Twelve months ago, I stepped into the Director of Digital, Data and Technology role with a clear set of ambitions and a determination to help Luton Council move forward on its digital journey. Looking back, the transformation has been both challenging and rewarding—and, most importantly, it’s been a team effort.
From Emerging to Involving: Our Digital Maturity Journey
When I started, our digital, data, and technology (DDaT) practices were at Level 1—ad hoc, reactive, and siloed. Today, we’re edging into Level 3, where staff involvement and collaboration are becoming the norm. We’ve moved from simply managing digital change to actively involving people in shaping it. That means more consultation, more training, and a growing sense of shared responsibility for data quality, cybersecurity, and user-centred design.
What We Set Out to Achieve
Twelve months ago, I set out a vision for the service and the wider organisation. Some of our key aims included:
- A clear, shared vision for DDaT
- Agile, user-centred ways of working
- Stronger partnerships across services
- Open, regular communication
- A plan to address skills and resource gaps
- Empowering staff to drive change
- Launching a DDaT champions network
- Introducing apprenticeships
On the organisational side, we aimed to:
- Improve digital skills for all staff
- Develop a future-ready enterprise architecture
- Explore Microsoft E5 licensing and security
- Introduce Copilot and digital leadership training
- Baseline our digital and data maturity
And for residents, we set out to:
- Deliver a new telephony platform and website
- Reset our digital services team
- Upgrade our housing system and CRM approach
What We Delivered
Of the 28 ambitions set, 17 have been delivered, 7 are nearing completion, and 4 remain outstanding (but on our radar for the next six months). Some highlights include:
- A new strategy, roadmap and governance
- Moving to Teams telephony and a modern contact centre
- Turning around a failing housing system project
- Rolling out Windows 11 and refreshing staff laptops
- Launching a new ITSM tool and digital skills training
- Delivering a public beta for our new website (after a six-year wait!)
- Supporting a new AI-powered jobs website for residents
- Launching a M365 learning centre and organisational data apprenticeships
- Embedding a learning culture through internal progressions and qualifications
- Recruiting our first DDaT apprentice
- Solving long-standing issues like WiFi for collaborative working and laptops for work experience students
- Securing funding for laptops for care leavers
- Progressing development capabilities with a low-code digital platform and team
- Introducing OKRs and a new IT helpdesk portal
- Running in-person DDaT collaboration days
Feedback from colleagues has been heartening:
- “The change in the last year has been phenomenal. IT used to be this hidden away team you only contacted if you absolutely had to. But you are really out there, your teams are more visible, we get more information about what is happening and it’s really exciting to see the direction.”
- “The last year has been really good. Being able to have open conversations about challenges and it feels like DDaT work more collaboratively with us to solve problems rather than telling us what to do and not listening”
- “All we used to hear was ‘no’ – now it’s ‘not yet, but we are working on it’ or ‘let’s figure out how we can do something’. It’s refreshing and empowering”
None of this would have been possible without that amazing team I have, that has embraced the changes and tackled the challenges head on.
Bonus delivery – One of the unexpected things that has come out of collaborating, has been the adoption of OKRs as an organisation. It started with one conversation where I introduced the concept to our strategy team – we’re now developing our Corporate Plan, People Strategy and DDaT Strategy in OKRs – not sure how many other Councils have adopted these, but we’re hot on the heels of Google!
The Challenges
Talking of challenges, of course, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. We’ve faced:
- A risk-averse culture and historic change fatigue
- Skills gaps and lack of trust in new ways of working
- Clunky processes and legacy technology
But we’ve learned that resilience and relationships are key. If you keep your convictions and focus on why you’re doing this—for the residents of Luton—change is possible.
Looking Ahead
My ambitions for the next 12 months include:
- A refreshed Senior Management Team driving the change
- Rolling out OneDrive, Copilot and Microsoft productivity tools
- Piloting SharePoint governance and a security roadmap
- Completing our laptop refresh and mobile phone review
- Developing three new low-code applications
- Continuing to empower staff and embed a culture of learning and improvement
There will always be setbacks, but self-belief and a focus on Luton’s residents keep me going. Authenticity, I’ve found, wins hearts and helps drive real change.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.
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