Wandsworth Council Data & Analytics Strategy 2021-2023

Introduction

Data is a key asset in supporting us as a council to deliver the best possible services for our residents. This means services that are innovative, targeted, make an impact, offer good value for money, and make the best use of resources. However, data and analytics is constantly developing, and as a council we are faced with maintaining this fast pace of development and innovation. Going forward it’s important for us to look at how we can maximise the opportunities of the rapid improvement and use of technology, and use new innovative ways of working to enable us to work smarter and continue to deliver against our commitment to residents to provide high quality, effective and efficient services. Part of this will be about embedding data science to enable a more intelligent use of data, which will identify ways to deliver improved services that are targeted at the needs of our residents and enhance the customer experience.

As a council we are committed to looking at ways to improve how we use our data as part of our broader digital ambition. The benefits of this include accelerating the organisation’s digitalisation and transformation efforts[1], saving money, making staff more productive and services more effective, supporting local businesses to grow, and reducing environmentally harmful activities.[2]

However, it’s important that we understand data isn’t the be-all and end-all. It will not provide the answer to every challenge that we as a council face on its own. But what it can do is set the scene, point us in an important direction that we can investigate, and provide us with the tools we need to do our work well.

To do this, it’s vital that we truly value our data. All too often data and analysis can be used as an afterthought to support decisions. It lacks purpose and is not utilised to its full potential. We want to change that to make sure that data is used right from the outset of planning and decision-making processes. We want to use data to design and deliver innovative services in the best possible way, base our decisions on the strongest analysis and use data-driven technology to transform the way we work. Ultimately this will enable us to make more efficient use of resources and provide better services to residents.

To accomplish this, we have developed our first Data and Analytics Strategy, which sets out our vision for data and analytics, what we have achieved so far, and the key workstreams we will deliver to progress this agenda. We have also produced an accompanying action plan outlining the specific actions we will take to move forward and achieve our goals.

By implementing this Strategy, we will be able to deliver real improvement; as an organisation in the way we work and, importantly, in the services we deliver to our residents.

Continue reading the full strategy and action plan:

[1] https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/why-data-and-analytics-are-key-to-digital-transformation/

[2] https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/wise_council_summary_5WRlcup.pdf