UK – Insights@Cofluence https://insights.cofluence.co Fri, 22 May 2020 04:04:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Connecting the communicators with CommsCamp https://insights.cofluence.co/commscamp/ Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:24:44 +0000 http://insights.cofluence.co/?p=5362

CommsCamp 2013 brought together practitioners from across UK Government to Birmingham for an unconference about all things communication in the public sector. Ann Kempster from the UK Government Communications Network, and one of the co-organisers of the event, shares some of the key themes and insights from the event.]]> CommsCamp 2013 brought together practitioners from across UK Government to Birmingham for an unconference about all things communication in the public sector.  Ann Kempster from the UK Government Communication Network, and one of the co-organisers of the event, shares some of the key themes and insights from the event.

CommsCamp by paulclarkePhoto by Paul Clarke

The whole concept of unconferences and participant-led events is just so mind-bogglingly amazing that it’s hard to put into words – just to see people coming together and start talking to each other who possibly wouldn’t have before… that’s why I do it, and that’s what touched me most about the day.

 

Ann Kempster

About Ann Kempster

Ann Kempster is Digital Communications Manager for the Government Communication Network based in the Cabinet Office. She has worked in the UK Civil Service for the past 7 years. She is also co-organiser of CommsCamp13, an unconference for professional communicators in government, with Dan Slee and Darren Caveney of Walsall Council and Comms2point0.

Ann blogs (not enough as she’d like) at www.annkempster.com.  You can also find her on Twitter at @annkempster

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  • CommsCamp website
  • UK Government Communication Network
  • Comms2point0
  • Blog post by Kate Bentham on her CommsCamp experience

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On the role of digital in the comms mix:

On the power of unconferences:

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]]> Beyond the hype: Gov-tech across the Commonwealth of Nations https://insights.cofluence.co/connectivity-commonwealth/ Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:23:02 +0000 http://insights.cofluence.co/?p=4438

The 54 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations represents more than 2 billion people across every region of the world and a vast diversity in development and capacity. Professor Tim Unwin, well-known as UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, now heads up the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). In this wide-ranging and provocative discussion, he explores the impact of ICT across diverse economies, the value of technology for governance and also provides an overview of the CTO's work.]]>

The 54 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations represents more than 2 billion people across every region of the world and a vast diversity in development and capacity.

Professor Tim Unwin, well-known as UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, now heads up the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). In this wide-ranging and provocative discussion, he explores the impact of ICT across diverse economies, the value of technology for governance and also provides an overview of the CTO’s work.

Prof. Unwin claims that, while it can change the relationship between citizens and the state, technology by itself doesn’t change very much.  It is how people use the technology that matters.  He also argues that social media’s role in participatory democracy may be over-hyped, and that while technology can accelerate change, it only does so for those who have not only access but also the literacy to use it, and that an over-focus on technology can in fact create a greater development divide.

If ICTs are to be used effectively by governments, all their people need to access them – otherwise, they’re going to lead to greater inequalities.

About Prof. Tim Unwin

Tim Unwin has been Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation since September 2011. He is also Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, and Emeritus Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. From 2001-2004 he led the UK Prime Minister’s Imfundo: Partnership for IT in Education initiative based within the Department for International Development (DFID), and from 2007 he was Director and then Senior Advisor (until 2011) to the World Economic Forum’s Partnerships for Education initiative with UNESCO. His recent work has concentrated  on the use of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), and in 2004 he created the ICT4D Collective at Royal Holloway, University of London, which is now one of the world’s leading centres for ICT4D research and teaching.

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]]> Bringing content to people, not people to websites https://insights.cofluence.co/content-to-people/ Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:24:12 +0000 http://insights.cofluence.co/?p=4205

Content comes first when it comes to delivering sustainable digital public services at Devon County Council. Carl Haggerty, Digital Communications Manager for the Council shares his insights on the importance of a digital content strategy, where his approach to designing services, not websites or platforms, is transforming the way the organisation interacts with its citizens.]]>

Content comes first when it comes to delivering sustainable digital public services at Devon County Council. Carl Haggerty, Digital Communications Manager for the Council shares his insights on the importance of a digital content strategy, where his approach to designing services, not websites or platforms, is transforming the way the organisation interacts with its citizens.

