Agenda item

Juliet Whitworth, Head of Research and Information

Alex Rigge, Programme Manager – LG Inform

The Chairman invited Cllr Alex Coley, Lead Member for data and digital, and Alex Rigge (AR), Programme Manager LG Inform, to introduce the report.

Cllr Coley reported that he had met with officers to discuss potential improvements to LG Inform following the discussion at the previous Board meeting where concerns had been raised, in particular about awareness raising and marketing. In particular, it was recommended that an App be developed to make LG Inform more accessible and to enable greater customisation for users.

AR expanded upon some of the issues identified by members at the previous meeting and plans for the future. In particular:

·       It was proposed to develop a specification for an LG Inform App between now and 1 April 2024 and subsequently to go out to tender.

·       A series of short how to use videos would be created with additional promotion, help and support material.

·       Relaunching the LG Inform user group in January 2024.

Members’ comments and questions:

·       Members discussed the pros and cons of procuring an LG Inform App. AR reassured members that a careful review of the value, and identification of the key audiences for an Appwould be undertaken before taking a final decision on whether to go ahead with the procurement. Juliet Whitworth, Head of Research and Information, confirmed that the original cost estimate was from work undertaken in 2020 and the cost now would likely be lower given the increasing competition in the market.

·       In response to a question about the commercial opportunities for LG Inform, AR confirmed that there were already commercial clients for LG Inform Plus and the product was unique in the marketplace, so further potential existed.

Decision

Improvement & Innovation Board noted the update.