Nottingham City Council Delegated Decision

Transcription

1 Nottingham City Council Delegated Decision Reference Number: 1371 Author: Jennifer Lowis Department: Chief Executives Group Contact: Jennifer Lowis (Job Title: Communications & Marketing Business Partner, Phone: ) Subject: Total Value: GovDelivery marketing platform for 1 yr inc one-off fee for set up: Monthly service charge 1352.)( 34,128 for 2 yrs (Type: Revenue) Decision Being Taken: Approval to go ahead with the purchase of the GovDelivery marketing platform Reference Number: 1371, Page No: 1 of 6

2 Reasons for the Decision(s) The aim is to offer citizens and other audiences a wide range of service e-newsletters and alerts from which they can choose those they would like to receive. This initiative links in closely with the council's Customer Access Programme. The range of topics could include: - Changes to refuse collection dates - Services affected by snow closures - Events and other leisure activities - Crime alerts - Trading standards updates - Citycard promotions - Council news and press releases - Latest jobs - Housing information The Communications & Marketing team has been using marketing to promote leisure and culture services for several years. We are currently using the Pure360 system. In the last year, over 36,000 s have been opened reaching over 5,000 individuals who opted in to receive the regular What's On . The Pure360 system does not offer many of the facilities and cross-promotional benefits that GovDelivery provides, so we are keen to switch supplier. We also plan to extend the use of marketing across many more council services than just those in leisure and culture. We are able to end our contract with Pure360 at any time and at no cost. The council owns the data which can easily be transferred to another supplier. GovDelivery is the only digital communication service developed specifically for the public sector. GovDelivery has 40 major UK government clients including many local authorities such as Nottinghamshire County Council, Southampton City Council and Westminster City Council. We propose that GovDelivery is procured through the central government framework of suppliers, G-Cloud III. Some of the many benefits of communication by via the GovDelivery system include: Reach more citizens with timely communication: s are easy to sign up for, and people are likely to be receptive to messages because they have chosen to receive them. It is also easy and simple to unsubscribe if people choose to do so. Reduce customer contact costs through channel shift: proactively alerting citizens when services change means citizens are better equipped to self-serve using the lowest cost channels rather than making telephone calls and in-person visits. Generate income: the ability to target messages to specific interest groups can be used to drive up attendance at events, generate bookings, increase use of paid-for services, and encourage faster electronic payment of taxes and fees. We will also be able to generate income through advertising opportunities on s. Improve citizen satisfaction: communication through has been proven to increased citizen satisfaction with council services as recipients are the first to know when something that impacts them changes. Southampton City Council's survey showed that 75% of subscribers felt more informed about council services. Reference Number: 1371, Page No: 2 of 6

3 Why GovDelivery? There are other marketing systems available, however there are a number of reasons as to why GovDelivery is our preferred choice, and why we are seeking dispensation to select GovDelivery as our preferred supplier: It is already used by a number of central government departments and other local authorities. This means that it is less likely to be classified as spam by filters and it will be more readily be recognised as a trusted brand. The GovDelivery Network - which includes any other organisation signed up to the system - works as a recruitment channel. When you sign up to alerts from another GovDelivery organisation, you will be offered the chance to sign up to alerts by different organisations. More than half of all subscriptions are driven by the GovDelivery Network in this way. No other marketing service offers this. Note - This Network has 3 million UK subscribers and is already being used by Nottinghamshire County Council. Many systems charge per or have a cut-off number for the amount of subscriptions. The GovDelivery price structure is based on the number of residents within the local authority's area: it is NOT determined by the number of s or subscribers. So the price structure encourages us to communicate with our citizens rather than discourage us from sending out s (which a price-per- structure would do). GovDelivery does not use or share the data in any way. GovDelivery holds ICO registration in addition to IL2 (Secure) accreditation. It is proposed to enter a contract with GovDelivery for this service for 1 calendar year, with an option to extend for a further 12 months. Reference Number: 1371, Page No: 3 of 6

