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We combine our love for digital innovation with our design and change skills to help with the sticky problems in public services, working with staff, residents, politicians, and local partners to make change happen. Over the past 4 years, we’ve worked with over 50 clients across the UK and beyond, including Districts, Unitaries and Counties. We began life advising councils on how to use social media. Over time we’ve become much more than a social media consultancy, going back to our roots in public service change. Not only are we technology geeks, we’re also local government geeks, having racked up some substantial experience in councils between us. We believe in the power of the web for social innovation and change, with a pragmatic understanding of how hard it can be to make true change stick and the need for grass roots engagement. We design things FUTUREGOV
with not for people, building our own technology or working with others if it already exists. Equally our obsession with open, online communication has grown our reputation as thought leaders and we have been privileged enough to see our work helping to shape policy and practice in government. We’ve grown because we have a strategy of saying yes and we work well with others. We’re curious and delighted by new and innovative things, and excited when people want to join us, whether as a colleague, a partner, a client or a critical friend. We remain relentlessly constructive - where we see a system failing or a social problem, we work tirelessly to understand the issues and find solutions. This book is a proud showcase of some of our projects and a taster of what’s to come from FutureGov – we hope you’ll come along with us. 2
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WE BEGAN LIFE ADVISING COUNCILS, IN PARTICULAR COMMUNICATIONS TEAMS, ON HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA. FUTUREGOV
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Over the past four years we have been lucky enough to work with more than 50 clients, from the public and private sector, on over 75 projects. FutureGov has changed over time, initially with a series of small contracts, we began life advising local councils, in particular communications teams, how to use social media. As time has gone by we have become much more than a social media consultancy. Passionate about innovation in public services, we started to advise on the use of web technology for social innovation, and deliver events for clients such as Google (Interactivism) and the IDeA (Local by Social), where this theory is put into practice. Eventually, giving out advice became frustrating we wanted to deliver as well. We began building our own technology and working with partners, such as Litchfield District Council, Staffordshire County Council, FUTUREGOV
Brighton and Hove Council, NESTA and the Nominet Trust (Patchwork), the Design Council (Casserole) and Surrey County Council (Future Surrey), to implement tools on the ground. In parallel our online presence and open approach to communication has grown our reputation as thought leaders (Harvard Kennedy School; Solace) and we have been privileged enough to be able to see our work helping to shape policy and practice in government. Our present and past local government clients include: Surrey County Council; London Borough of Islington; Carlisle City Council; Wolverhampton City Council; Worcestershire County Council; London Borough of Camden; Kirklees Council; Swindon Borough Council; Essex County Council; Coventry City Council; Brighton and Hove City Council; and Staffordshire County Council.
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In partnership with Surrey County Council www.wearefuturegov.com | Public Service Innovation The Futures Programme gives councils the chance to explore their own local priorities for change through digital technology and design. The mission is an open and collaborative change model that ensures deep change locally, alongside an innovation network across the local public sector and beyond. The Futures Programme has been developed following work with Surrey County Council through the Future Surrey project. Future Surrey prototyped an approach to changing public services in Surrey through a combined approach of service design and social technology to bring about organisational and social change. Through an on-going design process, FutureGov worked with colleagues in Surrey over the course of 6-9 months to identify local priorities and prototype solutions to meet those needs. These ranged from internal change projects through to service improvement, communications and engagement, and social innovation - the best ideas FUTUREGOV
and projects going through a process of refinement, prioritisation, build and then implementation. We worked to find and support local innovators in Surrey who wanted to undertake their own service change projects. Events like the Surrey Camp unconference and the the Future Surrey online space (http:// futuresurrey.com) encouraged local innovators to talk about projects they are working on, as well as what projects they would like to see. FutureGov ensured that they were given support and guidance throughout, connecting them into the rest of the Future Surrey project and ensuring a sustainable legacy of locally owned change. The Futures Programme is now open for business and available to other local authorities. We have secured a three year framework contract to work with 28 councils and always have room for more. If you are interested, please get in touch.
