Socitm

Best bits of 2024: Benchmarking 📊 You helped us keep our metrics relevant when we reviewed our entire benchmarking service. This resulted in the addition of 3 new measures concerning upskilling of staff and employment of apprentices.  NEW for Membership in 2025 ONLY One free benchmarking module! 👏 Choose from: cost, delivery, performance or user skills 🤔 Thank you for being part of the Socitm community this year. We've picked a few of our highlights (link below) but it's the lovely things you tell us about at meetings and conferences that mean the most. The things about the people you've met and the ideas and connections you're going away with.

Best bits of 2024: Socitm Says podcasts 🎙️ Our podcasts this year brought together thought leaders and professionals as they shared their perspectives on the importance of social value from the private and public sector. We also presented the different aspects of utilising generative AI, ranging from ethical considerations to the potential benefits and drawbacks. Using social progress index data was our most recent podcast, in which we discussed how councils in England can obtain a simple set of indicators of progress (or lack of it) by using @Impera Analytics’s Place Insight tool. Thank you for being part of the Socitm community this year. We've picked a few of our highlights (link below) but it's the lovely things you tell us about at meetings and conferences that mean the most. The things about the people you've met and the ideas and connections you're going away with.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all ❄️🎁 Thank you to all our members, the President's Team and regional committees for your dedication to the local public services community. You're all most excellent 🤩 It's been an interesting and busy year. We're sure 2025 will be just the same. Let's do it all again next year!

Best bits of 2024: Training Members, you've joined 49 training sessions this year 🎉 This year the Leadership Academy offered more courses than ever before, in response to your feedback and evolving challenges facing the public sector. This expansion reflects our commitment to equipping members at all levels with the skills and confidence to take control of your personal and professional development 🛠️ The launch of our Place-Based Leadership programme has already made a tangible impact, empowering you to reimagine innovation and technology to improve place based outcomes 🎯 Delivered Socitm’s first Empowering Women course for elected members in Northern Ireland 💪 Thank you for being part of the Socitm community this year. We've picked a few of our highlights (link below) but it's the lovely things you tell us about at meetings and conferences that mean the most. The things about the people you've met and the ideas and connections you're going away with.

The December issue of Government Technology UK is packed with our Vice-Presidents (and other good things and people) 😄 Browse to find: What's next for cloud transformation in the public sector? By Chris Hazell from techUK ⛅ Straightforward and compliant cloud computing - the G-Cloud 14 update from the Crown Commercial Service ⛅ From the Local Government Association: Creating a digitally empowered public sector 🧮 AI in the public sector: the story so far 🤖 Invest in cyber teams for better resilience....urges Chris Dimitriadis from the ISACA 💪 The future and sustainability of our connected places. By Yogita Popat from Barnet Council (and Socitm Vice-President) 😁 Using location data to measure travel times and access to amenities. The Office for National Statistics worked with Ordnance Survey to find out this vital information 📊 Exploring the value of digital twins. A new collaboration between Ordnance Survey and Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government 🤝 Norfolk County Council at the forefront of innovation. Kurt Frary (another Socitm Vice-President) explains further... 😁

Thanks Local Government Chronicle. Members, now you really can circle back to it in January 😀

NEW webinar recording for you. Catch up with last week's meeting: Preparing for the Procurement Act 📺 We managed to cover a LOT, and we hope you're feeling a little better about the Procurement Act 2023 and what it means for you and new procurement activity after 24 February 2025. It was chaired by our Institute Director Samantha Smith, with guests Lisa Stubbs (Head of Open and Transparent Contracting) from the Cabinet Office and Mark Reddy (Global Director Growth - Finance Spend and Governance) from OneAdvanced. Lisa and Mark really know what they're talking about. Here are the resources that came up: Find a tender https://lnkd.in/g3nqPe2 🔍 techUK procurement survey: a) for suppliers https://lnkd.in/gUtAucsf 📝 b) for local government https://lnkd.in/gRMNMvqR 📝 Collection: Transforming public procurement https://lnkd.in/epJj2zDE 📂 OneAdvanced's Procurement Act - Navigating Change https://lnkd.in/gxQzC-ad 📖 The Knowledge Drop videos that Lisa mentioned can be found in this Government Commercial Function YouTube playlist https://lnkd.in/gkGyREnK 📽️ You might also like this Transforming Public Procurement - planning and preparation checklist ✏️ https://lnkd.in/ew3pY6Re

Best bits of 2024: Governance In February, Socitm finally achieved charitable status. This has been an ambition for Socitm since 1986, but it proved to be a challenging process. Being a charity opens options to seek new partners and funding to deliver key resources and outcomes for you and ultimately wider public benefit. Remember this news? ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gWx4nyNe Thank you for being part of the Socitm community this year. We've picked a few of our highlights (link below) but it's the lovely things you tell us about at meetings and conferences that mean the most. The things about the people you've met and the ideas and connections you're going away with.

Best bits of 2024: Driving national policy through strategic partnerships Our collaborative partnerships have influenced national policy on issues such as: AI 🤖 Collaborative procurement 🤝 Cyber resilience 🔒 Digital identity 👤 Responsible use of technologies and data 📚 All through working with organisations including the Local Government Association (LGA), Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA), Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace), The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI), PUBLIC, The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Derby University. Thank you for being part of the Socitm community this year. We've picked a few of our highlights (link below) but it's the lovely things you tell us about at meetings and conferences that mean the most. The things about the people you've met and the ideas and connections you're going away with.

Are you one of the 574 people who’ve been to a local meeting this year? That's a lot of connections and potential best practice to steal with pride. Find interesting people and useful things at member-only meetings in 2025 ⬇️