Cumberland Council Hosts First In-Person Netcall User Group Event

As co-chair of the Netcall Liberty platform for Local Government User Group, I'm thrilled to share a review of our first in-person Netcall User Group event held right here in Cumberland Council's Carlisle Civic Centre, on Wednesday 26th February. 

We were delighted to welcome everyone to Cumberland Council. I must admit, I was a bit nervous in the lead-up. Carlisle is quite a trek for some, and I worried about the turnout.
However, my concerns were quickly put to rest. The engagement was excellent, and the turnout was fantastic! We had 14 councils represented, with attendees travelling from as far as Aberdeen and Devon. It was truly inspiring to see so many passionate digital people and teams gathered in one place.

A Day of Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

The day was packed with insightful sessions and valuable networking opportunities:
 

Presentations:

We heard about the amazing work being done across different councils. Thank you to Andrew Seekings for opening the day and enthusing us with insight into Cumberland's innovative heritage. 

Followed by Sharon De Vall from Lancashire County Council, Paul Doney from Newcastle City Council, Jane Tankerville from East Lothian Council and Esther Gunn-Stewart from Gunn-Stewart solutions. Who shared their ambitions, digital transformation journeys, and low-code success stories.

 

Un-conference Sessions:

When we designed the agenda it was important that the in-person day had the same open, friendly discussion as our virtual sessions. It was great to see different councils come together to make shared pitches. These sessions allowed for open discussions on topics such as automation, practical collaboration between councils, transformation governance, version control testing, team structure, and operations. I'll write up the notes from my session and share with the user group and this blog.

Netcall Demonstrations:

Chris Roberts from Netcall showcased some of the platform's brilliant functionality. The Liberty platform develops at a fast rate and if you blink you could miss the introduction of some new functionality that improves productivity or helps deliver better value to our customers. These demonstrations to the user group are invaluable and always kick start some inspiring and innovative work. I look forward to seeing how councils start using some of the incredible AI supported virtual telephony, chat agents, and intelligent document processing that Chris demoed. 

 

Networking:

The event provided ample opportunities to connect with peers, share ideas, and build relationships. The Netcall community is one of the best that many of us are part of, I say this because conversations about linking up and sharing our work are genuine. We've all benefited from a component or service that was designed and built by someone else, being shared with us free or charge and with friendly support. 

The lunch, sponsored by Netcall and catered for by the Black Jug, was excellent and provided another opportunity for informal conversations. Huge thanks to Netcall for bringing product owners and leads from across the suite to be on hand to answer any of our questions. It was great to hear more about, how Spark, Gov Tech and CX will integrate with the existing products.  

It was nice to support local business with the food and drink, which continued after the event with many attendees carrying on the conversation with drinks and pizza at Adriano's restaurant after the event.
 

Key Takeaways  

Collaboration is Key:

The event reinforced the immense value of collaboration across councils. Sharing experiences and solutions can lead to significant improvements in citizen services.
 

Low-Code is Empowering:

Netcall's Liberty platform, with its low-code capabilities, is enabling councils to drive digital transformation at speed. It empowers non-technical teams to build applications rapidly, create great digital experiences, and increase development capacity.
 

AI is Transforming Citizen Services:

The discussions and demos highlighted the potential of AI to enhance citizen engagement, improve operational efficiency, and reduce costs.

Looking Ahead

The success of this event has energised me and I'm looking forward to the next in person event, almost certain with a trip a bit further south. 

It is great to be part of this community and I'm sure I will be continuing these conversations and fostering collaboration within Local Government digital over the next few weeks, as will many others. Let's keep working together to improve services for our residents and staff.

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who travelled for the event and I hope your return trip was quick and safe. 
Craig Barker