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in partnership with Staffordshire County Council and Lichfield District Council www.patchworkhq.com | Connecting Practitioners and Families Patchwork uses social technology to join up the team around the family – leading to earlier interventions and better outcomes for clients. Initially developed in response to the Baby Peter tragedy, we’ve been working closely with users and front line staff to design a tool and approach that helps to reveal the network of practitioners working with a child or family. Having started out researching child protection in Westminster, we developed a prototype app with Lichfield and Staffordshire Councils which has now also been rolled out to Brighton and Hove City Council. None of which could have been possible without our investors NESTA, Nominet Trust and Staffordshire County Council and partners. When we started out, front line staff told us that a huge barrier to them working collaboratively with other agencies was that they simply didn’t know which local organisations
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were also involved in their clients’ lives and who they should get in touch with in those organisations. In response, we worked directly with users to design an application that allows them to see exactly who else is working with their clients and how to get in touch revealing previously hidden professional social networks around a family. Having started out in children’s services, Patchwork is evolving into other areas where multiagency working is a challenge – whether that’s providing support to vulnerable adults or tackling domestic violence or homelessness. Our work is constantly evolving, using an open design approach that engages with practitioners and families themselves to ensure the most appropriate approach to challenges such as security and the sharing of information. Patchwork will be launched to the wider local government sector in September 2012. 10
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www.casseroleclub.com | Community Meals on Wheels Casserole brings people in local communities together around delicious home cooked food. We are working to develop Casserole into a service that couples the willingness of regular people to cook an extra portion of dinner to share (Cooks), with the needs of local community members who struggle to cook for themselves (Diners). Surrounding this sharing of meals is a local food community, with members exchanging recipes and cooking tips, participating in local events and sponsored cookery classes. We believe that food should be something enjoyed and celebrated no matter who you are, and that nothing beats a fresh homemade meal. At the same time, Casserole looks to tackle many of the gaps and barriers associated with typical volunteering like CRB checks and lengthy commitments by creating a community where users are in control. Participants decide how FUTUREGOV
often they wish to cook or dine, and security checks are based around the idea of building trust and accountability within the community. After an initial two-week pilot in December, Casserole ran a larger pilot in the Redhill area of Surrey over two months, and has recently launched its Beta website and service - casseroleclub.com expanding throughout Reigate and Banstead, with the hope of reaching all of Surrey by the end of summer. Casserole has been developed with the support of Surrey County Council and Reigate and Banstead Council and has been awarded funding from the Technology Strategy Board and the Design Council through their Independence Matters programme.
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www.simpl.co | Making Innovation Happen Simpl is the Social Innovation Marketplace - an online space that matches ideas for social change with resources and people who want to make good things happen using more than just money. FutureGov created Simpl to help support social innovators looking to make connections with people in local councils who have access to non-financial resources like space, skills support, or access to a local community to support the development of their ideas. Since its launch in 2011, Simpl has attracted over 1000 registered users, and has seen 330 ideas posted on the site. Idea matches have ranged from a social entrepreneur finding a business partner for an upholstery training programme for young people and ex-offenders, to a librarian finding a social innovator who is interested in working with her to look at how they can provide better activities and holistic support for older teenage library visitors.
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In the last year, Simpl has hosted NESTA’s Creative Councils Challenge (simpl.co/nestacreative-councils) and two Google Interactivism Hack Challenges (simpl.co/interactivism and simpl. co/interactivism/YP) . Simpl not only provided the online space to showcase the challenges themselves, but offered support to all of the ideas submitted to find resources to continue their projects beyond the challenge. Our next hope for Simpl is to work on developing a localised version of the platform, called Simpl:Local, that will allow councils to develop their own pages, run their own challenges and tap into local resources and good ideas. Simpl:Local could be a channel for social ideas in need of piloting, field submissions to innovation funds, and act as a space to share skills and resources within the community.
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simpl.co/interactivism | Social Hack Weekends Interactivism is a series of Hack Weekends where participants are challenged to design and create web based solutions to specific social problems. These events are delivered by FutureGov on behalf of Google, and in partnership with other organisations depending on the challenge. The first Interactivism posed the challenge of making the Internet more accessible for older people. Working in partnership with the Gransnet, in June 2011 we brought together 20 “grans” to form teams with software developers, designers and social innovators to develop 10 ideas into prototypes. The ideas were selected from over 40 that had been submitted through the Interactivism page on our Simpl website. The winning idea was “EZPZ Web Browser” - a simplified, no frills internet browser.
