September 8th, 2011
Eastbourne Borough Council has become the only local authority in the country to be shortlisted for a prestigious IT award.
The council will battle it out with much larger organisations including the Department of Health and the Post Office for the title of Public Sector Project of the Year at the 2011 UK IT Industry Awards.
The nomination follows the council’s ground-breaking Agile Working project to help cut costs and increase productivity by moving to state-of-the-art offices.
The project has been hailed as a shining example of how local authorities can deliver major cost savings by embracing new IT technologies in the workplace.
Leader of the Council, Cllr David Tutt, said: “Being shortlisted for such a respected award is true recognition of the effectiveness of our Agile Working project.
“Staff have now completed the move to a superb and engaging work place at 1 Grove Road and we have already started to record improvements in productivity and satisfaction.
“I am incredibly proud of what the council has achieved and have no doubt we will fare well at the awards in the company of some of the largest and best known organisations in the UK.”
The project, delivered on time and within budget, has seen staff relocate from the council’s former offices in 68 Grove Road to newly refurbished and highly efficient work stations at 1 Grove Road.
Modern working practices including hot desking and paperless filing have been incorporated in bright and engaging workplace areas, while the building’s carbon footprint has been dramatically reduced through new windows with solar shading.
Staff productivity has increased thanks to more flexible and efficient working, in turn creating more cost-effective services for local residents.
The project had a total budget of £2.6m and will save £3m over 10 years on top of paying back the £2.6m budget.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on November 10 in London.
