Living the dream

Today is a big deal for me. For the last few years I have had a ball with colleagues at NTT DATA; working on digital and agile transformation whilst learning and sharing with a group of really smart and friendly people. From today, I am going to be working on digital and agile transformation whilst learning and sharing with a group of really smart and friendly people. So what’s changed?

Sunrise over a new horizon

The big deal is that today is my first day as an Agile Coach in Cornwall Council¹.

Most people will know Cornwall as a holiday destination - the sea, moors and other attractions bring in 5 million visitors each year. However, half a million people call it home and have many of the same needs and aspirations as people all over the country. Digital technologies and new ways of working are making Cornwall’s remoteness from the UK’s big city economies less of an obstacle to business and remoteness can be an advantage if you are doing something new, for instance, horizontal space launches². Cornwall Council has a role to play in all of this; helping people overcome some long standing problems and also take advantage of the new opportunities that are opening up.

I will start working with a range of digital and technology teams in the Council to help them apply some new agile ways of working that have proven to be successful in the private sector and other parts of the Central and Local Government. The goal is to create more effective and better value services for everyone that the Council serves.

I have some of my own experiences to share but I am also hoping to tap into an amazing network of like-minded people working across the public sector. I am also hoping to learn how to apply agile techniques to other things the Council does, including understanding what the people of Cornwall need and how the Council works with others to meet these needs. There will often be a digital and technical part of this work but it might also touch everything from policy development to processing household waste.

The familiar sunshine

A new job in a new place ought to feel alien but it actually feels remarkably comfortable. Over the last few years I have spent many wonderful days in Cornwall and have been visiting three or four times a year recently. On a professional level, I have had the honour of being a member of the Local Government Digital community for some time and have volunteered in a number of public sector and third sector groups and events. I’ve got loads to learn and I hope these communities will forgive a whole load of “dumb” questions from me over the coming weeks and months.

Footnotes

1. Cornwall Council Business Plan ↩

2. Newquay Spaceport News ↩