Exploiting data for the good of all

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a ComputerWeekly report in association with

a ComputerWeekly report in association with

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Norfolk County Council is putting smart technology at the heart of its data and collaboration strategy as it seeks to place the citizen at the

centre of decision-making. Lisa Kelly reports.

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In December 2013, Norfolk County Council (NCC) signed a contract with HP Enterprise Services to create a cloud-based information hub to transform the delivery of integrated public services in Norfolk.

Seven months into the £26m contract, progress is delivering quantifiable benefits, says CIO Tom Baker. He says some 5,500 users will be migrated to Microsoft Office 365, enabling collaboration through Microsoft Lync, over the next six weeks.

Migration of hardware to HP’s government cloud offering has begun, with the council moving from its 1960s tower block into an energy-efficient datacentre which is accredited to impact level 3.

The council has also achieved NHS Information Governance Toolkit level 2 compliance for the processes and procedures used for the management of information, with level 3 compliance a goal for the end of the year.

Best information security practice is critical and ISO 27001 compliance will be achieved by November.

“Achieving a high level of compliance is important because we take our responsibility as a data processor seriously. Practitioners such as social workers can do their job better if they see data from other organisations, but we are dealing with sensitive information – regarding child safety, for example – so it is vital we get the organisation operating in this way,” says Baker.

Safeguarding citizen information

The Caldicott Review permits professionals to share data for the purposes of direct care and the emphasis is now on people over systems, which Baker welcomes.

Transforming public services through smart use of big data

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“There has been a sea change in the positive benefits of information use – which is distinct from information sharing because information use is citizen-centric and allows for new smart solutions and integrated care,” says Baker.

He says there is now a real understanding that using data can be life critical, but good governance is essential.

“Best use of data is from a citizen perspective, but there need to be safeguards, with care providers ensuring governance and knowing how to share data across organisational boundaries. Information protocols need to be built around services for individuals rather than organisations. Let’s start with the service and look at how we share data in that context,” says Baker.

Making money through data

For many CIOs, cutting costs would be more than enough, but Baker believes the council’s transformation of its services through harnessing the power of big data will not just save money, but also make money and put the region in the best possible position to capitalise on the growing global smart city market.

His thinking is backed by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills which is advocating smart cities because research shows that the smart cities industry will be worth more than $400bn globally by 2020, with the UK expected to gain a 25% share.

“It is a colossal market. Access to data and information use has implications for how we manage resources such as water, waste and energy, and how we manage health and social care, and transport routes. Analysts think it is the biggest IT market on the planet, and the UK could take 25% of the global market. Norfolk is well-placed to develop smart solutions with our technology partners,” says Baker.

He points to his own personal experience of using data from a mobile fitness app and the positive changes it has encouraged him to make to his lifestyle.

“The app information makes me think about my health and keeping fit and losing weight. The council spends over £20m on public health initiatives, but you can see how smart devices might encourage people to think about healthcare and diet and enable citizens to take more of a role in preventing long-term conditions such as diabetes,” says Baker.

He points out that Norfolk has the highest elderly population in the UK and pressure on adult social care is enormous and growing as people live longer.

“Now we have an opportunity to think about new services and to use digital technology and interactive services to meet social and environmental goals. For example, the elderly might be able to stay in their own homes longer. Going forward, there are all sorts of smart solutions that can help people deal with austerity measures, a growing population and an ageing population,” says Baker.

By working with key partners HP and Microsoft, as well as small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the University of East Anglia, Baker says the council will be able to be at the cutting edge of developments and innovation and take a market share.

Working smarter

However, Baker says first there is the immediate challenge of saving money. It is no secret that local government budgets are under pressure and the intense scrutiny they are under to eradicate waste and duplication continues.

“Access to data and information use has implications for how we manage resources such as water, waste and energy, and how we manage health and social care, and transport routes”Tom Baker, Norfolk County Council

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Efficiency is a watchword and the smart region initiative is expected to help save the council £10m from its IT budget over the next five years and make a major contribution to its overall challenge of addressing a £189m shortfall.

“Between £8bn and £10bn is spent on public services in Norfolk. Smart solutions make better use of information to give real understanding of where resources are consumed and where spending matters,” says Baker.

“Councils operate in a complex environment and thinking about doing things smarter is at the heart of the digital agenda. It is not just about a transacting environment at the front end – it needs to pervade throughout so that data is used to shape the conversations we have about making better decisions and targeted spending. It will also enable citizens to take a more proactive role,” he says.

