended their migration deadline to 2027, other telecom companies are unchanged and we remain committed to counting down to the 2025 deadline to ensure all Scottish Telecare Service Providers are ready well in advance.
Transitioning to digital services before the 2025 deadline is crucial to avoid any interruptions. Our dedicated Digital Telecare team is armed with the resources and expertise to help you on your journey to digital.
New Resources Available on our Digital Office Resource Centre!
Modern Mindset: Daily Power Ups.
The Power-Up technique is one of 150 practices designed to help leaders and professionals embody a digital leadership mindset in transformational situations. A starter plan, created by Mel Ross, Founder of Adapt2Digital, has been added to the Resource Centre. This will guide you in uncovering your modern mindset as a Digital Leader through 7 videos and provide a 20-day Power Up schedule.
Multi- Factor Authentication Standard.
This document describes the modern Multi Factor Authentication requirements adopted by the Digital Assurance Board and expected from solutions that are used in Scottish Local Government.
5G Innovation Region Series: TAY5G Programme Webinar Recording.
On Wednesday 23rd of April, we hosted our third webinar in our 5G Innovation Region Series with Censis. This webinar was led by the Tay Cities Deal and The Scotland 5G Centre.
Over recent years, Dundee City Council has managed the Tay Cities Deal: Tay5G Programme, creating a testbed in Dundee and collaborating with S5GC for technical expertise. Eight projects have been delivered, with the final four now underway. The programme aims to stimulate engagement with, and adoption of, advanced communications, including 5G. Interested in finding out more? Catch up on the recording and view the slide deck in the Resource Centre!
Following the introduction of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, local authorities across Scotland are starting to develop local visitor levy schemes.
The Digital Office and COSLA have established an online digital community to provide a forum for local authority officers to discuss best practice, challenges, and key issues raised as schemes are being developed. Alongside regular meetings, this includes an online platform for Digital Office, COSLA, and local authority officers to share information outside of meetings.
These meetings take place on a monthly basis via Teams and are open to officers from all local authorities. The next meeting of the Group will take place on Wednesday 7th May. Sign up to join the next meeting and Viva Engage Community using the form below.
Date: Wednesday 7th May Time: 2pm - 3:30pm Location: Microsoft Teams
5G Innovation Region Series -Glasgow City: 27th May 2025.
Our next 5G innovation Region webinar will place the spotlight on the Glasgow City Region and their Smart and Connected Social Places programme, which is funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology's (DSIT) 5G Innovation Region programme. You will hear about how the Region has successfully been using advanced wireless communications and the internet of things (IoT) to drive innovation in:
social housing (connected sensors to monitor damp, mould, and heating in social homes)
social care (smart speakers, to support care and wellbeing services for vulnerable people and improve digital inclusion)
net zero homes (connected sensors to monitor the impact and benefit of net zero interventions).
The programme has delivered live deployments, business cases to scale solutions, and an open innovation competition that provided local SMEs and third sector organisations with funding and an opportunity to work with councils and partners to develop innovative solutions. The success of the programme has recently been recognised by DSIT, who have now provided an additional £1.9m to expand the programme further.
Microsoft Change Agents Programme: 16th & 17th June 2025.
We’re pleased to confirm that councils in Scotland can take part in the Microsoft Change Agents Programme – a national training course designed to help staff lead and support digital change using the Microsoft 365 tools you already have.
The next two-day cohort will run virtually on 16th and 17th June 2025, and may be particularly valuable for Digital Champions or staff involved in change and adoption work across your Microsoft estate. There are currently 90 spaces available.
What to expect:
Practical tips for delivering change
An introduction to automation and AI
A deeper understanding of tools already available to you
Access to a peer network across the UK
The sessions are interactive and designed for non-technical users who are curious, enjoy helping others, and are keen to learn something new.
