Summary of the latest Council of the Future Board

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The Council of the Future (CotF) Board met on June 27th. A summary of the presentations given at the meeting can be found below.

Council of the Future Governance Framework

Make it Happen Board

  • The new framework has been established to help us manage the projects in the Council’s five-year business plan.
  • The Make It Happen (MIH) Board has been established to oversee the CotF programme and provide a cross-cutting channel for managing issues, opportunities, risks and competing priorities across the Council.
  • The Board comprises: 
    • Kenneth Lawrie as Chair
    • Stuart Ritchie as Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for CotF
    • Directors & Head of HR & Business Transformation
    • All Workstream SROs
    • Change Manager
  • MIH Board will meet every six weeks and report to the CotF Board.

Workstream Boards

  • The five-year business plan groups projects within Wave 2 of CotF under workstreams.
  • To ensure delivery of the projects – and identify new opportunities to make savings – boards have been aligned to each workstream to provide a cross-cutting approach to change.
  • They will develop strategy, coordinate and manage transformation activity across the Council, and ensure improvements and savings are delivered. 
  • Each Board will use a performance dashboard to discuss progress of individual projects.
  • Particular attention will be given to projects reporting as red/amber as well as those identified as a top ten priority project.
  • The Workstream Boards will take place every six weeks and will report to the MIH Board.

Payments Review Project

  • Following customer consultation, the proposed strategy sets out the preferred methods of payment for services.
  • Online is the preferred method for one-off transactions and Direct Debit for recurring transactions.
  • The ambition is for chargeable services to be available online through the MyFalkirk portal where possible. 
  • The Digital Workstream Board will play a key role in driving forward projects to bring all of these services online. 
  • Cash payments for services such as rent and Council Tax can currently be made at over 100 PayPoint and Post Office locations throughout Falkirk. 

Change Fund

  • In total, £575k of the £1m Change Fund for 2019/20 has been awarded as follows:
    • £175k to re-imagine Education services in schools.
    • £50k to re-design how we work with communities.
    • £140k to review how we can make better use of our buildings and improve services with communities.
    • £100k to improve how we manage our information to ensure we understand customer needs and how to meet them.
    • £60k to automate procurement and invoicing processes.

The next meeting of the CotF Board is due to take place on August 12th.