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The second Interactivism was held in February 2012. This time the challenge was to suggest an idea for using the web to help young people who are unemployed and this time Interactivism attracted over 80 ideas. We partnered with the RSA who provided some academic research on the topic and hosted a round table discussion with key influencers, and then South London Youth Communications agency, Livity, and the Prince’s Trust helped us to bring together young people with the now familiar mix of developers, designers and innovators to develop 10 ideas to prototype stage. This time the winning idea was FutureBuilder, a well designed, interactive website that helps young people identify their current skills, whether these would match the requirements for their desired jobs, and what they would need to do to bridge the gap.
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CAMDEN INNOVATION FUND www.simpl.co | Stimulating Local Social Innovation
In 2011, FutureGov and the RSA supported Camden Council with the design and development of their local Innovation and Development Fund. Camden used the current local government funding situation as an opportunity to redefine their relationship with the organisations that they give money to - creating a fund that encourages risk taking and experimentation to develop new ways of solving long standing problems. FutureGov delivered user workshops and conducted research to inform the design of the fund and then delivered two events to support applicants to develop ideas that were both innovative and enterprising. The RSA conducted a survey to uncover local networks of people and resources to support the development of the ideas. We also
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provided the council with technology and evaluation scoping reports to support the improved delivery of the fund. The council launched the fund in September 2011 and received over 70 applications from local organisations both known and unknown to the council. FutureGov is in discussions with other local authorities about using Simpl as a Simpl:Local platform for delivering local innovation funds. The platform would enable councils to have their own dedicated area to run local challenges, using this transparent forum to pose problems for the local community to solve by proposing projects to be supported (both financially and with other in-kind resources) by the innovation fund.
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www.tweetyhall.co.uk | Local Digital Democracy If local leaders are to remain connected and relevant to their communities, local democratic engagement and communications needs to change. And fast. TweetyHall is our online community, news sharing resource and search engine for local elected politicians on Twitter, helping members of the public find their local politician, connect and stay in touch. At the time FutureGov set up TweetyHall with its partners at the Local Government Association, there were few local politicians willing to participate online. 3 years on, there are over 650 local politicians recorded as tweeting in the UK, and we are always on the look out for more. TweetyHall is followed by national and trade journalists, councillors, council leaders, and key influencers in local and central government. TweetyHall is a significant channel for promoting the work and views of councillors, connecting them with
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constituents and one another as well as bringing transparency to the daily lives of local politicians. FutureGov has also played a role in guiding and developing the online presence for the 21st Century Councillor programme with the LGA, co-authoring the guidance and building and managing the website. At a local level, we have supported Swindon, Coventry, NW Leicestershire and Kirklees to better engage online, including helping them to find the right ‘voice’ for them online; mapping out local online communities to better connect with; and researching how residents and members alike want to engage to help redesign how digital engagement is undertaken locally. Through these projects we have supported local leaders to start to think strategically about how online might support their work and help them better engage on and offline.
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www.enabledbydesign.org | People Powered Products and Services Enabled by Design is a community of people passionate about Design for All. We believe that good design can support people to live as independently as possible, by helping to make day-to-day tasks that little bit easier. Born out of a desire to challenge the one-size-fits-all model of assistive equipment, Enabled by Design has evolved from a single-minded focus on product design to cover all aspects of good design that can support independent living, including service design, technology and the built environment. Enabled by Design was inspired by co-founder Denise Stephens’ experiences following her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) when Denise was assessed by an occupational therapist (OT) and given a range of assistive equipment to help her to be as independent as possible. Although this equipment made a huge difference to her life, FUTUREGOV
she became frustrated as her home started to look more and more like a hospital. Enabled by Design is a diverse community of people with disabilities, older people, designers, health and social care professionals, retailers and manufacturers. Its strength lies in its people-centred approach, engaging and working with a range of stakeholders to improve products and services to better meet individual needs and preferences. User engagement runs throughout its work, with a unique approach, both on and offline, involving the use of social media to engage, involve, share and learn. Enabled by Design was part of the independent living stream of the Innovation Exchange’s Next Practice Programme, as well as a Level 1 and Level 2 Better Net UnLtd (Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs) award winner.
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FUTUREGOV USE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGE TO RETHINK HOW LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICES ARE DELIVERED. WITH OVER 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE WORKING IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IS NEEDED TO CREATE LONG TERM SUSTAINABLE CHANGE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE CONTACT:
DOMINIC CAMPBELL
CARRIE BISHOP
DOM@WEAREFUTUREGOV.COM @DOMINICCAMPBELL
CARRIE@WEAREFUTUREGOV.COM @CARRIEBISH