For a number of years, the strong message coming from the Better Connected studies has been that getting the website right is fundamental to achieving major savings for the public sector.

We have well-developed frameworks to help you to develop a vision for how the website will help the council and its partners achieve their objectives, and to develop a strategy for the web. Based on a 20-point checklist, it takes you through a rigorous process for defining the web strategy in such a way as to ensure its alignment with the corporate vision and priorities, and with other key corporate strategies - the customer service strategy, information management strategy, ICT strategy, property and accommodation strategy.

We have the skills and the tools to help you achieve a website that delivers for your council - that is a website that gives real value in terms of the services it delivers to your customers and the savings it makes for the council. We cover all that is needed, summarised below:

For a step by step guide, click on the diagram to see more detail

Creating an effective website for your council is not easy - and certainly isn't something you can leave to the IT service, or to corporate communications section to deliver for you. Creating a website that delivers real value to the organisation, and real savings in cost takes a corporate effort and requires the following essential elements:

Putting the customer at the heart of your strategy for becoming the Council of the Future is absolutely vital.

The new coalition government promises a very different approach to public services and the relationship between state and individual, but will be grappling with a huge budget deficit. What are the implications for the management of information, the effective use of technology and efficient service delivery in the public sector? Are the prospects grim, or is there in fact an opportunity to do things better and save costs?

We have identified five key actions which will enable the council of the future to save money – as much as 10-20% of revenue costs – and at the same time improve customer service:

In tough times, the frequent recourse of hard-pressed management in local authorities is to top-slice departmental budgets, perhaps with some ring-fencing of sensitive areas. The problem with this is it impacts morale across the organisation, puts customers on the look-out for falls in service quality, and above all focuses staff attention on maintaining services as they are.