2020


We've secured our IMS Alpha bid!

Our project on Income Management and ePayment systems is progressing to the Alpha phase.

Posted on 13 March 2020


Submitting our IMS Alpha bid

To continue our project onto the next phase of activity, we've made a bid for support to the Local Digital Fund

Posted on 25 February 2020


IMS Discovery - Week 21 finale

That's all folks! We've given our final Show & Tell and the Discovery project is now all but complete.

Posted on 31 January 2020


Public Finance Awards 2020

Our income management system has been shortlisted for an award!

Posted on 30 January 2020


IMS Discovery - Week 20

Our outputs are taking shape now and we're into final learning, tweaking and getting ready to show and tell.

Posted on 24 January 2020


IMS Discovery - Week 19

Given the impending project deadline, our efforts have been focussed on setting up our final outputs

Posted on 17 January 2020


IMS Discovery - Week 18

Were back! Its been nice to have a little almost-downtime and now an opportunity to regroup.

Posted on 10 January 2020


IMS Discovery - Week 17

We're still paused for Christmas, but despite that some of our team have still been busy.

Posted on 03 January 2020


2019


IMS Discovery - Week 16

We're paused for Christmas so are taking reflection on our overall progress this week. Although some work is still happening.

Posted on 27 December 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 15

We held our "Southern" workshop this week and began reflecting on our findings so far.

Posted on 20 December 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 14

We've conducted our first face to face interview, delivered our "Northern" workshop and run the agile ceremonies for our first Sprint.

Posted on 13 December 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 13

Our online survey is live and we've carried out our first remote interview.

Posted on 06 December 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 12

We've agreed our research methods for delivery and organised our first face to face workshop.

Posted on 29 November 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 11

We've consolidated our shared understanding of the project and made a start on delivery.

Posted on 22 November 2019


Our new apprentice rocks!

On September 23rd we took delivery of something very new and very shiny! Our new apprentice - her name is Robyn and if I had to describe her in a word I would say "outstanding"!

Posted on 19 November 2019


LGC Awards 2020 Finalist

IoT Barnsley has been shortlisted in the Innovation category

Posted on 17 November 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 10

We've awarded the contract for our Discovery project and held our initial delivery meeting.

Posted on 15 November 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 9

We've reviewed tender submissions from interested parties and selected a preferred bidder for our delivery support.

Posted on 08 November 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 8

The submission window on our tender process is now closed and paperwork is being pulled together for review.

Posted on 01 November 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 7

Our requirements remain published and organisations are invited to submit bids.

Posted on 25 October 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 6

We've republished our requirements for delivery support and they'll be live for 2 weeks.

Posted on 18 October 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 5

We've published our requirements for delivery support to the market but had to promptly withdraw them again.

Posted on 11 October 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 4

We've engaged with our corporate procurement team to help us buy in the delivery support we need.

Posted on 04 October 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 3

We've drafted requirements for delivery support and have taken advice from MHCLG on getting our project started.

Posted on 27 September 2019


IMS Discovery - Week 2

We've begun mobilising a team, setting up governance arrangements and planning our Discovery project.

Posted on 20 September 2019


£80,000 of Local Digital Funding approved

We've been awarded funding to discover whether our income management system could be rolled out nationally!

Posted on 16 September 2019


We've branded our "Digi" series

Digi"NAME" is the format we ultimately settled on, giving us DigiBook, DigiDesk and DigiMeet so far.

Posted on 06 August 2019


DigiDesk v3 is alive!

Today we've completed the breadboard development of DigiDesk v3 and it works an absolute treat!

Posted on 24 July 2019


Digital Campus - DMC2 is go!

Following the launch of Barnsley's TechTown Action Plan - A Digital Campus, it was great to catch up with the working group yesterday morning down at the DMC.​

Posted on 05 July 2019


DigiDesk - the next iteration (v3)

Having received funding from the Commercial Investment Fund for our work on the DigiDesk solution, we're introducing some design changes to create a version 3.

Posted on 26 June 2019


DigiBook is taking shape

Having succesfully trialled our visitor management system in the Town Hall, Gateway Plaza, Westgate Plaza, Smithies and the DMC, we've been working behind the scenes on getting it market ready - that is to say, sell it and generate an income from it.

Posted on 24 June 2019


Income Management System on Tour

Today we paid a visit to the Home Office, following up on our conversation about the potential of rolling out our Income Management System for use by other organisations.

