Partnering with HP to build a cloud-based information hub, Norfolk County Council is proving that big data can transform delivery of public services.

1. Exploiting data
for the good of all
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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