South Somerset District Council has extended its existing relationship with Civica through a new £800K contract which will see the company provide additional digital services for the council and residents Using the Civica Digital360 suite, residents will be able to access most Council services at times convenient to them on a self-service basis using the Council’s website and have responses sent via text, email or a personalised online portal.
Whilst providing trusted technology to enable residents to access services at their convenience, Civica is also enabling employees of South Somerset District Council to transform services and be fully digital as part of its Transformation Programme. This will allow the Council to improve its services and access to those services as the public increasingly choose to make use of modern technology.
Civica is a market-leading specialist in business critical software application, digital solutions and outsourcing service that help teams and organisations around the world to transform the way they work.
South Somerset District Council has been undertaking a Transformation programme since early 2017 in response to significant cuts to the public sector in Government grants and central funding since 2010.
The new five-year deal with Civica allows the Council to achieve new ways of working, where residents can choose to communicate digitally.
The Digital360 suite includes mobile, customer portal, customer relationship management, workflow and social media integration components. All of these components will help to build a single cross-service view for the customer. The new suite also enables council officers working across the district to benefit from upgraded mobile capability, to deliver a more joined-up service in local areas with all the vital information at their fingertips.
Councillor Ric Pallister, Leader of South Somerset District Council said: “I am delighted by this important step forward with Civica which will allow us to streamline and improve customer services for most residents and in a way that will enable us to use employee time more effectively. It will allow us to focus resource in better assisting those who are not able to help themselves and require face-to-face contact with us. My pledge is that we will not be leaving any resident behind as we step into this brave new digital world and capitalise on what technology can do better for us all.”
Jeff Hewitt, Executive Director, Civica, added: “South Somerset is already setting the bar high for digital transformation, through embracing the Future Operating Model. However, this added investment in the Digital360 platform will take the customer-centric approach one step further, placing citizens at the heart of all future digital development.”
Work to implement the Civica Digital360 suite has already commenced and it is hoped that residents will be able to use the new services in late 2018 when a new website is launched.