Welcome to our newsletter, bringing you all the latest from the Digital Office for Scottish Local Government. In this newsletter, we bring you a detailed update on what has been happening across the Digital Partnership throughout the last month and details of upcoming activities.
If you have any queries regarding any of the content within this newsletter, please get in touch.
We're excited to announce that we will be launching our new Resource Centre next month, designed to make it easier for you to access key information on our initiatives and resources to support your digital transformation journeys. This centralised communication site will offer a wealth of information and tools to help you stay informed and engaged.
What You Can Look Forward To:
Overview of Our Initiatives: Discover our initiatives available to support your local authority with digital transformation.
Access to Resources: Easily find and utilise resources available to support your digital initiatives.
Dedicated Collections: Browse through key themes of interest with our organised collections.
Digital Office: On Demand: Catch up on our latest event recordings at your convenience.
Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming events and read our latest newsletters to stay up-to-date.
To celebrate the launch of our new Resource Centre, we're thrilled to announce Digital Council Week, taking place from the 24th to the 28th of March. Throughout the week, we will host a series of live and pre-recorded events with our partners and release new resources on the centre. Stay tuned for updates!
The Digital Office joins the CyberScotland Partnership!
We're delighted to announce during Cyber Week Scotland that we have officially joined the CyberScotland Partnership!
The CyberScotland Partnership is a collaboration of national organisations, brought together by the Scottish Government’s Cyber Resilience Unit with the aim of raising cyber security awareness and building Scotland-wide cyber resilience.
The CyberScotland Partnership now consists of 23 partners, who work together to improve cyber resilience across Scotland in a coordinated and coherent way. It is committed to widening its reach to all in Scotland, providing practical, tailored advice and guidance for every individual and organisation, with the aim of raising awareness of cyber threats and enhancing resilience to build a safer, secure and prosperous Scotland.
David Ritchie, Chief Information Officer at The Digital Office said: “It is a great pleasure and honour for the Digital Office to become part of the Cyber Scotland Partnership. The only way we can defeat the criminals who seek to harm us is to work together and defend ourselves as a country, and the more we can all do to publicise and promote cyber security the more we will be able to protect ourselves, our families and our country.”
Join the Next Aggregated Procurement for M365 Licences.
The Digital Office, Scotland Excel and Crown Commercial Services (CCS) have joined forces again to offer councils a new opportunity to renew their Microsoft Enterprise Agreements through aggregated procurements. This initiative enables councils to secure cost-effective Microsoft Licence Solutions Partners by leveraging the collective strength of their shared demand.
Councils have the opportunity to submit their Microsoft licence requirements by 23rd April 2025, with the contract anticipated to be awarded in July 2025. This contract will cover enrolments from 31st August 2025, to 1st December 2025. It's important to note that participating in the procurement process imposes no obligation to commit to the successful bidder.
Participating in one of the CCS aggregated procurements is likely to provide you with a saving between 2% to 3.5% on Microsoft reseller (LSP) margins compared to market pricing. If you would like to participate in this initiative, please get in touch with Monika Franko.
Data Literacy Professional Learning.
The Digital Office, in collaboration with the Scottish Digital Academy and the Data Literacy Academy, have been actively working on providing professional learning on data literacy and stewardship. The primary goal of this initiative is to upskill those working with data, particularly in areas related to child poverty, to enhance data-led decision making and support a cohesive data culture.
The Change Management workshop, Media Day, Leadership 1-2-1s and and focus groups are now complete and the success criteria along with key pillar messaging and themes currently being drafted.
Next steps:
Education Customisation
Programme Gamification
Cohort dates
We're pleased to share that the pillar messaging and key themes will be announced as part of Digital Council Week and accessible in our Resource Centre.
The Importance of Data Quality in Embracing AI for Local Government.
In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged with potential transformative capabilities across various sectors, including local government. From improving public services to enhancing decision-making processes, AI is changing the way local authorities operate and interact with their communities. However, the effectiveness of AI systems is heavily dependent on one critical factor: data quality.
In this blog, Verity Hislop explores why data quality is critical for successfully embracing AI in local government and how we can ensure data meets the necessary standards.
Shared ARC Platform Shortlisted for ITEC Partnership Award.
We’re thrilled to announce that the Shared ARC Programme, a national initiative led by the Digital Office, is shortlisted for the TSA ITEC 2025 Partnership Award! These awards recognise the positive impact of technology-enabled care services in the UK.
