Tag Archives: council

News

Leeds Marketing Agency and North Yorkshire Council partnership adds up

Leeds-based marketing firm The Marketing Optimist has partnered with City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council on a marketing project to promote MultiplyNYorks – a new, free adult numeracy project for York and North Yorkshire residents.

The full-service digital marketing agency is supporting the council with marketing strategy, social media marketing, SEO, website design and copy on the programme.

Multiply was created to help people over 19 years of age who don’t have a maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent). It’s a national programme which offers courses and activities in the local community that help people manage their money better, improve their confidence, and open up better employment opportunities.

Employers and businesses can also access these adult numeracy courses to upskill their workforce or request bespoke training sessions to meet employee needs.

The MultiplyNYorks project will run until 2025 and is led by a dedicated central team created as a partnership between the Adult Learning Service of North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council’s York Learning, and a consortium led by Better Connect.

The overall project has been given £2.6 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to improve the numeracy skills of working-age people in the UK.

Lois Calvert, Multiply Development Manager for North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council, said, “We are delighted to be working with The Marketing Optimist on this programme. The collaborative work has allowed us to reach individuals who would not usually engage in learning activities. The dedicated website has allowed us to showcase the fantastic work that is happening across York and North Yorkshire.”

Working on the client’s brief, The Marketing Optimist has delivered a new website for MultiplyNYorks – focusing on accessibility, design and usability. The team will also work on an in-depth SEO strategy and ongoing optimisation, writing compelling web copy and delivering a social media strategy to raise awareness of the Multiply programme.

Richard Michie, CEO of The Marketing Optimist, explains, “This project is one of our biggest to date, and we are thrilled to be chosen as the marketing partner for such an important initiative. This project requires a thorough, collaborative approach to deliver an extensive multi-channel marketing strategy, as there are over 20 delivery partners across York and North Yorkshire.”

The Marketing Optimist is a full-service digital marketing consultancy based in Leeds and founded in 2016. The agency works with a range of local, national and international clients. 

With a team of experts specialising in digital marketing, social media, SEO, copywriting,  website design, video marketing, marketing strategy and PR, the business offers a strategic and agile approach to help clients achieve meaningful results from their marketing activities.

News

Brighton & Hove City Council plugs into Connected Asset Management from Yotta

Brighton & Hove City Council has awarded a contract to Yotta – now part of Causeway Technologies – the leading provider of global connected asset management and services, to support it with a new asset management system for highways and street lighting. Yotta will be implementing its Alloy connected asset management software and delivering associated services.

The council is a long-term customer of Yotta and has historically used its Mayrise Asset Management software for both highways and street lighting. However, the decision to migrate these services to Alloy takes the councils’ offering to another level, enabling it to drive operational efficiencies and deliver a faster, more responsive service to local residents.

A key driver for the migration was the facility for direct integration between Alloy and Yotta’s strategic asset management software, Horizons, which the council also has in place. This will enable the local authority to combine its existing strategic modelling with intuitive operational asset management. Brighton & Hove is now working with Yotta’s consulting team to ensure it gets the best from the enhanced capabilities delivered by the integration.

Once the implementation is complete, the council will be able to manage highways and streetlighting through a single system, therefore enabling it to take a more strategic approach to the overall management of these services.

Streetlighting Contract and Design Manager, Brighton & Hove City Council, said:

“As a council with a commitment to tackling the climate crisis, we were looking for an asset management system that would help us do this. We hope by using Alloy, and the flexibility and innovation it brings, it will support our aims to be more efficient, save energy and reduce carbon emissions.”

Using Alloy in conjunction with the powerful Alloy Mobile app also empowers the council’s field operations staff, automatically assigning jobs to them and allowing dynamic feedback, reporting and task updates.

The flexibility of Alloy provides additional benefits to the local authority. Moving forwards, it is planning to use it as a core application that seamlessly integrates with other solutions in the council such as its CRM and corporate GIS system. This will be increasingly key as the council continues to drive ever increasing benefits from its digital transformation strategy in the future.

Alloy’s powerful and versatile workflows will allow the authority to automate business processes and dramatically improve efficiency (for example around task/job management). Moreover, the fact that the solution is cloud-based offers the flexibility Brighton & Hove City Council needs in the post-Covid hybrid work environment.

Nick Smee, CEO of Yotta said: “Brighton & Hove City Council is a forward-looking council with a focus on increasing its use of digital solutions to drive operational efficiencies and service enhancements. The rich functionality of Alloy coupled with the power of Horizons strategic modelling will be key in driving even better ROI for the council and in further improving the services that it provides to its citizens in the future.”

News, South East

New Luton businesses to be provided support through council grant scheme

A new grant and support scheme designed to help newly trading Luton businesses is being launched with Luton Council’s allocation of Additional Restrictions Grant funding.

Under the Start-up Businesses Support programme Luton Council is offering grants of up to £2000 alongside training and specialist one-to-one support to local small and medium-sized enterprises and start-up businesses. The scheme, running until the end of January 2022, is designed to help local businesses overcome the effects of multiple lockdowns and restrictions and into growth. 