Carl also discusses the UK Digital Government Service, and asks the question of whether there needs to be a Local Government Digital Service.

Developing the digital content strategy was about asking: What is the content? What’s it saying? How is it managed? How is it being shared? How is it being governed? All those kinds of issues about the content – that’s the only thing that mattered, it didn’t  matter which technology platform it sat in.

 

About Carl Haggerty

Carl Haggerty is Digital Communications Manager at Devon County Council, which is essentially about championing and developing the digital agenda within the council as well as being responsible for the councils corporate web presence and intranet. Carl is fascinated and keen to explore how people interact with information and technology to enable and facilitate local and global change.

Carl is also the Citizenscape Product Owner with Public I – A leading supplier of e-participation products and services to the public sector by supporting the strategic use of technology for communication and engagement and democratic renewal. His role is to champion strategic technical enhancements and the end user experience.

Carl has worked in Local Government for 16 years, with the last 10 in and around ICT, Communications, Web and Social Media. He was the first county council employee to publicly blog about his work and has been instrumental in encouraging and exploiting the use of social technologies within the council. Carl continues to promote the benefits of the web and social technologies across the Council. Carl has had a varied background working in Local Government on issues such as Strategic ICT, Communications and Marketing, Sustainable Development, Community Engagement & Development, Tourism and Economic Development.

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]]> When ROI = Return-On-Influence: Social communication for local government in Monmouthshire https://insights.cofluence.co/return-on-influence/ Thu, 24 May 2012 12:01:31 +0000 http://insights.cofluence.co/?p=4043

From deploying Yammer for policy and program support, to creative use of YouTube for recruitment, and through to using QR codes to create the world's first Wikipedia town, the UK’s Monmouthshire County Council is a leading example of how local government can move beyond social tech to social communication for internal and external engagement.]]>

From deploying Yammer for policy and program support, to creative use of YouTube for recruitment, and through to using QR codes to create the world’s first Wikipedia town, the UK’s Monmouthshire County Council is a leading example of how local government can move beyond social tech to social communication for internal and external engagement.

Helen Reynolds, Communications Officer for Monmouthshire County Council discusses a selection of these innovative initiatives, and also shares her experience with introducing these ideas into local government, and how influence rather than ROI matters for public sector use of social media channels and tools.

By being in social spaces where people are, and by being relevant and providing information that’s timely and worth engaging with – that’s how we build our influence as government.

About Helen Reynolds

Helen works for Monmouthshire County Council and is responsible for the council’s social media programme.  She has also advised a number of other public sector organisations on making the most of new technologies for better engagement. As a result of the work she’s done Monmouthshire Council has taken a number of innovative approaches to engagement, won UK social media and PR awards and the authority has become a vastly more approachable organisation.

She’s particularly passionate about making government accessible and easier to understand.

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On Monmouthpedia

On the foster carers Yammer community

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  • People and organisations:
    @MonmouthshireCC
    @HelReynolds
  • Tags: #Monmouthpedia #monmouthshire #localgov #innovation #socmed
]]> The connected citizen in 2012 https://insights.cofluence.co/citizen2012/ Mon, 21 May 2012 10:16:22 +0000 http://insights.cofluence.co/?p=4021

How ready are citizens to be part of a more connected public space? Where is the UK heading in citizen participation? Ahead of CITIZEN2012 in London, conference organiser Jeffrey Peel – with guest speakers Andy Williamson of Future Digital and David Moody of Kana – discuss building the democratic commons, including tools and trends in next-generation government/citizen engagement.]]> How ready are citizens to be part of a more connected public space?  Where is the UK heading in citizen participation?

Ahead of CITIZEN2012 in London, conference organiser Jeffrey Peel – with guest speakers Andy Williamson of Future Digital and David Moody of Kana – discuss building the democratic commons, including tools and trends in next-generation government/citizen engagement.