Developed through engagement with 13 early adopters - and over 65 stakeholders — including local authorities, housing associations, and government bodies — the Shared ARC Platform enables seamless integration of digital devices, enhancing personalisation, choice, and control for service users.
The winner will be announced on the 17th March at the ICC in Birmingham.
Retrospective of the Artificial Intelligence Community Kick-off Session.
The AI Community Kick Off held on February 5th, 2025, was a significant milestone in our journey towards a collaborative AI ecosystem within the local government sector. The session was co-led by Mike Brown, City of Edinburgh, Joe Deary, Renfrewshire and Chris Wright, Perth & Kinross councils with active participation from representatives from various councils.
The discussions were insightful, focusing on the potential of AI to enhance service delivery through predictive analytics, automation, and virtual assistants.
Key highlights included the presentation of the AI framework developed by the Community Councils Innovation Network and the introduction of a shared resource library and AI prototype register. The engagement and enthusiasm from the participants confirmed the importance of building a shared vision and resources for AI adoption.
Next Steps: Moving forward, we will focus on several key initiatives to build on the momentum from the kick-off session. Three hot topics that have emerged with multiple requests to collectively explore are:
Co-pilot
Magic Notes
AI Risk
If you are interested in attending the above noted sessions, please stay tuned for further information on the dates and calls to action. These will be announced in our AI Community and Digital Partnership Microsoft Teams channels. Sign up to join our AI Community using the form below.
The Digital Office for Scottish Local Government is hosting Digital Council Week from 24th to 28th March 2025. This week will feature live and pre-recorded events with partners to support Scottish Local Authorities in building their capacity and capabilities for digital transformation.
Overview of CACI Data and the Child Poverty Playbook.
In October 2024, COSLA secured access to CACI's Acorn and Paycheck products, with 23 Councils already participating in the first year of the agreement. This initiative aims to leverage the experience of Councils that have utilised this data to enhance policy and planning decision-making. By using detailed demographic data, we can enable targeted interventions across Scotland.
Join our session with colleagues from CACI to find out more about CACI data and an introduction to the Child Poverty Playbook, developed based on the experiences of several Scottish Councils.
Engage Process: Building capacity for transformation through process mapping.
Following the launch of the Engage Process centralised repository and community, we are delighted to announce the Scottish Local Government Community Event for a chance to connect in-person. This event will be offered in collaboration with Engage Process as part of Digital Council Week to members of our Engage Process Community.
Join us in-person on March 27th as we bring the community together into a live learning environment, including interactive workshops, networking with colleagues and the opportunity to learn from best practice.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, March 27th
Time: 10am - 4pm
Location: COSLA Conference Centre, Scott Suites, Verity House, 19 Haymarket Yards, Edinburgh, EH12 5BH
The event is free to attend and lunch will be provided.
Note: Due to capacity of the venue, spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve.
If you would like to join the Engage Process Community and are interested in this event, please contact [email protected].
New Recording Available: 5G Ayrshire Innovation Region Programme.
Our second webinar of the 5G innovation Region series took place on Thursday 27th February and provided insight into the Ayrshire 5G Innovation Region Programme.
The vision for Ayrshire is to establish itself as the UK’s leading manufacturing-focused 5G hub, driving innovation, skills, and economic growth. Five key principles underpin this ambition: technological excellence, a thriving innovation ecosystem, sustainable economic development, workforce and talent advancement, and strategic investment.
The Programme is supporting the integration of advanced wireless technologies at three key Ayrshire Growth Deal sites – the Digital Processing Manufacturing Centre (DPMC) in Irvine, the Aerospace Innovation Hub in Prestwick, and the Ayrshire Innovation Park in Moorfield, Kilmarnock. These hubs play a critical role in accelerating the adoption of digital and advanced wireless solutions, strengthening Ayrshire’s position as a centre for next-generation manufacturing and industrial transformation.
Working in collaboration with the Scotland 5G Centre (S5GC), the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Ayrshire College, the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), and industry partners, including Vodafone, the Programme is creating opportunities for businesses to innovate and scale.
Catch up on the recording to explore how the Ayrshire 5G Innovation Region is driving forward advanced manufacturing, tourism, innovation ecosystems, and strategic partnerships to support the region’s digital future.
