Council of the Future (CotF) projects are already set to contribute a total of £31m towards the Council’s projected £60m shortfall over the next five years.
To date, the transformational programme has saved £5m (2017/2018), with a further c£5m projected to be saved in 2018/2019.
A raft of new projects across services have now been proposed that aim to increase the pace of change and the level of savings. These projects will be put before the Executive for approval early next year.
A report that went to the Executive on Tuesday, October 15th, also highlighted that from July to September this year, five major projects made significant steps forward:
- Smart Work Smart Travel – 60 pool cars are now in use throughout the Council.
- Next Generation Contact Centre – reducing 50 Council helpline phone numbers to one means customers are getting through quicker and are better directed to the most appropriate officer / service.
- Building & Maintenance Division – saw an increase in efficiencies, customer satisfaction and productivity after embracing new work practices and technology.
- Advice Hubs & Spokes: Phase 2 – continued improvements in customer service at the East Advice Hub (Grangemouth) with the West Advice Hub in Carronbank House due to open next month (November).
- Living Well Falkirk – the smartcare app is now available, providing an easy way for adults to self-assess health and wellbeing and determine if any support is needed to help them live independently.
During the same timeframe, a Leadership Forum and multiple listening events, development workshops and communication groups were held and four Change Agent Network (CANs) Hackathon rolled out. The Council now has over 100 CANs actively promoting change and supporting the delivery of projects.
The governance structure for CotF was also highlighted to the Executive and includes:
- Council of the Future Board - includes Elected Members, Chief Executive and Directors
- Council & Workforce of the Future Group – Directors
- Service Change Boards - Directors and Senior Mangers for each Services
- CotF Change Group – Trade Unions & employees
The aim of the Boards and Groups is to help Services increase the speed of change and achieve greater financial savings.