Posted on 14 June 2019


Council software backed for national rollout

Our local paper published a story about our Income Management system today and the potential for it's future rollout.

Posted on 31 May 2019


Working in the open

Yesterday we held our first *external* show and tell session as a product team, demonstrating the features of our in-house developed Income Management System.

Posted on 22 May 2019


Barnsley software could support councils’ take-up of GOV.UK Pay

Our Income Management System made it into the UK Authority's newsfeed this morning, presented as being a potential solution to increasing local government take up of GOV.UK Pay across the country.

Posted on 17 May 2019


We need your help!

I'm pleased to report that despite a few teething issues early doors, our new visitor sign in/out system is being well received ​

Posted on 02 April 2019


Visitor Sign In / Out System

Following my earlier post about the Innovation Group and the Commercial Investment Fund, we've started rolling out some kit.

Posted on 07 March 2019


Meeting Room Screens

They're a little way off being ready yet, as we have a lot of work to do in finalising the control software and handling the touchscreen interfaces​ but I'm very pleased with how the Meeting Room Screens are turning out.

Posted on 25 January 2019


The Innovation Group and the Commercial Investment Fund

On Wednesday last week I attended the Commercial Investment Fund board with a view to securing some monies to progress three of our innovation group projects from prototype to product.

Posted on 21 January 2019


We built our own Income Management solution

We recently took the decision to develop our own critical software solution, over renewing an incumbent contract. This is how it happened.

Posted on 02 January 2019


2018


The innovation group so far

Yesterday I was invited to our Digital Leadership Team to present the progress we've made at the innovation group since it began.

Posted on 25 October 2018


Iterating the desk buttons

At the innovation group, in anticipation of seeing results from the workforce mobilisation theme of our Digital First programme, we've been busily beavering away with our Desk Occupancy Monitors.

Posted on 09 October 2018


Coding for low-code

We're building our own low-code solution and when we're finished, we think we could open it up as a SaaS platform for other council's to use.

Posted on 10 September 2018


An update from the innovation group

Our desk occupancy monitor prototypes are built and ready to rollout after only three sessions putting them together.

Posted on 29 August 2018


Success at the Innovation Group

Our innovation group held it's first official hackday today and I'm pleased to say it went amazingly well and has already produced the makings of its first prototype.

Posted on 30 July 2018


Mini Makers at Barnsley Library

The Mini Maker event at Barnsley Libraries has been a fantastic opportunity to spend time making things with my boy

Posted on 25 July 2018


Launch of Barnsley's TechTown Action Plan

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of presenting our Skunkworks activity at the launch event for Barnsley's TechTown Action Plan - A Digital Campus down at the DMC.

Posted on 21 June 2018


Code Club at Barnsley Library

I gave up some of my Saturday this week to attend something called a Code Club at Barnsley Library.

Posted on 13 June 2018


Our Digital Customer Services Platform

I gave a presentation about the Digital Customer Services Platform to our Digital Leadership Team on Friday and I'm happy to say it was well received.

Posted on 11 June 2018


Long live the Income Management System!

This morning, under the expert guidance of Louise Kilner, the final piece of the Income Management puzzle slotted perfectly into place.

Posted on 23 April 2018


The Barnsley Innovation Group

A few weeks ago I was challenged by the head of our department to create and drive forward what he described as an innovation hub within the workforce.

Posted on 08 April 2018


Why I won't close my inbox again

I learned a lot from closing my inbox over the half term week. Not all of it good. Here's what I've ultimately made of it all.

Posted on 27 February 2018


I closed my inbox for a week

Inbox anxiety is real, especially when returning to work after a holiday. I decided to take action recently and here's how I got on.

Posted on 19 February 2018


2017


The challenge of digitising council services

Council's up and down the country share a common ambition - to offer full and inclusive self-service access channels to their residents, businesses and visitors. But how will they ever achieve it?!

Posted on 15 November 2017


Council knows what's 'appnin'

There's nothing quite like delivering customer value that's fit for the future, scalable and miles ahead of the curve ;-)

Posted on 15 September 2017


Skype meetings for the win!

We've been piloting Skype as a video conferencing tool and recently I had a chance to see it earn it's keep. Very much a fan of the opportunities it brings.

Posted on 31 August 2017