Our event last week on supporting business communities online for Local Authorities was a great success. We are taking stock of the feedback we received and it’s interesting to note that none of the representatives of the 40 or so Local Authorities that attended are asking IF they should be adopting online communities and social media. They are simply asking “how?”. The panel discussion at the end of the day highlighted that they are wrestling with how on earth it fits with their existing processes.  For example, if someone asks for action in a community or via twitter, how do you prioritise that against the person coming via the call centre or council office.

Of course, it was not all about concerns. Whilst we all had a laugh at the idea of one delegate pursuing a local resident down the street as she dropped flyers criticising the councils business support, it quickly became evident that a voice in a online community can sometimes be much better heard than one using traditional methods.

Dominic Campbell of FutureGov made it clear that, of course, there is no going back and embracing the technology and the benefits it brings to community engagement is the only way forward. In his opening address Doug Richard made it clear that Local Authorities have an important role to play in delivering local support tailored to local needs.  We hope that with our Business Communities we are able to help with this process and bring the benefits of the local support Authorities can offer to start-ups and entrepreneurs.  

You can download some of the days presentations here.  There will be video of the day coming shortly. We’d love to get your thoughts on this subject both from government and from businesses.