Case Study

A Hub for Growth

Digital Transformation for Swindon & Wiltshire

CLIENT

Swindon & Wiltshire LEP

Date

Jan 2017 - Present

Our Services

The Brief

Background to the project

The Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was established in July 2011 as a private sector-led partnership between Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Council and local businesses.

The Swindon and Wiltshire LEP has an ambitious vision to transform the region into one of the best places in Britain to live, work and visit. It's priorities are to encourage entrepreneurship and better support and engage the with the business community, delivering meaningful insight, support and advice.

Rika's consultants were commissioned by the joint councils of Wiltshire and Swindon Borough to develop strategic recommendations that would bring increased effectiveness, efficiency and scale to specific LEP projects as well as bringing together a number of pre-existing digital touch-points.

The scope of the project included the LEP's digital estate, the Swindon & Wiltshire Growth Hub (a Business Support portal) and Higher Futures (a Skills Support service).

The Work

THE STEPS TO DELIVERY

An initial phase of Insight activity focused on establishing a baseline of current LEP operations, skills and capacity, gaining an understanding of the audience and the role of digital service delivery within Swindon and Wiltshire. Finally a detailed review of the existing digital estate of the LEP was conducted.

The findings from the Insight activity led to the development of a series of strategic recommendations, which were presented in a report to the LEP Board on February 2017.

Principal to the strategy was the development and implementation of a new digital platform, comprising a Customer Data Platform, an enterprise-grade Content Management System and an integrated CRM.

This new platform would allow the LEP to:

Integrate disparate business intelligence data
In-house key services delivered by 3rd parties
Implement a robust content strategy
Address a lack of awareness amongst businesses
Provide more efficient and effective business support
Reduce data duplication and process repetition

Following the Board's full approval to proceed with the project, the LEP team asked Rika to help fully realise the vision, selecting and implementing the technology and developing the functionality. The first phase of the project culminated in the unveiling of the new Growth Hub and accompanying digital platform at the LEP's Annual Conference in October 2017.

"This project and our work with Rika has, in every sense, been transformative. Our new digital platform allows us to properly understand the needs of the region's businesses, large and small, and provide effective and valuable support for their growth."
Ian Durston, Programme Manager, Swindon & Wiltshire LEP

Phase two of the project has delivered a new digital presence for the LEP itself, highlighting the expanse and importance of its infrastructural and place-shaping projects throughout Swindon and Wiltshire.

Work continues to utilise the rich intelligence about business activities and needs that the platform has enabled, with the LEP team making use of its new capabilities to communicate better with the region's business community.

The story of transformation within Swindon and Wiltshire has really only just begun.

The Results

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

A new digital platform to support operations and marketing activities for the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP.
Integrated business intelligence data, previously in silos; eradicated duplication and repetition of activities amongst Councils, SWLEP, Growth Hub and delivery partners.
Content delivery that addresses the specific support and service needs of businesses within the area without replicating generic information available from central government portals or private sector organisations; providing information and services that businesses actually need and want.
Improved engagement with local businesses.
A marked increase in awareness of the LEP and the Growth Hub service and a significant improvement on perceptions of its relevance and credibility amongst business leaders.
Behavioural insights of its user base, allowing the LEP to better focus its activities - the end result being much improved support for businesses in the area.
Inclusivity - Wiltshire is a rural county with many small and micro businesses whilst Swindon is home to global giants. The platform provides high-quality, relevant and context-aware content and services personalised for this diverse audience.