Almost a decade ago, an official review of IT in the Scottish public sector, The McClelland Review1, concluded that Scotland was “lagging behind” in its use of IT.
The report recommended that a national, overarching IT strategy was introduced.
In response, the Scottish Government launched a new digital strategy2 in 2012, and refreshed that plan in 20173.
In all reports, the Government’s stated aim is to, “…put digital at the heart of everything we do – in the way in which we deliver inclusive economic growth, reform our public services and prepare our children for the workplace of the future.”
As a result of advances in technology, digital transformation has become the watchword of many nations, and Scotland is no exception.
Digital transformation is recognised as a key factor in citizens’ quality of life and the ability to participate digitally in society, in developing skills and education, and in delivering public services.
Further, with rapid technology developments taking place, we are seeing everyday devices – from a watch, to a fridge, to a whiteboard – become ‘smart’ technologies connected to the Internet of Things (IoT).
The interest in concepts such as the ‘smart city’, the ‘smart hospital’, or the ‘smart school’, is at an all-time high.
In diverse societies around the world, governments are exploring how these connected technologies can benefit their populations.
Research by Capita on behalf of the Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) examines these topics and looks at the innovations that Scottish citizens are keen to see.
The research also explores what kind of digital initiatives people in Scotland say they would be open to using and would like to see introduced in the future.
This report is the second in a series of three on this theme and focuses specifically on the potential of IoT and smart technology in Scottish local government.
The first report explored IoT in healthcare and can be accessed here; the final report to be published in early 2020 will survey views on digitisation of the education sector.
Overall, the research finds there is a strong appetite for innovation and change.
Moreover, one of the key measures of success in any digital transformation drive will be improving participation in civic life and access to services, particularly for the one million people in Scotland living in remote, rural, and hard-to-reach areas – this is especially relevant to local government operations.
Key findings include:
There are 32 local councils in Scotland, as well as 23 other significant agencies and public bodies4, some of which cover large geographical areas with dispersed populations.
There is also a considerable island population which can present challenges; for instance, the Western Isles Council (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), delivers services to a population of 27,000 spread over 15 islands5.
This means that delivering local government services across Scotland is a complex task compounded by unique geography.
Technology, and the increase in available digital channels, has the potential to bridge potential distances between all citizens and local government services.
For instance, making it easier for residents to access council services from planning applications to paying council tax, without needing to travel to an office or even a mainland location.
Additionally, in recent years, the buzz around the ‘smart city’ has grown. A smart city incorporates smart and connected technology, like IoT devices, into its infrastructure; aiming to enhance the quality and performance of urban services – such as transportation or energy use – to reduce resource consumption, wastage and overall costs.
Some countries have been very successful at putting digitisation at the heart of the public sector, Estonia being one such example, where the government is attempting to build a completely digitised society with all public services available online.
Though it has a smaller population, Estonia is a good model of how digitisation can enhance public sector services, so provides an interesting comparison to other nations – in this report we’ll look at the local government innovations people in Scotland want and are willing to use.
Finally, this report will also discuss how new innovations in local government can be rolled out successfully; including the ongoing development of a future-proof technology backbone and infrastructure to underpin digital projects, allowing initiatives to scale easily and benefit all of Scotland.
*The research was undertaken in May-June 2019; commissioned by Capita on behalf of the Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN), and conducted by independent market research company, Opinium. The total sample size of 2,000 consists of Scottish adults aged 18 or over, from all regions of the country.