Over the last 10 years, the public sector has seen significant funding reductions, meaning organisations have had to become increasingly innovative and creative in delivering services with less and less money. In addition to this, soaring demand for services, particularly in areas such as the care of elderly people, has meant that organisations across the public sector have had to rethink the way they do things.
Many Knowledge Hub members have found that their use of digital communities to pool their knowledge with others and share expertise and experiences across organisations has helped them significantly reduce costs and create cost avoidance.
One such example is the Digital Partnership for Scottish Local Government. Sharing baseline approaches to the General Data Protection Regulation and allowing others to modify them as necessary has created an estimated cost avoidance of over £1 million.
Other examples include the Local Authority Civil Enforcement Forum (LACEF) that has saved many thousands of pounds for councils through members sharing their experiences. Or the Food Standards and Labelling focus group that has been able to reduce its face to face meetings from four per year, down to two, meaning fewer travel expenses incurred and less time out of the office for members.
Helping public sector organisations meet the efficiency challenge in this way has always been an important aim for us at Knowledge Hub, so we’re delighted to be able to promote a roundtable discussion we’ll be involved in about driving efficiency through collaboration at the Liferay Digital Solutions Forum (LDSF) on 2 October.
Mike McLean, Knowledge and Collaboration Manager at the Improvement Service for Scotland, will be speaking about how use of their Scottish Public Services Network on the Knowledge Hub has helped public organisations across Scotland to save money and drive efficiency. We’ll discuss some of the examples of efficiency through collaboration from across Knowledge Hub and encourage those around the table to share their experiences too.
We’d love other Knowledge Hub members to join us at LDSF if you’re able. Further details about the event and a booking link can be found in the Public Sector News group here (sign-in required) or direct on the LDSF website. It would be great to see you there and hear your efficiency saving stories.
