Councils need help with transformation skills

Local authorities rate the development of management skills as a high priority as transformation plans gather pace

Most authorities expect to be sharing services within three years

Change management skills are in high demand in local government as more than a third (34 per cent) claim to have made good progress with transformation, according to research from Civica.

However, 59 per cent of councils are seeking help around funding and financial consultancy and 57 per cent need help with skills auditing as the local government transformation agenda gathers pace

Sixty per cent of local authorities cite management skills training among their high or significant spending pritorities.

But councils are more optimistic about their prospects for successful transformation, with 70 per cent saying they are fully confident that they will be sharing services with other public sector bodies within three years.

Ninety five per cent view partnership with IT consulting and services providers as a high priority or a significant element of service delivery, while 94 per cent feel the same about management consultancy and business process provision.

About a third of councils (34 per cent) say they have already made significant progress on service transformation and 48 per cent expects to do so over the next six months.