South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council in £1.5m shared services deal with Civica

Agreement designed to make authorities more efficient by digitising services and cutting costs

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council have signed a shared services agreement with IT systems and business process solutions provider Civica.

The deal, worth £1.5m, will create a partnership between the two authorities designed to digitise services and cut the costs of the ICT that underpins both organisations.

Civica will supply the two councils with a range of services, including electronic document management, telephony, workflow, payment, CRM and mobile working solutions. Each will be deployed in an effort to improve customer service by giving council members accurate information, therefore increasing their productivity.

Five other vendors bid for the contract, but the councils selected Civica after previous successful projects run by the firm.

"We recognised that with ever-increasing financial challenges and the changing needs of our customers, a more transformational approach was needed. It became clear that technology should play a key role in this," said Darren Cole, head of ICT and customer services at South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council.

"We wanted a trusted ICT partner with the skills and knowledge to help us achieve our goals with minimal disruption to our customers and staff. We're confident Civica will help us innovate to meet the changing needs of the population and continue to deliver excellence in services."

Chris Ginnelly, managing director of information and engagement solutions for Civica, welcomed the challenge of helping the two authorities improve services while cutting costs.

"Local authorities across the country continue to face the challenge of doing better with less. The organisations doing so most successfully are those embracing technology as a way to transform how services are delivered to citizens," he said.

"South Hams District and West Devon Borough Council are a best-practice example of how building appropriate partnerships, embracing digital transformation and redesigning service delivery can dramatically improve the experience of the citizen and deliver financial savings for the authority," Ginnelly added.

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