There is a great opportunity here: it’s not just about the obvious ROI and replacement of costly channels, it’s about engaging and listening in real ways that have never been possible before.

JeffreyPeelAbout Jeffrey Peel

Jeffrey is the Managing Director of Quadriga Consulting and the organiser of CITIZEN2012.  He has a well developed reputation as a specialist in research and evidence based consulting, and is a highly experienced digital communications professional. He has written thought leadership reports or created online web content for dozens of clients operating in the IT, telecommunications, business services and financial services sectors.  He has also undertaken project work for many early to mid-stage venture capital funded organisations.

AndyWilliamsonAbout Dr Andy Williamson

Andy is an internationally recognised expert in digital strategy with an in-depth understanding of effective engagement and online democracy, as well as an experienced consultant and researcher focussing on social media, society and policy. His work is about educating, engaging and enabling; creating active citizens and connected government.

DaveMoodyAbout David Moody

David is the Vice President of Solutions Marketing Worldwide for KANA, responsible for strategic solutions across all target markets including commercial and government. Formerly CTO and founding director of Lagan (acquired by KANA software in November 2010), David has a unique combination of strong technology, customer and commercial skills. KANA is the principal sponsor of CITIZEN2012.

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  • Citizen 2012 conference

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]]> Doing digital engagement in the public sector https://insights.cofluence.co/digital-engagement-guide/ Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:00:10 +0000 http://insights.cofluence.co/?p=3724 digital engagement steph gray

As the use of social and digital tools in the public sector increases, UK digital engagement advisor Steph Gray is helping to answer some of the knotty questions about how to maximise the value of digital engagement efforts and investment. ]]> digital engagement steph gray

As the use of social and digital tools in the public sector increases, UK digital engagement advisor Steph Gray is helping to answer some of the knotty questions about how to maximise the value of digital engagement efforts and investment.  In March 2012, he launched the Digital Engagement Guide, a collection of ideas and practical help to use digital and social media in the public sector.

Digital engagement is about embracing the fact that these digital channels are interactive – that when you put something out there people reply to you: you need to answer questions, you need to respond to criticism, you need to engage in discussions that are already happening in places that you don’t control.

About Steph Gray

Steph is a digital engagement strategist and practitioner. In plain English: he writes digital strategies, manages projects, builds websites and delivers training and mentoring.

Steph was formerly Head of Digital Communications at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, leading a team managing corporate websites, digital engagement/social media, online public service delivery and internal digital channels. Under his leadership, the team earned a reputation across and beyond Government for practical innovation in support of the Department’s work, including pioneering approaches to online consultation, work with online communities and social media monitoring.

Steph is now a consultant, developer and coach to clients, helping them to use low-cost digital tools and techniques including social media to engage their audiences, work more collaboratively and save money. About half his work is still with UK central government. He also hosts a number of events aimed at digital practitioners, including MailCamp, a seminar on public sector email marketing and UKGovcamp, which brings together over 200 people interested in the public sector’s use of digital.

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]]> Open Data Cities of the Future https://insights.cofluence.co/open-data-cities-of-the-future/ Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:37:08 +0000 http://insights.cofluence.co/?p=3731

In advance of the Open-Data Cities Conference in Brighton, UK, convenor Greg Hadfield talks about the ways in which all elements of a city – ...]]>

In advance of the Open-Data Cities Conference in Brighton, UK, convenor Greg Hadfield talks about the ways in which all elements of a city – leaders, government, local institutions and businesses as well as citizens – have a role to play in creating open and sustainable cities of the future.

Data and the openness of that data, openly published, freely available, available for re-use without strings attached in non-proprietary formats – all that 5-star openness  will be embedded in the DNA of our cities

About Greg Hadfield

Greg Hadfield is a former Fleet Street journalist, founder of Soccernet and Schoolsnet and most recently, he was head of digital development and Telegraph Media Group and director of strategic projects at Cogapp, a leading digital agency.

Greg is also the founder of Open-data Brighton and Hove Group, and is organising the Open-data Cities Conference in Brighton and Hove on April 20, 2012.

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