The council is working in partnership with business support specialists, Smarter Society, which has previously worked with organisations including John Lewis Partnership and the NHS to provide the new mentoring programme. 

Nicola Monk, Corporate Director Inclusive Economy at Luton Council, said: “Luton has a vibrant and diverse business community, but like the rest of the country our local economy has been hit by the pandemic. Securing strong economic recovery is essential and is a central pillar of the Luton 2020 –2040 Vision to ensure that everyone in Luton has the opportunity to thrive.

As part of our response and our longer term plan to deliver an Inclusive Economy, we are using a proportion of our Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding to deliver a  range of business support activities with a variety of partners which best supports the businesses in our town. 

The Start-up Businesses Support programme has been designed to support those which have been through a challenging time recently and receiving an expert, external perspective through a mentorship programme will give businesses innovative, specialist and practical support at this crucial time.”

Start-up Businesses Support will be open to every trading business within Luton, offering grants of up to £2000, training and one-to-one mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs tailored to the needs of each business. The programme will initially have 120 places which are expected to be taken quickly, so businesses should register immediately. 

Geoff Baxter, from Smarter Society, said: “We know that grants and one-to-one mentoring are the most requested business support service from local authorities – and can also be the most useful, so we’re glad to support the programme with experienced mentors that have run their own businesses and can provide practical guidance and help, all totally free of charge.”

For further information or to sign up to the programme visit:

https://smartersociety.org/programmes/luton/

News

Three Rivers District Council seeks to boost economy with new business mentoring programme

An ambitious new mentoring scheme designed to help businesses bounce back from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and boost the local economy is being launched across Three Rivers district.

Under the Mentoring for Growth programme Three Rivers District Council is offering specialist one-to-one mentoring to local small and medium-sized enterprises and start-up businesses. The three-month scheme is designed to help local businesses overcome the effects of multiple lockdowns and restrictions and into growth.

The council is working in partnership with business support specialists Smarter Society – which has previously worked with organisations including John Lewis and the NHS – to provide the new mentoring programme. 

Cllr Sarah Nelmes, Leader of Three Rivers District Council, said: “We are lucky to have vibrant and diverse business communities across Three Rivers, but like the rest of the country our local economy has been hit by the pandemic. The Mentoring for Growth programme will give businesses innovative, specialist and practical support at this crucial time.

 “Over recent weeks we have been unveiling a series of initiatives aimed at listening to and supporting those businesses. We will continue to do that, and all we can, to ensure our local economy can go from strength to strength.”

The programme will include a business mentoring programme for up to 40 local businesses – tailored to the needs of each of them. 

Mentoring for Growth will be open to every business within Three Rivers offering one-to-one mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs. The programme will initially have 40 places which are expected to be taken quickly so businesses should register immediately. Further places may be released subsequently subject to available funding.

Geoff Baxter, from Smarter Society, said: “We know that one-to-one mentoring is the most requested business support service from local authorities – and can also be the most useful, so we’re glad to support the programme with experienced mentors that have run their own businesses and can provide practical guidance and help, all totally free of charge.”

Chairman and Director Shirish Chauhan said: “This excellent scheme has the potential to make a significant difference to many local businesses. Many businesses have been through a challenging time recently and getting an expert, external perspective through a mentorship programme can be key to helping entrepreneurs run their business more effectively and to gain more customers.

I am delighted that local businesses in Three Rivers will now have an opportunity to apply for and benefit from this valuable mentoring scheme. ”

 For further information or to sign up to the programme visit: https://smartersociety.org/programmes/three-rivers-mentoring/

Contract Wins, Data & Analytics, News, North of England, Tech

KEYSOURCE WINS DATA CENTRE UPGRADE PROJECT FOR LEEDS CITY COUNCIL

Leeds City Council has awarded Keysource, the data centre and critical environment specialists, a major cooling upgrade project for its facility in Leeds, following a competitive tender.

Under the terms of the deal, Keysource will be responsible for the full mechanical and electrical installation of a replacement data centre cooling system to increase efficiency, improve airflow, and reduce operational costs. The new system will monitor the space and the cold aisle temperature and humidity to optimise the delivery of required cold aisle conditions to maximise efficiency.

The space will be cooled by 5 new Airedale SmartCool Inverter precision cooling units operating on supply air control. It will also benefit from a fresh air feed that will operate as the primary stage of cooling, when ambient conditions allow, to further improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact. By monitoring the outside ambient air temperature and humidity the ACIS system will aim to utilise the fresh air free cooling at every opportunity. The existing AHU controls will also be upgraded and incorporated in the new control’s platform.

Commenting on the new project Ted Pulfer, Enterprise & End User Sector Consultant at Keysource, said: “Public sector organisations and local authorities are increasingly facing scrutiny and pressure to operate at maximum efficiency and our solutions are designed to deliver this without compromising sustainability, resilience or security.”

Adam Edmands at Leeds City Council, said: “Keysource provided a high quality response, that demonstrated how they would carry out this project without impacting on live services and supporting the Council’s vision to maximise efficiencies and reduce costs. I look forward to working with Keysource in delivering this project and have no doubt that it will be a success”.