To this end, Norfolk County Council is building an innovative information hub (see box below) which will allow the council, health services and local government agencies to share information and collaborate where appropriate to tackle business challenges.

Public sector employees will be able to make better and more informed decisions, which will help them meet the rising demand for public services.

Norfolk County Council’s information hub is based on technol-ogy including HP Autonomy IDOL and Vertica Analytics Platform, Visionware master data management technologies and Microsoft Windows 8.1 and Office 365 software.

The council’s CIO, Tom Baker, says data is being extracted from multiple lines of business services, safely and securely, and brought together to enable a common view of citizens where appropriate.

He says linking data has already resulted in quantifiable benefits in identifying families eligible for resources via the government’s Troubled Families Programme.

The initiative looks at criteria such as adults out of work, child truancy and a history of anti-social behaviour to help the families turn their lives around and, at the same time, bring down the cost of problems to the taxpayer.

Since it began using the information hub six months ago, the council has been able to identify an additional 800 families, so the total now stands at 1,500 families in Norfolk.

“We have done risk stratification to assess whether families hit certain criteria by linking educational abandonment data, such as exclusions and absenteeism, and data about benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions. This data has been used to highlight families that are eligible for funding to help target resources towards intervention for people who need it to give them better life chances. We are very keen to focus on early intervention,” says Baker.

The council has built an information management centre of expertise working alongside HP, bringing together information compliance staff, database administration, integration and exploitation skills.

Microsoft’s business information technologies were used to bring data to life, and the project was completed within five weeks using agile and scrum methodologies to accelerate the process.

“You can see the power of bringing data together and overlaying it to get conversations going. Before the argument used to be, “can you share data?” – now it is how you link and correlate data, safely, effectively and legally. By linking data on an automated basis, you have the agility to be fundamentally smarter in a dynamic way that can empower staff to address complex business and integration problems,” says Baker.

Beyond the focus of the initiative, he says there is a wider application for using information to solve problems.

“There is an important message from this achievement which transcends troubled families – how we can use the same model to target resources. For example, where best to build a new business incubator or how to forecast school placements,” says Baker.

“Now we need to go to the business and prioritise ideas because we are at the point where we can really exploit data,” he adds.

Norfolk County Council’s information hub: exploiting data

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“The big challenge for a truly digital public sector is how digital solutions can join up system-wide for information use, which is an important distinction from information sharing,” says Baker.

Teaming up with business

The business sector is part of the answer. The council is working closely and widely with businesses to stimulate knowledge-intensive startups in Norfolk.

Baker says the Norwich Research Park has 2,700 people focusing on smart solutions, as the assisted living market will be worth $500m by 2015 and there is evidence it can reduce the number of bed days required by 61%.

HP and the council are also collaborating with the University of East Anglia to develop two new degree courses – a data science degree and a cyber security degree – which Baker says will be ready to roll out in autumn 2016.

“Number crunching is important together with understanding the citizen model and trust and consent modelling is also critical as to why citizens should give their data to make services such as healthcare better,” says Baker.

He underlines that cyber security is also important to HP and the future of the UK digital economy. “It is essential the UK has the skills to address cyber security in the future, and the government has announced £1.1bn to fight cyber threats,” says Baker.

The management and governance challenge regarding smart solutions is complex and needs to be joined up, which is where the power of big data comes in.

There are also long-term advantages as the council expects to be able to use data aggregated on the hub to improve the county’s transport systems. Baker says traffic data can be combined with other data, such as business rates, and used to make a case to central government to invest in Norfolk’s roads.

“Interesting dynamics are emerging in terms of building business cases. Norfolk is now digital by design and the information hub is allowing the conversations to take place which will allow business users to tackle tricky problems,” says Baker.

Apps are also part of the plan to connect with citizens and make best use of information. A Family Storyboard app is now in prototype which allows family service users in Great Yarmouth to interface with their social workers and join up calendar information and allow people to record information around personal strategies.

“We have had positive feedback from social workers and families. There are opportunities for apps to be used in this way for different services. Apps can strengthen communication between citizens and the council. Apps are simple and ubiquitous and people feel comfortable with them – so why not have an app?” says Baker.

As the council continues on its smart path, more and more opportunities are revealing themselves along the way, and Baker is convinced they make sense for the council and its citizens.

“All our challenges are becoming opportunities. We are building an environment where businesses and the council can enjoy real benefits and digital solutions will decrease demand on our services and provide mechanisms and ways of interacting with the council that people feel comfortable with,” says Baker.

“All our challenges are becoming opportunities. We are building an environment where businesses and the council can enjoy real benefits”Tom Baker, Norfolk County Council