4 Other Options Considered: 1) Continue with the current Pure360 system - REJECTED. This system does not offer many of the benefits which GovDelivery (and only GovDelivery) offers such as access to other government body communications (e.g. Met Office for weather alerts). Pure360, unlike GovDelivery, also does not have the capacity to provide a single system to facilitate cross-promotion of numerous City Council services. 2) Cease marketing - REJECTED. marketing is a highly cost effective and proven way for Nottingham City Council to achieve its communications aims. What's On s sent out via Pure360 have contributed significantly to achieving high levels of attendance at events. We are also keen to continue increasing our use of online communications channels (which are more cost effective, more measurable in terms of impact, and increasingly popular with target audiences) while reducing our use of more traditional communications like printed booklets and leaflets (which tend to be more expensive). Background Papers: None Published Works: None Affected Wards: Citywide Colleague / Councillor Interests: None. Consultations: Date: 03/07/2013 Other:Mark Gannon, Claire Brown, James Steele in IT Consulted about GovDelivery because of potential fit with the Customer Access Programme. IT aware and content. Those not consulted are not directly affected by the decision. Crime and Disorder Implications: The development of as a key Council communication channel to citizens could enable us to send out important crime prevention messages which, in turn, could help to reduce crime and disorder. Equality: EIA not required. Reasons: It would be disproportionate to carry out an EIA for this proposal to extend the use (via GovDelivery) of as a Council communication channel to citizens and other audiences. Social Value Considerations: GovDelivery is the only digital communication service developed specifically for the public sector. GovDelivery has 40 major UK government clients including many local authorities and many central government departments. Decision Type: Portfolio Holder Reference Number: 1371, Page No: 4 of 6

5 Subject to Call In: Yes Call In Expiry date: 17/03/2014 Advice Sought: Legal, Finance, Procurement, IT Legal Advice: On the information in the report and advises there are considered to be no legal cconisderations of consequence. The Council will need to ensure that the rules for procurement form the framework are followed and that the contract reflects the requirements. Advice provided by Brian Lewis Stewart (Solicitor) on 26/02/2014. Finance Advice: An amount of 25,680 has been approved from Corporate Contingency to fund this proposal. This will cover the initial set up fee and 12 month running costs. The cost has now been confirmed at 17,904 (this includes 12 months service charges), therefore 7,776 will be returned to the Corporate Contingency. It has been proposed that a contract be entered into with GovDelivery for this service for 1 calendar year, with an option to extend for a further 12 months. A review will be undertaken prior to the end of the initial contract to establish whether to extend. If following this review the option to extend is undertaken future costs will be recovered from Departments based on usage. The purchase of the GovDelivery System will also provide the following financial benefits: - Reduction of customer contact costs through channel shift by proactively alerting citizens to service changes allowing them to self serve through lowest cost channels rather than making telephone calls and in person vists - Generate income by targetting messages to specific interest groups which should drive up attendance at events, generate bookings and increase the use of paid for services. There will also be the opportunity to generate income through advertising opportunities on s. Advice provided by Steve Hales (Finance Analyst) on 28/02/2014. Procurement Advice: As the procurement will be conducted through a compliant route - i.e. the G cloud framework from CCS, the CPU have no significant procurement concerns about this proposal as long as there is an audit trail which justifies why the particular supplier has been selected. Advice provided by Rosalie Parkin (Category Manager) on 28/02/2014. Reference Number: 1371, Page No: 5 of 6

6 IT Advice: The IT Service supports this proposal. The acquisition of GovDelivery will replace the current hosted service with a better hosted service; there is no apparent impact on the Council's IT infrastructure. The Marketing and Communications Team have advised that they will carry out the data capture exercise for the GovDelivery system with the supplier and no resources will be required from the IT Service. Advice provided by Paul J. Burrows (Strategy Manager) on 31/01/2014. Signatures Graham Chapman (PH for Resources and Neighbourhood Regeneration) SIGNED and Dated: 10/03/2014 Ian Curryer (Chief Executive) SIGNED and Dated: 07/03/2014 Reference Number: 1371, Page No: 6 of 6